Casbin is an authorization library. WardenAuth is an authorization platform.
Casbin is the most popular open-source authorization library — available in Go, Java, Node.js, Python, Rust, and 10+ other languages. It handles policy evaluation efficiently with multiple model support. But it's a library embedded in your application — no centralized management, no audit trail, no multi-tenancy, no API key infrastructure. WardenAuth gives you the full platform: a centralized PDP, visual dashboard, audit logs, and API keys — all accessed via a REST API from any language.
Overview
Casbin is battle-tested and widely adopted across the open-source community. It supports ACL, RBAC, and ABAC models through a configurable model/policy file pattern, making it flexible across many use cases.
But as a library, Casbin's scope ends at policy evaluation. Everything else — role management UI, audit logging, multi-tenancy, API key management, webhooks, approval workflows — must be built from scratch. Casbin evaluates policies; WardenAuth manages the entire authorization lifecycle.
Casbin — Strengths
- Available in 15+ languages — Go, Java, Node.js, Python, Rust, .NET, PHP, etc.
- Lightweight — no external service dependencies
- Supports multiple models: ACL, RBAC, ABAC, RESTful
- Configurable via model/policy files — flexible and transparent
- Large community and extensive documentation
- Fast in-process evaluation — no network latency
Casbin — Limitations
- No centralized management — policies live in files per service
- No built-in audit trail or decision logging
- No multi-tenancy primitives — must build tenant isolation yourself
- No API key management
- No visual dashboard or UI for non-engineers
- Policy changes require code deploys or file updates
- In-process evaluation means no shared state across services
- No webhooks, SoD constraints, or approval workflows
Pricing comparison
| Scenario | Casbin | WardenAuth |
|---|---|---|
| Library cost | Free (Apache 2.0) | Free (50K checks, unlimited tenants) |
| Platform features | Must build: UI, audit, multi-tenancy, API keys | Included at every tier |
| 1M checks/month | Free (in-process, no infra cost) | $79/mo (Starter) |
| 10M checks/month | Free (in-process) | $249/mo (Growth) |
| Management dashboard | Weeks to build | Included |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Casbin | WardenAuth |
|---|---|---|
| RBAC | ||
| ABAC | ||
| ReBAC / relationships | ||
| Centralized policy management | ||
| Management dashboard/UI | ||
| Audit trail | ||
| API key management | ||
| Multi-tenant scopes | ||
| Deny-wins semantics | ||
| SoD / Approval workflows | ||
| Webhooks | ||
| SSO / SCIM | Included (Business+) | |
| In-process evaluation (zero network) | ||
| Cross-service consistency | ||
| 15+ language SDKs | TypeScript, Go, Python, REST |
Which fits your use case
Choose Casbin if your authorization needs are simple and well-understood, you want to embed authorization directly in your application process, you need zero external dependencies, or you value the flexibility of a library over the convenience of a platform.
Choose WardenAuth if you need a complete authorization platform — centralized policy management, audit trails, multi-tenancy, API key management, and a visual dashboard. Especially if you have multiple services that need consistent authorization decisions, or if you're building a B2B SaaS product that needs per-customer RBAC.
Casbin is an excellent library for embedding authorization logic directly into a single application. But if you have multiple services, need centralized policy management, or are building a B2B SaaS product that requires audit trails, multi-tenancy, and a management dashboard — a library alone isn't enough. WardenAuth provides the platform layer that Casbin intentionally leaves out, and the REST API means any language can use it.
See for yourself — no credit card required.