authentik vs Keycloak
authentik, Keycloak compared on license, free-edition limits, deployment and project health. Change a project below to compare something else.
| authentik | Keycloak | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Security | Security |
| License | MIT LicenseOpen source (OSI) | Apache License 2.0Open source (OSI) |
| Free edition | Some features paywalled | Not confirmed |
| Deployment | Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| Self-hosting setup | Needs a database | Needs a database |
| SSO / SAML | Free | Free |
| Role-based access control | Not confirmed | Free |
| Audit logs | Not confirmed | Free |
| Multi-user / teams | Not confirmed | Free |
| Backups and restore | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| API access | Free | Free |
| Support SLA | Paid | Not confirmed |
| GitHub stars | 26k | 37k |
| Last release | Sep 17, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 |
| Alternative to | Auth0, Okta | Auth0, Okta |
In short
- authentik is licensed MIT License (open source (osi)). Free edition: some features paywalled.
- Keycloak is licensed Apache License 2.0 (open source (osi)). Free edition: not confirmed.
Each project page lists the official sources behind these answers. Where the official pages do not say, the table shows “Not confirmed”.