head to head · open source
hydra vs polis
hydra has 17,652 GitHub stars, 1,617 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. polis has 2,272 stars, 239 forks, 35 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. hydra leads on adoption by 677% (17,652 vs 2,272 stars). hydra is written in Go under Apache-2.0; polis is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. hydra has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, polis 11%. hydra was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (hacktoberfest), 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 | polis | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 239 |
| 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 polis if
- You want the polis feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and polis fits your workflow better
About hydra
Chat · Discussions · Newsletter · Docs · Try Ory Network · Jobs Ory Hydra is a hardened, OpenID Certified OAuth 2.0 Server and OpenID Connect Provider optimized for low latency, high throughput, and low resource consumption. It connects to your existing identity provider through a login and consent app, giving you absolute control over the user interface and experience. What is Ory Hydra? Why Ory Hydra OAuth2 and OpenID Connect: Open Standards OpenID Connect Certified Deployment options Use Ory Hydra on the Ory Network Self host Ory Hydra Quickstart Who is using Ory Hydra Ecosystem Ory Kratos: Identity and User…
read the full hydra overview →
About polis
Ory polis Open source Enterprise SSO and Directory Sync Chat Discussions Newsletter Guide API Docs Support this project! Work in Open Source, Ory is hiring! Ory Polis formerly known as BoxyHQ Jackson bridges or proxies a SAML login flow to OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect, abstracting away all the complexities of the SAML protocol. It also supports Directory Sync via the SCIM 2.0 protocol for automatic user and group provisioning/de provisioning. Ory Polis also supports OpenID Connect providers. Ory Polis on the Ory Network The Ory Network is the fastest, most secure and worry free way to use Ory's Services. SAML &…
read the full polis overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is hydra or polis more popular?
hydra has 17,652 GitHub stars and polis has 2,272. hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are hydra and polis free?
Both are open source. hydra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and polis under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between hydra and polis?
hydra is written in Go and polis 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 polis?
Choose hydra if you want the larger community (17,652 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose polis if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.