Ory Kratos vs Rauthy
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 Kratos
Headless identity and user management API server
VS
Rauthy
Lightweight OpenID Connect provider written in Rust
| Feature | Ory Kratos | Rauthy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,815 | ★ 1,256 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Keycloak, Auth0 |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Choose Rauthy if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Kratos or Rauthy better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos has the larger community, while Rauthy is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ory Kratos and Rauthy free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Kratos is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rauthy under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Kratos and Rauthy with Docker?
Ory Kratos: yes. Rauthy: yes.