head to head · open source
Authentik vs Hexclave
Authentik has 25,647 GitHub stars, 2,029 forks, 1,074 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hexclave has 6,863 stars, 522 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Authentik leads on adoption by 274% (25,647 vs 6,863 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 | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 522 |
| 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
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 Hexclave
Hexclave is an open source user infrastructure platform written in TypeScript and distributed under a license the repository metadata lists as NOASSERTION, while the README badge states MIT / AGPLv3. It describes itself as handling everything around a product's users: authentication, teams, payments, emails, analytics, and more. The project lives in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem, shipping SDKs for Next.js, React, and plain JavaScript, and it is positioned against hosted identity and user management services such as Auth0 and Clerk, both of which appear in its topic list.
read the full Hexclave overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Authentik or Hexclave more popular?
Authentik has 25,647 GitHub stars and Hexclave has 6,863. 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 (25,647 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Hexclave if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.