The Problem: Too Many Apps, Too Many Logins
If you manage more than two or three self-hosted applications — a wiki, a project management board, a file sync server, a monitoring dashboard — you’ve felt the pain. Every app has its own login screen, its own password policy, its own session timeout. Your team ends up with a dozen browser tabs, each requiring a separate authentication dance.
Single Sign-On (SSO) solves this. Log in once, and your identity follows you across all your self-hosted services. But choosing the right SSO provider for your small-to-medium team raises its own question: do you reach for the heavy-duty enterprise platform, or the lightweight, focused alternative?
We tested both leading options in the self-hosted SSO space so you don’t have to debate it. This is Authelia vs Authentik — two open-source identity and access management (IAM) servers with very different philosophies.
Quick Answer / TL;DR
If you have limited server resources (under 2 GB RAM), protect fewer than 10 apps, and are comfortable editing a YAML configuration file, choose Authelia. It’s a single 26 MB Go binary that sips 50-100 MB of RAM and handles OIDC/OAuth2 authentication flawlessly behind your reverse proxy.
If you need SAML support for enterprise apps, prefer configuring through a web interface, want 350+ pre-built application templates, or have enough server resources for the heavier stack, choose Authentik. It’s a full-featured identity provider with a visual flow builder and outpost architecture, but it needs 2+ GB RAM and an 800 MB+ Docker image.
Candidates Overview
Authelia
Authelia is an open-source authentication and authorization server written in Go. It acts as a gatekeeper behind your reverse proxy — Caddy, NGINX, Traefik, or HAProxy — handling login, multi-factor authentication, and access control before traffic reaches your applications. First released in 2016 and licensed under Apache 2.0, Authelia is OpenID Certified, meaning it has passed formal conformance testing for the OpenID Connect protocol.
Key strengths: Extremely lightweight (~50 MB RAM, 26 MB Docker image), simple YAML-based configuration, strong OpenID Connect certification, runs on a $6/mo VPS comfortably, static binary deployment option (no Docker required).
Key limitations: No SAML support, no built-in user management web UI, no 350+ app library, requires manual reverse proxy configuration, LDAP is authentication-backend only (no LDAP outpost/sync).
Best for: Teams of 3-20 users running 3-10 web apps on modest hardware who want SSO without the overhead of a full IdP stack.
Authentik
Authentik is a versatile identity provider built in Python (Django) that covers the full spectrum of identity needs — SSO, multi-factor authentication, SAML, LDAP outpost, and a visual flow/stage builder for policy-based authentication. Released in 2020 and licensed under AGPL-3.0, Authentik has grown rapidly and now offers over 350 pre-built application integrations covering everything from Nextcloud to GitLab.
Key strengths: Full SAML IdP and SP support, 350+ pre-built app integrations, web-based configuration UI with visual flow builder, LDAP outpost for legacy app compatibility, built-in backup and restore tools.
Key limitations: Resource-heavy (1-2 GB RAM minimum, 800 MB+ Docker image), PostgreSQL-only database backend (no SQLite), Docker/Kubernetes-only deployment (no binary), steeper initial setup complexity for simple use cases, breaking changes between versions require careful upgrades.
Best for: Teams of 10-100 users running diverse app stacks who need SAML, pre-built templates, and prefer a web GUI over YAML configuration files.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Authelia | Authentik |
|---|---|---|
| OpenID Connect / OAuth 2.0 | ? OpenID Certified | ? Supported (not certified) |
| SAML IdP / SP | ? Not supported | ? Full support |
| Multi-Factor Authentication | ? TOTP, WebAuthn, Passkeys, Duo | ? TOTP, WebAuthn, Passkeys, Duo |
| User Management UI | ? YAML or LDAP only | ? Web-based admin interface |
| Pre-built App Integrations | ? Generic proxy forward-auth | ? 350+ application templates |
| LDAP Integration | ? LDAP authentication backend | ? LDAP backend + LDAP outpost |
| Configuration Method | YAML configuration file | Web UI with flow/stage builder |
| Passwordless (Passkeys) | ? Supported | ? Supported |
| Rate Limiting / Regulation | ? Built-in (account-based) | ? Relies on external tools |
| Deployment Options | Docker, static binary, Helm | Docker, Docker Compose, Helm |
| Database Backends | SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL | PostgreSQL only |
| Session Storage | Redis, in-memory (dev only) | Redis |
| Docker Image Size | ~26 MB (Go binary) | ~800 MB (Python/Django) |
| Runtime Memory | ~50-100 MB | ~1-2 GB |
| License | Apache 2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Project Age | Since 2016 (9+ years) | Since 2020 (6 years) |
| GitHub Stars | ~27.6K | ~27.5K |
Decision Guide: Which One Is Right for You?
