Ory Hydra vs Pocket ID
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pocket ID
Simple OIDC provider that uses only passkeys
| Feature | Ory Hydra | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 17,563 | ★ 9,266 |
| First released | 2015 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Authelia |
What are Ory Hydra and Pocket ID?
Ory Hydra
Ory Hydra is an OpenID Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect provider. It is built to integrate with any existing identity system and issues tokens without managing user accounts itself.
- OpenID Certified implementation
- Low memory footprint
- Bring your own login and consent UI
- Scales horizontally
Pocket ID
Pocket ID is an open-source, simple OpenID Connect provider that authenticates users exclusively with passkeys. It is self-hosted to add passwordless SSO to applications with minimal configuration.
- Passkey-only authentication
- Simple OIDC provider
- Minimal configuration
- Lightweight
Ory Hydra vs Pocket ID: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Ory Hydra versus BSD-2-Clause for Pocket ID. Pocket ID is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ory Hydra. Ory Hydra is the more established project (first released 2015), while Pocket ID arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Hydra if…
- Security focused and certified
- Integrates with any user store
Watch out for
- Only handles OAuth, not user management
Choose Pocket ID if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Hydra or Pocket ID better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while Pocket ID is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ory Hydra and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Hydra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pocket ID under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Hydra and Pocket ID with Docker?
Ory Hydra: yes. Pocket ID: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ory Hydra or Pocket ID?
Pocket ID has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ory Hydra. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.