Compare / Keycloak vs Authentik
Keycloak vs Authentik
Pick Keycloak if you want the older, widely-integrated Apache-2.0 IdP (the published Okta stack). Pick Authentik if you want a slimmer MIT-core box. Skip authentik/enterprise/ if you want OSS-only.
Facts checked 17 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Keycloak in the catalog Authentik in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| Keycloak | Authentik | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 (catalog) source | MIT License (catalog); skip authentik/enterprise/ for OSS-only source |
| Language | Java (catalog) | Python (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 37,403 stars in the catalog | 25,983 stars in the catalog |
| Self-host | Full IdP: OIDC and SAML you host. | SSO already named on the Okta stack. Slimmer than Keycloak. |
| Best for | Workforce SSO, OIDC, and SAML. | A slimmer IdP than Keycloak. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Keycloak is /stacks/keycloak-idp. Authentik is named on that stack. App-user login (not workforce SSO) stays on /stacks/auth-without-the-bill.
FAQ
- Keycloak or Authentik?
- Keycloak if you want the older, widely-integrated Apache-2.0 IdP. Authentik if you want a slimmer MIT-core box. Pick one.
- Okta or Auth0?
- Auth0 is Okta's customer-login product and already has /replace/auth0 on SuperTokens. This pair is workforce SSO.
- Authelia instead?
- See /compare/keycloak-vs-authelia. Authelia is forward-auth/MFA in front of apps you already run, not a user database.
- Are these free?
- OSI licenses as listed (Authentik enterprise/ is commercial). You pay hosting.
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