head to head · open source
SuperTokens vs oauth2-client
SuperTokens has 15,315 GitHub stars, 841 forks, 155 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. oauth2-client has 3,819 stars, 770 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. SuperTokens leads on adoption by 301% (15,315 vs 3,819 stars). SuperTokens is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence; oauth2-client is written in PHP under MIT. SuperTokens has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, oauth2-client 20%. SuperTokens was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (authentication, oauth), 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
| SuperTokens | oauth2-client | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Java | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-21 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 841 | ⑂ 770 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SuperTokens if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick oauth2-client if
- You want the oauth2-client feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and oauth2-client fits your workflow better
About SuperTokens
SuperTokens is an open source authentication and session management platform for applications that need login, sign up, sign out, and user data control. It sits in the identity and access management ecosystem and is described as an alternative to Auth0, Firebase Auth, and AWS Cognito. It separates work into a frontend SDK, a backend SDK, and a Java based SuperTokens Core service that handles authentication logic and database operations.
read the full SuperTokens overview →
About oauth2-client
league/oauth2 client is an MIT licensed PHP library maintained by The PHP League that provides a reusable base for integrating applications with any OAuth 2.0 service provider, aimed at PHP developers who need to add "Connect with Facebook/Google" style login and token flows without implementing RFC 6749 from scratch.
read the full oauth2-client overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SuperTokens or oauth2-client more popular?
SuperTokens has 15,315 GitHub stars and oauth2-client has 3,819. SuperTokens has the larger community by that measure.
Are SuperTokens and oauth2-client free?
Both are open source. SuperTokens has no licence declared in this registry, and oauth2-client is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SuperTokens and oauth2-client?
SuperTokens is written in Java and oauth2-client in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, SuperTokens or oauth2-client?
Choose SuperTokens if you want the larger community (15,315 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose oauth2-client if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.