Tinyauth vs Authentik
Both are open source and both are free to self-host, so this is not a price fight. Authentik is a full identity provider with SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS and enrolment flows, and it wants at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM. Tinyauth is a single Go binary that puts a login page in front of the apps you already run, on a $3/mo pod.
Tinyauth vs Authentik: The Verdict
Pick by how much identity you actually need. Authentik is the better product in the sense that it does far more: OIDC and SAML providers, LDAP and SCIM, RADIUS and Kerberos, MFA, enrolment and recovery flows, and it is OpenID certified. If you are the identity layer for a company, run Authentik and do not look back. But it is a Python application with a worker, PostgreSQL and Redis behind it, its own docs put the floor at 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM, and the flow-based configuration model takes real time to learn. Tinyauth answers a much narrower question: how do I stop the open internet from reaching this dashboard. It is a single binary with forward-auth for your reverse proxy, a login page, OAuth and OIDC sign-in against providers you already use, and per-app access rules. It runs in 512 MB. If your requirement is a password prompt in front of half a dozen self-hosted tools, Authentik is a data centre where you needed a front door.
Last updated: 2026-08-06Quick Comparison
| Feature | Authentik | Tinyauth |
|---|---|---|
| Price of the software | Free. Open Source tier is fully featured | Free, open source (GPL-3.0) |
| Paid tier | Enterprise $5 per user per month billed annually, plus $0.02 per external user | None. There is no paid tier |
| Minimum resources | 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM, per the official docs | Runs comfortably in 512 MB on a $3/mo pod |
| What runs | Server, worker, PostgreSQL and Redis | One Go binary plus a SQLite session store |
| Cost to run on InstaPods | $7/mo Build plan or higher, installed by hand | $3/mo Launch plan, one-click |
| Forward auth for a reverse proxy | Yes, via the proxy provider | Yes, this is the primary use case |
| OIDC and OAuth sign-in | Yes, as a full provider | Yes, as a client against Google, GitHub and generic OIDC |
| Acts as an identity provider for other apps | Yes. OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos | No. It gates access, it does not issue identities |
| MFA and enrolment flows | Yes, configurable flow engine | Basic. Password plus your OAuth provider MFA |
| User directory | Full directory with groups and policies | Users defined in environment configuration |
| Time to a working login page | Hours, once you understand flows and providers | One click, credentials generated per pod |
| Support | Community Discord free, ticket support on subscriptions over $1k | Community |
| License | Open source core, proprietary Enterprise features | GPL-3.0, ~3,800 GitHub stars |
Where Authentik Is More Than You Need
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
The Resource Floor Is Real
The authentik docs ask for a host with at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM, and that is before the apps you are actually protecting. On InstaPods that means the $7/mo Build plan as a starting point, purely for the auth layer.
Four Moving Parts, Not One
A production authentik is a server, a worker, PostgreSQL and Redis. Every one of those is another thing to upgrade, back up and debug at 2am when nobody can log in to anything.
Flows Are Powerful and Not Quick
Authentik models authentication as configurable flows and stages. That is exactly what you want when you need conditional MFA and custom enrolment, and it is a lot of concepts to learn when you only wanted a password prompt.
The Enterprise Tier Is Per User
The open source tier is genuinely complete, but the features some teams end up wanting - Google Workspace and Entra ID sync, mTLS, enhanced audit logging - are Enterprise at $5 per user per month billed annually plus $0.02 per external user, and Enterprise Plus starts at $20,000 a year.
Why Tinyauth Instead
What you get when you pick this stack.
One Binary, 512 MB, Done
Tinyauth is a compiled Go service listening on port 3000 with nginx in front of it, and a small SQLite database for sessions. There is no Postgres, no Redis and no worker, which is why it fits the $3/mo Launch plan (1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB storage).
Credentials Generated Per Pod
On first boot the image generates an admin user for your pod, stores the bcrypt hash in the Tinyauth configuration and writes the plaintext credentials to a root-only file on the pod. No shared default password, and nothing for you to hash by hand.
Forward Auth Is the Whole Point
Put Tinyauth in front of any app behind your reverse proxy and unauthenticated requests get bounced to a login page instead of your dashboard. Per-app access rules mean the same instance can gate several tools with different allowed users.
Sign In With Accounts You Already Have
As well as its own users, Tinyauth authenticates against Google, GitHub and generic OIDC providers, so your team can use accounts that already have MFA on them without you running an identity provider to get it.
Real Cost Comparison
Putting a login page in front of six self-hosted tools for a small team.
- Authentik Open Source: free
- A pod that meets the 2 core, 2 GB minimum: $7/mo Build plan
- Server, worker, PostgreSQL and Redis to maintain
- Enterprise features, if you need them: $5 per user per month billed annually
- Tinyauth: free and open source (GPL-3.0)
- InstaPods Launch plan: $3/mo
- One binary, one SQLite file, nothing external
- No paid tier exists
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tinyauth an Authentik replacement?
Only for the forward-auth use case. If what you need is a login page in front of your self-hosted apps, with a few users and optional Google or GitHub sign-in, Tinyauth does that and nothing else, which is why it is one binary. Authentik is a full identity provider: it issues identities to other applications over OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM and RADIUS. If any application needs to authenticate against you rather than just be protected by you, Tinyauth is the wrong tool.
What about Authelia? Most people compare those two.
Authelia sits between the two on both features and effort. It does forward auth like Tinyauth but adds a proper policy engine, several MFA methods and an LDAP backend, configured through a YAML file that is not short. Tinyauth is the answer when Authelia configuration feels heavier than the problem, and Authentik is the answer when Authelia is not enough. The three are best read as a ladder, not as rivals.
What resources does Authentik actually need?
The official docker-compose install documentation asks for a host with at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM, and a production deployment runs the server, a worker, PostgreSQL and Redis. That is the floor for the identity layer alone, so on InstaPods you would be starting at the $7/mo Build plan and installing it yourself rather than using a one-click app.
How much does Authentik cost?
The Open Source tier is free and genuinely capable: OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos and the proxy provider, with community Discord support and no vendor support. Enterprise is $5 per user per month billed annually plus $0.02 per external user per month, and adds Google Workspace and Entra ID sync, mTLS, enhanced audit logging and ticket-based support on subscriptions over $1,000. Enterprise Plus starts at $20,000 annually. Prices checked on goauthentik.io on 6 August 2026.
How do I log in the first time?
The InstaPods image generates an admin user when the pod first boots. The bcrypt hash goes into the Tinyauth environment configuration and the plaintext credentials are written to a root-only file on the pod, so you read them over SSH or the web terminal and sign in. There is no shared default password and no app secret to invent, which is one fewer thing to get wrong on an internet-facing login page.
Can one Tinyauth pod protect apps on other pods?
Yes. Tinyauth works as a forward-auth endpoint for your reverse proxy, so any app routed through that proxy can be gated by the same instance, with per-app rules deciding who is allowed where. Sessions are kept in a small SQLite database on the Tinyauth pod, which is also what makes it cheap to run.
Put a login page in front of everything for $3/mo
Instant launch with per-pod admin credentials, forward auth and HTTPS already configured. One binary, no database to run.
Deploy Tinyauth