Okta is a powerful identity and access management platform widely used for securing applications and managing user authentication. However, for teams seeking open source alternatives that offer flexibility, scalability, and full control over their identity systems, several modern options exist. These solutions aim to empower developers with robust, customizable, and cloud-native identity management tools that can scale with your needs.
Ory
Ory Kratos is one such standout alternative. It addresses the common frustrations of building identity systems by offering a headless, API-first user management system built in Go for cloud-native environments. Unlike many traditional platforms, Kratos supports a wide range of authentication flows, from simple username and password logins to passwordless options like magic links and passkeys. It also includes strong security features such as multi-factor authentication with TOTP, as well as account verification and recovery mechanisms.
Kratos stands out for its minimal design, lightweight binaries, and zero runtime dependencies, making it highly portable and compatible with various operating systems and cloud platforms like Kubernetes or OpenShift. Designed specifically for developers, it emphasizes low operational overhead and automatic scaling while supporting important protocols like OIDC and SAML. The project is backed by a large open source community and proven at scale, handling billions of API requests daily.
In essence, Ory Kratos removes the burden of building and maintaining complex identity workflows, freeing your team to focus on creating great products. It offers a modern, secure, and extensible foundation that fits seamlessly into diverse technology stacks without sacrificing control or flexibility.