OpenUnison vs ZITADEL
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
ZITADEL
Cloud-native identity infrastructure with multi-tenancy built
| Feature | OpenUnison | ZITADEL |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 67 · Good | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Less | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 136 | ★ 15,083 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Okta | Auth0, Okta, Firebase Auth |
What are OpenUnison and ZITADEL?
OpenUnison
OpenUnison is an open-source identity manager and single sign-on portal that integrates Kubernetes and applications with enterprise identity providers. It is self-hosted in the cluster.
- Kubernetes SSO portal
- Identity provisioning
- LDAP and SAML integration
- Self-service workflows
ZITADEL
ZITADEL is an open-source identity and access management platform built for multi-tenant applications. It offers OpenID Connect, OAuth2, SAML, passwordless login and a powerful management API.
- Multi-tenancy as a first-class concept
- Passwordless and FIDO2 authentication
- Event-sourced audit trail
- Comprehensive gRPC and REST APIs
OpenUnison vs ZITADEL: key differences
OpenUnison is written in Less, while ZITADEL is built with Go. ZITADEL is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for OpenUnison. OpenUnison is the more established project (first released 2018), while ZITADEL arrived in 2020. ZITADEL has the considerably larger community, at 15,083 GitHub stars versus 136. ZITADEL lists first-class Docker deployment; OpenUnison does not.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenUnison if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Less
Choose ZITADEL if…
- Strong multi-tenant model
- Modern Go codebase
Watch out for
- Smaller community than Keycloak
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenUnison or ZITADEL better?
ZITADEL is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenUnison if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are OpenUnison and ZITADEL free and open-source?
Yes. OpenUnison is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ZITADEL under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenUnison and ZITADEL with Docker?
OpenUnison: check the project docs for container support. ZITADEL: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenUnison or ZITADEL?
ZITADEL has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for OpenUnison. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.