head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs vouch-proxy
Sa-Token has 19,056 GitHub stars, 2,914 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vouch-proxy has 3,282 stars, 337 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 481% (19,056 vs 3,282 stars). Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0; vouch-proxy is written in Go under MIT. Sa-Token has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, vouch-proxy 10%. Sa-Token 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 | vouch-proxy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-07-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 337 |
| 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 vouch-proxy if
- You want the vouch-proxy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and vouch-proxy 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 vouch-proxy
Vouch Proxy is a Go based single sign on gateway that protects websites behind Nginx by validating OAuth and OpenID Connect logins through Nginx's auth request module, and it is built for operators who already run Nginx and want one login layer in front of everything they host.
read the full vouch-proxy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or vouch-proxy more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,056 GitHub stars and vouch-proxy has 3,282. Sa-Token has the larger community by that measure.
Are Sa-Token and vouch-proxy free?
Both are open source. Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0 and vouch-proxy under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Sa-Token and vouch-proxy?
Sa-Token is written in Java and vouch-proxy 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 vouch-proxy?
Choose Sa-Token if you want the larger community (19,056 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose vouch-proxy if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.