Ory Kratos vs SimpleSAMLphp
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
SimpleSAMLphp
PHP implementation of SAML and identity federation
| Feature | Ory Kratos | SimpleSAMLphp |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | bare-metal, source, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,815 | ★ 1,139 |
| First released | 2020 | 2007 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Okta, PingFederate |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Kratos or SimpleSAMLphp better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos has the larger community, while SimpleSAMLphp is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ory Kratos and SimpleSAMLphp free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Kratos is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SimpleSAMLphp under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Kratos and SimpleSAMLphp with Docker?
Ory Kratos: yes. SimpleSAMLphp: yes.