Ory Hydra vs Ory Oathkeeper
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
VS
Ory Oathkeeper
Identity and access proxy for zero-trust networks
| Feature | Ory Hydra | Ory Oathkeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 17,462 | ★ 3,590 |
| First released | 2015 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Cloudflare Access |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Oathkeeper if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Hydra or Ory Oathkeeper better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while Ory Oathkeeper is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ory Hydra and Ory Oathkeeper free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Hydra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Oathkeeper under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Hydra and Ory Oathkeeper with Docker?
Ory Hydra: yes. Ory Oathkeeper: yes.