Authelia vs SOPS
| Tagline | Self-hosted authentication server with TOTP, WebAuthn, and SSO | Encrypt files in Git with KMS/age/PGP — secrets management without a server |
| Category | Password Managers & Secrets | Password Managers & Secrets |
| Replaces | 1Password, HashiCorp Vault | HashiCorp Vault |
| GitHub stars | 23k | 22k |
| Language | Go | Go |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 1/5 Effortless |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Kubernetes Manual | Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 1 month ago | 5 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Authelia
- Not a password vault; does not store or generate passwords for websites
- Requires a reverse proxy to function; no standalone mode
- LDAP/AD integration configuration is complex for non-enterprise users
SOPS
- Not a centralized secrets server: no dynamic secrets, leasing, revocation, or audit log like Vault
- Requires an external key provider (KMS/age/PGP) and disciplined key management
- No UI, access policies, or web dashboard
- Suited to config-file secrets in Git, not runtime secret brokering
Bottom line
Choose SOPS if you want the lower-effort setup; choose Authelia for the larger community and ecosystem. SOPS has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.