Ory Kratos vs SpiceDB
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
SpiceDB
Open-source Zanzibar-inspired permissions database
| Feature | Ory Kratos | SpiceDB |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,815 | ★ 6,947 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Choose SpiceDB if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 6.9k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Ory Kratos or SpiceDB 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 SpiceDB free and open-source?
Yes. Ory Kratos is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SpiceDB under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ory Kratos and SpiceDB with Docker?
Ory Kratos: yes. SpiceDB: yes.