authentik vs Apereo CAS

authentik9.2Visit Apereo CAS9.0Visit

Higher score authentik #2 in OAuth Server Software 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit authentik

vs

Apereo CAS #4 in OAuth Server Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Apereo CAS

• authentik fits best

  Feature-rich open-source identity teams

• Apereo CAS fits best

  Auditable open-source SSO infrastructure

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Side by side

Feature	authentik 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Apereo CAS 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	9.0
Ranking	#2 in OAuth Server Software	#4 in OAuth Server Software
Best for	Feature-rich open-source identity teams	Auditable open-source SSO infrastructure
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$5/user/mo	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux
Integrations	11 integrations	13 integrations
Features authentik 0/5 · Apereo CAS 5/5
OpenID Connect	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
SAML support	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Self-hosting	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Token introspection	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Machine-to-machine auth	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Deployment model	Not checked yet	Self_hosted
Our review
Pros	Free open-source tier covers major identity and directory protocols MFA, adaptive policies, provisioning, and application proxying Enterprise adds PAM, audit logging, and scheduled offboarding	Supports CAS, SAML, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, REST, and WS-Federation Connects authentication to LDAP, databases, X.509, RADIUS, MongoDB, and more Includes token introspection, machine-to-machine auth, auditing, and monitoring
Cons	Deployment is self-hosted rather than hosted by the vendor Advanced enterprise capabilities require paid plans Enterprise Plus uses custom contracts and dedicated support	Self-hosted deployment requires internal infrastructure ownership Its broad configuration surface may require specialist identity expertise Best suited to organizations able to manage a Java-based identity server
Our verdict	authentik is a self-hosted identity provider and single sign-on platform for site administrators, application developers, and security engineers. Its free open-source edition supports OAuth2/OpenID Connect, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS,… Read the review →	Apereo CAS is an open-source Java server for authentication, authorization, identity management, and single sign-on. It is designed for organizations that need a self-managed identity provider, including enterprise and higher-education… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• authentik — where it wins

  • Free open-source tier covers major identity and directory protocols
  • MFA, adaptive policies, provisioning, and application proxying
  • Enterprise adds PAM, audit logging, and scheduled offboarding

  Where it doesn't

  • Deployment is self-hosted rather than hosted by the vendor
  • Advanced enterprise capabilities require paid plans
  • Enterprise Plus uses custom contracts and dedicated support

• Apereo CAS — where it wins

  • Supports CAS, SAML, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, REST, and WS-Federation
  • Connects authentication to LDAP, databases, X.509, RADIUS, MongoDB, and more
  • Includes token introspection, machine-to-machine auth, auditing, and monitoring

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires internal infrastructure ownership
  • Its broad configuration surface may require specialist identity expertise
  • Best suited to organizations able to manage a Java-based identity server

• authentik9.2/10 · Free plan

  A broad, self-hosted identity stack for teams that need open-source control.

  Visit authentikFull verdict →
• Apereo CAS9.0/10 · Free plan

  A broad, auditable SSO foundation for teams prepared to run identity infrastructure.

  Visit Apereo CASFull verdict →