head to head · open source
Authentik vs Sa-Token
Authentik has 26,209 GitHub stars, 2,099 forks, 1,074 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Sa-Token has 19,109 stars, 2,914 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 18 days ago. Authentik leads on adoption by 37% (26,209 vs 19,109 stars). Authentik is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Authentik has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Sa-Token 15%. Authentik was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | Sa-Token | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 19K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| 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 Sa-Token if
- You want the Sa-Token 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 Sa-Token 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…
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About Sa-Token
简体中文 繁體中文 English 日本語 한국어 Русский Sa Token v1.46.0 ✨ 开源、免费、一站式 java 权限认证框架，让鉴权变得简单、优雅！ 在线文档： 需求提交 📝 前言： 回望 2020 年初，我为 Sa Token 提交第一行代码之际， 彼时市面上 Java 缺少的不仅是一个简洁好用的鉴权框架，更是一整套清晰、自洽的权限架构设计思想 。 因此，这几年间我将大量时间倾注在 Sa Token 的文档编写，几乎每一章节、每一句话、每一个字都经过反复修改、精细打磨，以求做到最清晰、干练、易懂的表述。 用心阅读文档，你学习到的将不止是 Sa Token 框架本身，更是绝大多数场景下权限认证设计的最佳实践 。 🛠️ Sa Token 介绍 Sa Token 是一个轻量级 Java 权限认证框架，目前拥有五大核心模块：登录认证、权限认证、单点登录、OAuth2.0、微服务鉴权。 你还在手搓以下功能？ Stop，让 Sa Token 来！ 要在 SpringBoot 项目中使用 Sa Token，你只需要在 pom.xml 中引入依赖： 除了支持 SpringBoot2、Sa Token 还为 SpringBoot3/4、Solon、JFinal 等常见 Web 框架提供集成包，做到真正的开箱即用。 简单示例展示： （点击展开 / 折叠） Sa Token…
read the full Sa-Token overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Authentik or Sa-Token more popular?
Authentik has 26,209 GitHub stars and Sa-Token has 19,109. Authentik has the larger community by that measure.
Are Authentik and Sa-Token free?
Both are open source. Authentik has no licence declared in this registry, and Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Authentik and Sa-Token?
Authentik is written in Python and Sa-Token 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 Sa-Token?
Choose Authentik if you want the larger community (26,209 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Sa-Token if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.