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Self-Hosting Keycloak vs Authentik: Identity Provider Comparison

Choosing between Keycloak and Authentik for SSO? Both are powerful identity providers. Here's a detailed comparison.

keycloakauthentikssoidentitycomparison

Overview


Both Keycloak and Authentik are identity providers that give you single sign-on for all your applications. The choice between them depends on your needs.


Keycloak


Background

Developed by Red Hat, part of the Java/JBoss ecosystem. Mature, enterprise-proven.


Strengths

  • Battle-tested in enterprise environments
  • Extensive protocol support (OIDC, SAML, LDAP, Kerberos)
  • User federation from Active Directory/LDAP
  • Fine-grained authorization
  • Massive documentation and community
  • Themes for login page customization

    • Weaknesses

  • Java-based (high resource usage: 1-2 GB RAM minimum)
  • Complex configuration
  • Admin console is functional but dated
  • Slower to start up

    • Resources

    2 CPU, 2 GB RAM minimum. 4 GB RAM recommended.


    Authentik


    Background

    Modern, Python/Django-based. Designed specifically for self-hosting use cases.


    Strengths

  • Modern, beautiful admin UI
  • Easy to configure with visual flow editor
  • Lower resource usage than Keycloak
  • Proxy outpost for apps without SSO support
  • Blueprint system for configuration as code
  • Active development with frequent releases

    • Weaknesses

  • Younger project, smaller community
  • Fewer enterprise features
  • Less documentation (though improving rapidly)
  • Not as widely deployed in enterprise

    • Resources

    1 CPU, 1 GB RAM minimum.


    Feature Comparison


    | Feature | Keycloak | Authentik |

    |---------|----------|----------|

    | OIDC/OAuth2 | Full | Full |

    | SAML | Full | Full |

    | LDAP | Provider + consumer | Provider + consumer |

    | Proxy auth | Via plugins | Native outpost |

    | UI | Functional | Modern |

    | Setup time | Hours | Minutes |

    | RAM usage | 1-2 GB | 512 MB-1 GB |

    | Enterprise | Proven | Growing |


    Recommendation


    Choose Keycloak If

  • Integrating with Active Directory/LDAP is critical
  • You need SAML for legacy enterprise apps
  • Your team has Java/Keycloak experience
  • You need the most protocol coverage

    • Choose Authentik If

  • You want the easiest setup and management
  • Resources are limited (smaller server)
  • You need proxy authentication for apps without SSO
  • You prefer modern UI and developer experience
  • Self-hosting is your primary use case

    • For most self-hosters: Authentik. It's simpler, lighter, and designed for exactly this use case.