head to head · open source
hydra vs Logto
hydra has 17,553 GitHub stars, 1,609 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Logto has 14,599 stars, 1,212 forks, 183 open issues and last shipped today. hydra leads on adoption by 20% (17,553 vs 14,599 stars). hydra is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Logto is written in TypeScript under MPL-2.0. hydra has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Logto 8%. Logto was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (authorization, identity, 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
| hydra | Logto | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-07-29 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick hydra if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Logto if
- You want the Logto feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Logto fits your workflow better
About hydra
Ory Hydra is an OpenID Certified OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.1 provider written in Go and licensed under Apache 2.0, built for teams that need standards compliant token issuance, client management, and consent flows while user accounts stay in their own existing identity system.
read the full hydra overview →
About Logto
Logto is an open source authentication and authorization infrastructure for SaaS and AI applications. It is written in TypeScript, licensed under MPL 2.0, and positioned as an open alternative to Auth0. The project sits in the identity and access management ecosystem, where it provides a central service for login, consent, tokens, user directories, and access control.
read the full Logto overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is hydra or Logto more popular?
hydra has 17,553 GitHub stars and Logto has 14,599. hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are hydra and Logto free?
Both are open source. hydra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Logto under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between hydra and Logto?
hydra is written in Go and Logto 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, hydra or Logto?
Choose hydra if you want the larger community (17,553 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Logto if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.