OpenFGA vs SpiceDB
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
OpenFGA
High-performance fine-grained authorization engine
VS
SpiceDB
Open-source Zanzibar-inspired permissions database
| Feature | OpenFGA | SpiceDB |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,846 | ★ 7,086 |
| First released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
What are OpenFGA and SpiceDB?
OpenFGA
OpenFGA is an open-source, CNCF authorization engine inspired by Google Zanzibar for relationship-based access control. It can be self-hosted to centralize fine-grained permission decisions for applications.
- Relationship-based access
- High-throughput checks
- Modeling language
- gRPC and HTTP APIs
SpiceDB
SpiceDB is an open-source database system for managing security-critical application permissions inspired by Google Zanzibar. It is self-hosted to provide consistent, fine-grained authorization at scale.
- Zanzibar-inspired model
- Consistency guarantees
- Schema language
- Horizontal scaling
OpenFGA vs SpiceDB: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. OpenFGA is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SpiceDB.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenFGA if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
Choose SpiceDB if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 7.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenFGA or SpiceDB better?
Neither is universally better. SpiceDB has the larger community, while OpenFGA is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenFGA and SpiceDB free and open-source?
Yes. OpenFGA is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SpiceDB under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenFGA and SpiceDB with Docker?
OpenFGA: yes. SpiceDB: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenFGA or SpiceDB?
OpenFGA has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SpiceDB. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.