head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs Zitadel
Sa-Token has 19,107 GitHub stars, 2,913 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. Zitadel has 15,507 stars, 1,416 forks, 1,171 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 23% (19,107 vs 15,507 stars). Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Zitadel is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Sa-Token has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Zitadel 9%. Zitadel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (authorization), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Sa-Token | Zitadel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-16 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 Zitadel if
- You want the Zitadel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Zitadel fits your workflow better
About Sa-Token
简体中文 繁體中文 English 日本語 한국어 Русский Sa Token v1.46.0 ✨ 开源、免费、一站式 java 权限认证框架，让鉴权变得简单、优雅！ 在线文档： 需求提交 📝 前言： 回望 2020 年初，我为 Sa Token 提交第一行代码之际， 彼时市面上 Java 缺少的不仅是一个简洁好用的鉴权框架，更是一整套清晰、自洽的权限架构设计思想 。 因此，这几年间我将大量时间倾注在 Sa Token 的文档编写，几乎每一章节、每一句话、每一个字都经过反复修改、精细打磨，以求做到最清晰、干练、易懂的表述。 用心阅读文档，你学习到的将不止是 Sa Token 框架本身，更是绝大多数场景下权限认证设计的最佳实践 。 🛠️ Sa Token 介绍 Sa Token 是一个轻量级 Java 权限认证框架，目前拥有五大核心模块：登录认证、权限认证、单点登录、OAuth2.0、微服务鉴权。 你还在手搓以下功能？ Stop，让 Sa Token 来！ 要在 SpringBoot 项目中使用 Sa Token，你只需要在 pom.xml 中引入依赖： 除了支持 SpringBoot2、Sa Token 还为 SpringBoot3/4、Solon、JFinal 等常见 Web 框架提供集成包，做到真正的开箱即用。 简单示例展示： （点击展开 / 折叠） Sa Token…
read the full Sa-Token overview →
About Zitadel
The Identity Infrastructure for Developers ZITADEL is an open source identity and access management platform built for teams that need more than basic auth. Whether you're securing a SaaS product, building a B2B platform, or self hosting a production IAM stack — ZITADEL gives you everything out of the box: SSO, MFA, Passkeys, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, and a battle tested multi tenancy model. No vendor lock in. No compromise on control. Just a robust, API first identity platform you can own. 🏡 Website 💬 Chat 📋 Docs 🧑💻 Blog 📞 Contact Why ZITADEL We built ZITADEL to handle the hardest IAM challenges at scale —…
read the full Zitadel overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Identity & Access Management (IAM) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Identity & Access Management (IAM) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or Zitadel more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,107 GitHub stars and Zitadel has 15,507. Sa-Token has the larger community by that measure.
Are Sa-Token and Zitadel free?
Both are open source. Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zitadel under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Sa-Token and Zitadel?
Sa-Token is written in Java and Zitadel 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 Zitadel?
Choose Sa-Token if you want the larger community (19,107 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Zitadel if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.