head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs Zitadel
Sa-Token has 19,051 GitHub stars, 2,914 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Zitadel has 15,060 stars, 1,317 forks, 1,171 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 27% (19,051 vs 15,060 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.
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Side by side
| Sa-Token | Zitadel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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
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 Zitadel
Zitadel is an open source identity and access management platform written in Go and released under the AGPL 3.0 license. It lives in the open source IAM ecosystem and provides identity infrastructure for developers who need to operate an authentication and authorization layer themselves.
read the full Zitadel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or Zitadel more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,051 GitHub stars and Zitadel has 15,060. 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 (19,051 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.