Ory Keto vs Permify
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Ory Keto | Permify |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,402 | ★ 5,956 |
| First released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
What are Ory Keto and Permify?
Ory Keto
Ory Keto is an open-source permission server inspired by Google's Zanzibar paper. It answers fine-grained authorization questions and is self-hosted to manage access control for applications.
- Zanzibar-style permissions
- Relationship-based access
- gRPC and REST APIs
- Fast checks
Permify
Permify is an open-source authorization service inspired by Google Zanzibar for building and managing fine-grained, scalable access control. It is self-hosted to centralize permission checks.
- Zanzibar-style model
- Centralized permissions
- Real-time consistency
- gRPC and REST APIs
Ory Keto vs Permify: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Ory Keto is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Permify. Ory Keto is the more established project (first released 2018), while Permify arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Keto if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 5.4k GitHub stars
Choose Permify if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Keto or Permify better?
Neither is universally better. Permify has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ory Keto and Permify free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Keto is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Permify under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Keto and Permify with Docker?
Ory Keto: yes. Permify: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ory Keto or Permify?
Ory Keto has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Permify. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.