| Your Scenario | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You have a modest VPS (1-2 GB RAM, multiple apps) | Authelia | Runs on a $6/mo VPS alongside 3-5 apps. Authentik alone would consume more than half your available RAM. |
| You need SAML for enterprise apps (Office 365, Salesforce) | Authentik | Authelia has no SAML support. Authentik provides full SAML IdP and SP capabilities. |
| You prefer YAML config files over web UIs | Authelia | Authelia’s YAML-driven configuration is clean, version-controllable, and auditable. No web GUI needed. |
| You prefer a graphical interface for configuration | Authentik | Authentik’s flow/stage builder lets you design authentication policies visually without editing config files. |
| You protect 3-10 apps and don’t want to configure each integration manually | Authentik | 350+ pre-built templates mean most apps connect with a few clicks. Authelia requires manual proxy config per app. |
| You want SSO without Docker (single binary deployment) | Authelia | Authelia ships as a static Go binary. Authentik is Docker/Kubernetes-only. |
| You have legacy apps that need LDAP authentication | Authentik | Authentik’s LDAP outpost lets legacy apps authenticate via LDAP while modern apps use OIDC/SAML. |
| You manage 20+ users with complex group/role hierarchies | Authentik | Authentik’s web UI and API make bulk user management practical. Authelia’s YAML files become unwieldy at scale. |
| You want minimal attack surface and fewer moving parts | Authelia | Single Go binary, no Python/Django runtime, no sidecar outposts. Fewer components = fewer vulnerabilities. |
| You need built-in rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks | Authelia | Authelia has built-in account-based regulation. Authentik recommends pairing with CrowdSec or Fail2ban. |
Hosting Requirements
| Requirement | Authelia (Lite Setup) | Authelia (Production) | Authentik (Minimal) | Authentik (Production) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 1 core | 2 cores | 2 cores | 4 cores |
| RAM | 512 MB (shared with apps) | 1 GB (dedicated) | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Storage | 10 GB SSD | 20 GB SSD | 20 GB SSD | 40 GB SSD |
| Database | SQLite (built-in) | PostgreSQL or MySQL | PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL (clustered) |
| Session Store | In-memory (dev) or Redis | Redis | Redis | Redis (clustered) |
| Reverse Proxy | Required (Caddy, NGINX, Traefik) | Required | Required (via outpost) | Required |
| SMTP | Recommended | Required | Required | Required |
| CWH Product | Cloud VPS (VPS1-VPS3) | Cloud VPS (VPS3-VPS4) | Cloud VPS (VPS3-VPS4) | Cloud VPS (VPS4-VPS5) or Enterprise Cloud |
Authelia’s lite setup is so lightweight it can share a Cloud VPS VPS1 (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, $6.95/mo) with 2-3 other applications. Authentik’s minimal setup requires a VPS3 (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, $24.95/mo) at minimum — a significant difference in monthly cost.
Our Recommendation
We manage servers for hundreds of Canadian businesses, and we see both tools succeed in production — but for different audiences.
For most small teams and Canadian SMBs, we recommend Authelia. The reason is simple: it works brilliantly on the hardware most small teams already have. A $6.95/mo Cloud VPS from Canadian Web Hosting can run Authelia alongside a wiki, a file server, and a project management tool without breaking a sweat. The YAML-based configuration, while it requires reading a documentation page, produces a clean, version-controlled, auditable setup — exactly what you want for a security-critical service. And being a single Go binary, there’s no runtime to maintain, no Python dependency to keep patched.
That said, Authentik is the right choice when your needs outgrow Authelia’s scope. If you’re managing 20+ users, need SAML for a specific enterprise application, or want the convenience of 350+ pre-built integrations without configuring each reverse proxy rule manually, Authentik pays for its higher resource demands with dramatically faster onboarding. Run it on a CWH Cloud VPS VPS3 or higher — the extra RAM is worth it for the productivity gain.
Both tools support Canadian data sovereignty — all authentication data stays on your own server, in our Canadian data centres (Vancouver or Toronto), with zero external callbacks. No US CLOUD Act exposure, no per-user SaaS pricing, no data leaving the country.
Conclusion / Next Steps
Self-hosting your SSO is one of the highest-leverage security investments you can make. Whether you choose Authelia’s lightweight simplicity or Authentik’s feature-rich platform, you’re taking control of your team’s authentication — keeping login data in Canada and removing dependency on third-party identity providers.
If you already run a reverse proxy like Caddy on a hardened Cloud VPS, Authelia can be up and running in under an hour. If Authentik sounds like the better fit, check out our complete Authentik setup guide for a step-by-step deployment walkthrough.
Not sure which VPS plan you need? Canadian Web Hosting offers Canadian data centres, full root access, 24/7 support, and plans starting at $6.95/mo. Our team can help you pick the right configuration — and if you’d rather focus on your apps than on server setup, our Managed Support tier handles installation, configuration, and ongoing maintenance for you.
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