Ory Kratos 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 Kratos | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 89 · 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 | ★ 13,888 | ★ 9,266 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Auth0, Authelia |
What are Ory Kratos and Pocket ID?
Ory Kratos
Ory Kratos is an API-first identity and user management system. It handles login, registration, profile management, account recovery and multi-factor authentication without prescribing a user interface.
- Headless API for full UI control
- Self-service flows for login and recovery
- Pluggable MFA including TOTP and WebAuthn
- Cloud-native and stateless design
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 Kratos vs Pocket ID: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Ory Kratos versus BSD-2-Clause for Pocket ID. Pocket ID is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ory Kratos. Ory Kratos is the more established project (first released 2020), while Pocket ID arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Watch out for
- Requires building your own UI
- Complex initial setup
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 Kratos or Pocket ID better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos 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 Kratos and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Kratos 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 Kratos and Pocket ID with Docker?
Ory Kratos: yes. Pocket ID: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ory Kratos or Pocket ID?
Pocket ID has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ory Kratos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.