head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs jans
Sa-Token has 19,069 GitHub stars, 2,911 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. jans has 652 stars, 176 forks, 489 open issues and last shipped today. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 2,825% (19,069 vs 652 stars). Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0; jans is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Sa-Token has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, jans 27%. jans was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (sso), 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
| Sa-Token | jans | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 652 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-27 | 2026-10-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 176 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Sa-Token if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick jans if
- You want the jans feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and jans fits your workflow better
About Sa-Token
Sa Token is a free, open source, one stop Java authentication and authorization framework, licensed under Apache 2.0, that gives Java and Spring Boot developers login authentication, permission checks, distributed sessions, single sign on, OAuth2.0, gateway authentication, JWT integration, API key authorization and API parameter signing from a single dependency.
read the full Sa-Token overview →
About jans
Janssen is a Linux Foundation open source identity and access management project for teams that need to run OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect single sign on, low code authentication flows, and policy based authorization on infrastructure they control.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or jans more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,069 GitHub stars and jans has 652. Sa-Token has the larger community by that measure.
Are Sa-Token and jans free?
Both are open source. Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0 and jans under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Sa-Token and jans?
Sa-Token is written in Java and jans in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Sa-Token or jans?
Choose Sa-Token if you want the larger community (19,069 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose jans if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.