Casdoor vs CrowdSec

Casdoor and CrowdSec are both free-to-start, open-source security tools, but they protect different things: Casdoor is an identity and access management (IAM)…

Best for Casdoor: Organizations building or consolidating authentication across multiple protocols (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, CAS, LDAP, WebAuthn) that want a self-hostable, open-source IAM platform with a native MCP server for tools like Claude Desktop and Cursor to manage identity via natural language.
Best for CrowdSec: Teams wanting to block malicious IPs and mass exploitation attempts using crowd-sourced threat data, starting with a free Community Plan and scaling to premium blocklists (from $1,900/month) or an IP Reputation API (from $49/month).

At a Glance

 CasdoorCrowdSec
Primary categorySecuritySecurity
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFree/Open-source (self-hosted)Freemium
Starting priceFreeFree
Free planNot documentedYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesNot documented
Public APIYesYes

Key Differences

Security Function

Casdoor: Casdoor is an identity and access management platform: it authenticates and authorizes users and AI agents across OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, CAS, LDAP, WebAuthn, and MFA.

CrowdSec: CrowdSec is a threat intelligence and IP-blocking platform: it detects malicious behavior and blocks attacking IPs using data shared across a network of 70,000+ users in 190+ countries.

IAM and threat intelligence are distinct security disciplines — one governs legitimate access, the other blocks illegitimate access attempts.

AI Agent Integration

Casdoor: Casdoor includes a built-in MCP server that lets AI agents like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VS Code Copilot manage Casdoor itself through natural language, plus OAuth 2.1 with Dynamic Client Registration for per-tool agent permissions.

CrowdSec: CrowdSec's AI-agent-specific integration is not documented; its focus is behavioral threat detection and blocklists rather than AI agent management.

As AI coding assistants become part of infrastructure management, native MCP support determines whether an AI agent can safely administer the tool itself.

Pricing Model

Casdoor: Casdoor has no published pricing for any managed or commercial offering; it is free and open source to self-host, with no listed license cost.

CrowdSec: CrowdSec has a free Community Plan plus multiple named paid tiers: IP Reputation API from $49/month, and Platinum Blocklists from $1,900/month, with Console Premium priced on inquiry.

CrowdSec's tiered, named pricing lets a team pay only for the specific threat-intelligence depth it needs, while Casdoor's model is entirely self-hosted with no commercial tier to compare against.

Network Effect / Data Scale

Casdoor: Casdoor's value comes from protocol breadth and 100+ built-in identity provider connectors (Google, GitHub, WeChat), not from a shared data network.

CrowdSec: CrowdSec's core value is its crowd-sourced network: roughly 15 million daily signals aggregated with about 50% daily IP rotation across 70,000+ active users.

CrowdSec's effectiveness scales with the size of its user network sharing threat data, which is a structurally different value driver than Casdoor's protocol/connector coverage.

Notable Users

Casdoor: Casdoor lists notable users including Intel, VMware Harbor, Docker, Cisco, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Tencent.

CrowdSec: CrowdSec does not list specific named enterprise customers in its documented materials, instead citing its 70,000+ user network and a claimed up to 95% reduction in mass exploitation attempts reaching protected systems.

Named enterprise adopters can serve as a credibility signal during vendor evaluation, though both tools' open-source nature means broad usage isn't always centrally tracked.

Feature-by-Feature

Identity & Access (Casdoor)

FeatureCasdoorCrowdSec
OAuth 2.0 / OIDC / SAML / LDAP supportAvailableUnavailable
MFA and WebAuthnAvailableUnavailable
100+ identity provider connectorsAvailableUnavailable
Built-in SaaS billing/subscription managementAvailableUnavailable

Threat Intelligence (CrowdSec)

FeatureCasdoorCrowdSec
Crowd-sourced IP reputation/blocklistUnavailableAvailable
Behavioral attack detectionUnavailableAvailable
Firewall/CDN plug-and-play integrationNot documentedAvailable
IP Reputation API for on-demand lookupsUnavailableAvailable

AI, Openness & Pricing

FeatureCasdoorCrowdSec
Native MCP server for AI agent managementAvailableNot documented
Open sourceAvailableAvailable
Free tier / self-hosting at no license costAvailableAvailable
Published paid tiersUnavailableAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Casdoor

No individual plan breakdown documented yet.

