head to head · open source
Authentik vs pwd.sh
Authentik has 25,687 GitHub stars, 2,034 forks, 1,074 open issues and last shipped today. pwd.sh has 1,563 stars, 136 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Authentik leads on adoption by 1,543% (25,687 vs 1,563 stars). Authentik is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT. Authentik has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, pwd.sh 9%. Authentik was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | pwd.sh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 136 |
| 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 pwd.sh if
- You want the pwd.sh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and pwd.sh 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 pwd.sh
pwd.sh is a Bash script that manages text secrets such as passwords by storing each one in a GnuPG symmetric encrypted file, and it is for people who work in a terminal and prefer to keep their own encrypted store rather than hand it to a hosted password service.
read the full pwd.sh overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Authentik or pwd.sh more popular?
Authentik has 25,687 GitHub stars and pwd.sh has 1,563. Authentik has the larger community by that measure.
Are Authentik and pwd.sh free?
Both are open source. Authentik has no licence declared in this registry, and pwd.sh is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Authentik and pwd.sh?
Authentik is written in Python and pwd.sh in Shell. 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 pwd.sh?
Choose Authentik if you want the larger community (25,687 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose pwd.sh if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.