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authentik vs Keycloak
Keycloak is also self-hosted open source but focuses more on enterprise IAM with built-in UI themes.
Which to pick
Pick authentik if you want…
- Self-hosted SSO and identity management
- Integrations with Kubernetes, Terraform or Docker Compose (on authentik's list, not Keycloak's)
Pick Keycloak if you want…
- Open-source SSO and auth management
- Enterprise IAM with UI customization
- A free, open-source tool
- Integrations with OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 or SAML 2.0 (on Keycloak's list, not authentik's)
Side by side
- What it is
- authentik:authentik is an open-source, self-hosted identity provider offering SSO, MFA and access management.
- Keycloak:Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management solution providing SSO, social login, and fine-grained authorization.
- Best for
- authentik:Self-hosted SSO and identity management
- Keycloak:Open-source SSO and auth management
- Who it’s for
- authentik:DevOps teams, security engineers and organizations needing self-hosted auth.
- Keycloak:Developers and ops teams needing centralized authentication for apps and services
- Pricing
- authentik:Freemium
- Keycloak:Open source
- Plans
- authentik:Open Source Free · Enterprise $5 / user / month per month (billed annually) · Enterprise Plus Starting at $20k annually per year
- Keycloak:—
- Open source
- authentik:Yes, 25,875 GitHub stars
- Keycloak:Yes, 37,083 GitHub stars
- Works with
- authentik:Kubernetes, Terraform, Docker Compose, OIDC, SAML, OAuth2, LDAP, SCIM
- Keycloak:OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, LDAP, Active Directory
authentik features
- Protocol Support. Provides OIDC, SAML, OAuth2, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos and more.
- Conditional Access & MFA. Enforces multi-factor authentication and policy-based access controls.
- Customizable Workflows. Templates, IaC (Terraform, Docker Compose) and APIs let you tailor authentication flows.
- Privileged Access Management. Enterprise tier adds PAM for non-human identities and agent accounts.
- Audit & Compliance. Audit logging, FIPS compliance and exportable reports for GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP.
- Application Proxy & Remote Access. Web-based RDP/SSH, VNC and proxy support for legacy apps.
Keycloak features
- Single-Sign-On. Users log in once to access multiple applications without re-authenticating.
- Identity Brokering & Social Login. Add social network or external OpenID Connect/SAML providers via the admin console without code changes.
- User Federation. Connect to existing LDAP or Active Directory directories, or custom user stores.
- Admin & Account Consoles. Central UI for managing apps, users, policies and for users to manage profiles and MFA.
- Authorization Services. Define fine-grained permission policies beyond role-based access.
- Standard Protocol Support. Built-in OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0 support.
authentik vs Keycloak FAQ
Is authentik or Keycloak free?+
authentik has a free plan (Open Source); paid plans start at $5/month per user (Enterprise). Keycloak is free and open source.
Which is cheaper, authentik or Keycloak?+
Keycloak is free, so it costs less. authentik starts at $5/month per user (Enterprise).
Is authentik or Keycloak open source?+
Yes, both are open source: authentik (goauthentik/authentik on GitHub) and Keycloak (keycloak/keycloak on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license).
Do authentik and Keycloak integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list LDAP. authentik also lists Kubernetes, Terraform, Docker Compose, OIDC and 8 more; Keycloak also lists OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0 and Active Directory.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.