Ory Keto vs Topaz
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 | Topaz |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,402 | ★ 1,361 |
| First released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA | Auth0 FGA |
What are Ory Keto and Topaz?
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
Topaz
Topaz is an open-source authorization service that combines OPA policy evaluation with a relationship-based data model for fine-grained access control. It runs self-hosted as a sidecar or service.
- Combines RBAC and ReBAC
- OPA-based policies
- Local decision engine
- Sidecar deployment
Ory Keto vs Topaz: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Ory Keto is the more established project (first released 2018), while Topaz arrived in 2022. Ory Keto has the considerably larger community, at 5,402 GitHub stars versus 1,361.
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 Topaz if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Keto or Topaz better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Keto has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ory Keto and Topaz free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Keto is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Topaz under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Keto and Topaz with Docker?
Ory Keto: yes. Topaz: yes.