head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs Ory
Sa-Token has 19,051 GitHub stars, 2,914 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Ory has 13,883 stars, 1,186 forks, 224 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 37% (19,051 vs 13,883 stars). Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Ory is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Sa-Token has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Ory 9%. Sa-Token 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
| Sa-Token | Ory | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-07-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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 Ory if
- You want the Ory feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Ory 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 Ory
Ory Kratos is headless cloud native authentication and identity management system written in Go. It sits inside Ory stack and Security & Privacy / Identity & Access Management category. It exposes identity work over HTTP APIs. Services consume login, registration, recovery, verification, profile management instead of reimplementing them.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or Ory more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,051 GitHub stars and Ory has 13,883. Sa-Token has the larger community by that measure.
Are Sa-Token and Ory free?
Both are open source. Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Sa-Token and Ory?
Sa-Token is written in Java and Ory in Go. 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 Ory?
Choose Sa-Token if you want the larger community (19,051 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Ory if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.