head to head · open source
Authentik vs jans
Authentik has 25,897 GitHub stars, 2,061 forks, 1,074 open issues and last shipped today. jans has 652 stars, 176 forks, 489 open issues and last shipped today. Authentik leads on adoption by 3,872% (25,897 vs 652 stars). Authentik is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; jans is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Authentik has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, jans 27%. jans was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (kubernetes, oauth2), 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 | jans | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 652 |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 176 |
| 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 jans if
- You want the jans feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and jans fits your workflow better
About Authentik
Authentik is an open source Identity Provider (IdP) built for modern single sign on (SSO) workflows. It operates in the identity and access management (IAM) ecosystem, offering a self hosted alternative to commercial solutions like Auth0, Okta, and Entra ID. The project is written in Python and distributed under a mixed MIT/CC BY SA/enterprise license model, with a core open source offering and an enterprise tier for advanced features and support.
read the full Authentik overview →
About jans
Janssen is a Linux Foundation open source identity and access management project for teams that need to run OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect single sign on, low code authentication flows, and policy based authorization on infrastructure they control.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Authentik or jans more popular?
Authentik has 25,897 GitHub stars and jans has 652. Authentik has the larger community by that measure.
Are Authentik and jans free?
Both are open source. Authentik has no licence declared in this registry, and jans is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Authentik and jans?
Authentik is written in Python and jans in Java. 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 jans?
Choose Authentik if you want the larger community (25,897 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose jans if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.