Ory Kratos vs Samba Active Directory DC
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
Samba Active Directory DC
Open-source Active Directory compatible domain controller
| Feature | Ory Kratos | Samba Active Directory DC |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,815 | ★ 1,000 |
| First released | 2020 | 1992 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Active Directory, Windows Server |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Choose Samba Active Directory DC if…
- Drop-in AD replacement
- Mature and widely deployed
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Kratos or Samba Active Directory DC better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ory Kratos and Samba Active Directory DC free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Kratos is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Samba Active Directory DC under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Kratos and Samba Active Directory DC with Docker?
Ory Kratos: yes. Samba Active Directory DC: yes.