head to head · open source
Authentik vs Hexclave
Authentik has 26,209 GitHub stars, 2,099 forks, 1,074 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hexclave has 6,883 stars, 530 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Authentik leads on adoption by 281% (26,209 vs 6,883 stars). Authentik is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; Hexclave is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Authentik has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Hexclave 8%. Authentik was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (authentication, authorization), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Authentik | Hexclave | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 530 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Authentik if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Hexclave if
- You want the Hexclave feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Hexclave fits your workflow better
About Authentik
What is authentik? authentik is an open source Identity Provider (IdP) for modern SSO. It supports SAML, OAuth2/OIDC, LDAP, RADIUS, and more, designed for self hosting from small labs to large production clusters. Our enterprise offering is available for organizations to securely replace existing IdPs such as Okta, Auth0, Entra ID, and Ping Identity for robust, large scale identity management. Installation Docker Compose: recommended for small/test setups. See the documentation. Kubernetes (Helm Chart): recommended for larger setups. See the documentation and the Helm chart repository. AWS CloudFormation: deploy…
read the full Authentik overview →
About Hexclave
Hexclave The user infrastructure platform. Hexclave handles everything around your users: authentication, teams, payments, emails, analytics, and much more. Get started with our AI prompt below. Website · Docs · Dashboard · Discord Get started Setting up Hexclave is one prompt. Paste this into your coding agent of choice: For AI agents If you're an AI coding agent, use your web fetch tool or curl the skill documentation for up to date integration instructions: What's included Hexclave ships as a catalog of apps you switch on as your product needs them. Each one is built on the same user model, and new apps land…
read the full Hexclave overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Authentik or Hexclave more popular?
Authentik has 26,209 GitHub stars and Hexclave has 6,883. Authentik has the larger community by that measure.
Are Authentik and Hexclave free?
Neither Authentik nor Hexclave declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Authentik and Hexclave?
Authentik is written in Python and Hexclave in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Authentik or Hexclave?
Choose Authentik if you want the larger community (26,209 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Hexclave if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.