1 Best Open Source Okta Alternatives

Okta is a cloud-based identity provider that handles single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and user lifecycle management across an organization's applications. IT teams use it to centralize login for employees, enforce security policies, and connect dozens of SaaS tools to one authentication source instead of managing separate credentials everywhere.

Interest in self-hosted alternatives usually comes from cost and control over authentication infrastructure. Okta pricing is per user and per feature tier, and it climbs noticeably once an organization needs advanced features like adaptive MFA or lifecycle automation. Because Okta sits at the center of every login, some organizations, particularly those in regulated industries, prefer keeping identity data and authentication logic on infrastructure they fully control rather than routing every login through a third party.

Authelia is the most commonly cited open-source option in this category. It provides single sign-on and multi-factor authentication that sits in front of applications via a reverse proxy, integrating with existing user directories like LDAP. It's self-hosted, has no per-user licensing cost, and gives full visibility into how authentication decisions are made, which matters for security audits.

The tradeoff is scope: Authelia is closer to a self-hosted SSO and MFA layer than a full identity platform with the breadth of pre-built application integrations, provisioning workflows, and compliance certifications Okta offers out of the box. Before switching, check how many of your applications support the authentication protocols the alternative offers, typically OpenID Connect and SAML, and whether your team can take on running and securing identity infrastructure directly, since a misconfigured authentication layer is a serious risk. Also weigh whether you need Okta's compliance certifications for contractual or regulatory reasons before removing it from your stack.