Authentik vs Keycloak
Hosted login, SSO and user management.
The pick: Authentik
Authentik is the one you can install on a Tuesday. Keycloak is the one that does every protocol.
The facts
| Fact | Authentik | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | MIT (open core) | Apache-2.0 |
| Effort | a weekend | a project |
| Activity | active | active |
| Repository | github.com/goauthentik/authentik | github.com/keycloak/keycloak |
Pick Authentik if
Pick Authentik for single sign-on across a handful of self-hosted apps.
Pick Keycloak if
Pick Keycloak when you need SAML, fine-grained authorisation, or a skill worth hiring.
What each one costs you
- AuthentikGood UI and real SSO. Upgrade paths need care.
- KeycloakEvery protocol, every feature, and a lot of concepts.
The full entry for both lives under Instead of Auth0, judged worth the work.