CrowdSec

Community — Free N/A
Console Premium — Pay-as-you-grow (per enrolled Security Engine) monthly
CTI / IP Reputation — From $49/month (5,000 queries) monthly
Platinum Blocklists — From $1,900/month (SMB) monthly

Pros & Cons

Casdoor

Pros

  • Broad protocol support (OAuth, OIDC, SAML, CAS, LDAP) in a single self-hosted deployment
  • Tight, native integration with Casbin for fine-grained authorization
  • Actively developed, including newer AI-agent authentication support via MCP/OAuth 2.1
  • Free and open source under Apache 2.0
  • UI-first design makes administration more approachable than many developer-only IAM tools

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires the team to own its own operations and security
  • Smaller ecosystem and community than commercial IAM vendors like Okta or Auth0
  • No official vendor support contract or SLA
  • Documentation and tooling are geared more toward developers than non-technical admins

CrowdSec

Pros

  • Core Security Engine is free, open source, and self-hostable
  • Blocklists improve automatically as more community members detect new attacks
  • Modular bouncers integrate with common firewalls, web servers, and WordPress
  • Transparent, pay-as-you-grow pricing for premium and enterprise tiers

Cons

  • Full value depends on network effects, so blocklist quality varies by threat category
  • Enterprise-grade blocklists and local CTI replication carry four-figure monthly costs
  • Requires log access and some server-side configuration to deploy effectively
  • Smaller company than large incumbent threat-intel vendors, with a narrower support footprint

Use Cases

Choose Casdoor: Organizations building or consolidating authentication across multiple protocols (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, CAS, LDAP, WebAuthn) that want a self-hostable, open-source IAM platform with a native MCP server for tools like Claude Desktop and Cursor to manage identity via natural language.
Choose CrowdSec: Teams wanting to block malicious IPs and mass exploitation attempts using crowd-sourced threat data, starting with a free Community Plan and scaling to premium blocklists (from $1,900/month) or an IP Reputation API (from $49/month).
Need both: A self-hosted infrastructure stack would commonly run both together: Casdoor handling authentication and access for legitimate users, while CrowdSec runs alongside it detecting and blocking malicious traffic and exploitation attempts at the network/firewall level — they protect the front door and the perimeter respectively.

Casdoor

  • Self-hosted SSO for applications — Replacing paid identity providers like Okta or Auth0 with a self-hosted OAuth/OIDC/SAML server.
  • Fine-grained access control on top of authentication — Combining Casdoor's authentication layer with Casbin's RBAC/ABAC authorization engine for detailed permission management.
  • AI agent authentication — Authenticating AI agents and tools via MCP and OAuth 2.1 rather than only human users.

CrowdSec

  • Self-managed server protection — DevOps teams deploy the free Security Engine on their servers to automatically block brute-force logins, scanners, and bots using community threat data.
  • Managed hosting and MSP security — Service providers roll out CrowdSec across client infrastructure and use the Console to centrally monitor and manage remediation at scale.
  • IP reputation enrichment — Security teams integrate the CTI API into their own SIEM or fraud tooling to enrich alerts with real-time IP reputation and MITRE technique data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Casdoor and CrowdSec protect against the same threats?

No. Casdoor is an identity and access management platform that authenticates and authorizes users and AI agents. CrowdSec is a threat intelligence platform that detects and blocks malicious IPs. They address different parts of a security stack.

Is Casdoor free?

Yes, Casdoor is open source and free to self-host, with no published pricing for any managed or commercial offering.

Is CrowdSec free?

The Community Plan is free and includes behavioral detection and automated response via the open-source Security Engine. Paid tiers include the IP Reputation API (from $49/month) and Platinum Blocklists (from $1,900/month).

Does Casdoor support AI agent management?

Yes, Casdoor includes a built-in MCP server that lets AI agents like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VS Code Copilot manage Casdoor through natural language, plus OAuth 2.1 with Dynamic Client Registration for per-tool agent permissions.

How large is CrowdSec's threat data network?

More than 70,000 active users across 190+ countries share roughly 15 million signals daily, with about 50% daily IP rotation.

Would an organization use both Casdoor and CrowdSec?

Yes, this is a plausible combination since they protect different layers: Casdoor manages authentication and access for legitimate users, while CrowdSec runs at the network/firewall level to detect and block malicious traffic.

Read the full Casdoor review · Read the full CrowdSec review