head to head · open source
Authentik vs tinyauth
Authentik has 25,676 GitHub stars, 2,034 forks, 1,074 open issues and last shipped today. tinyauth has 8,277 stars, 273 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped today. Authentik leads on adoption by 210% (25,676 vs 8,277 stars). Authentik is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; tinyauth is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Authentik has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, tinyauth 3%. Authentik was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (authentication, oidc), 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
| Authentik | tinyauth | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 8.3K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 273 |
| 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 tinyauth if
- You want the tinyauth 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 tinyauth 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 tinyauth
Tinyauth is a small Go authentication and authorization server that runs either as authentication middleware in front of self hosted applications or as a standalone authentication server, and it is aimed at self hosters and homelab operators who want OpenID Certified™ single sign on without deploying a large identity platform.
read the full tinyauth overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Authentik or tinyauth more popular?
Authentik has 25,676 GitHub stars and tinyauth has 8,277. Authentik has the larger community by that measure.
Are Authentik and tinyauth free?
Both are open source. Authentik has no licence declared in this registry, and tinyauth is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Authentik and tinyauth?
Authentik is written in Python and tinyauth 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, Authentik or tinyauth?
Choose Authentik if you want the larger community (25,676 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose tinyauth if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.