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Keycloak

Open-source identity and access management

open sourceupdated Aug 16, 2026

Keycloak is an open-source IAM solution with 25K+ GitHub stars by Red Hat. Provides SSO, social login, LDAP/Active Directory federation, standard protocol support (OIDC, OAuth 2.0, SAML), fine-grained authorization, user federation, and admin console. Features identity brokering, multi-tenancy via realms, and client adapters for Java, JavaScript, and Node.js. Self-hosted with no per-user licensing, making it ideal for organizations needing full control over identity infrastructure.

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Keycloak is the most widely adopted open-source IAM platform with 25K+ GitHub stars, maintained by Red Hat for enterprise-grade authentication and authorization.

Provides SSO, social login, LDAP/AD federation, OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0 support. Identity brokering connects external providers seamlessly.

Fine-grained authorization with attribute-based, role-based, and policy-based access control. Multi-tenancy through independent realms. Comprehensive admin console.

Self-hosted with no per-user fees, ideal for data sovereignty, compliance, and cost control at scale. Red Hat SSO available for enterprise support.

Pricing

Free open-source / Red Hat SSO for enterprise

Platforms

Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Java

Categories

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Use Cases

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Comparisons

Authentik vs Keycloak — Modern Python IdP vs Established Java Identity Platform

Authentik and Keycloak both provide self-hosted open-source identity management but represent different generations of IdP architecture. Authentik is a modern Python-based platform with a cleaner UI and simpler operational model, positioning itself as the accessible alternative. Keycloak is the established Java-based enterprise IdP with the broadest feature set and deepest protocol support, backed by Red Hat.

AuthentikKeycloak

Clerk vs Auth0 vs Keycloak — Authentication Platform Comparison

Three authentication solutions spanning the spectrum from developer-friendly SaaS to enterprise identity platform to self-hosted open-source. Clerk is purpose-built for React and Next.js, Auth0 (by Okta) serves enterprise identity needs, and Keycloak provides full IAM control through open-source self-hosting.

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FAQ

What is Keycloak?

Keycloak is an open-source IAM solution with 25K+ GitHub stars by Red Hat. Provides SSO, social login, LDAP/Active Directory federation, standard protocol support (OIDC, OAuth 2.0, SAML), fine-grained authorization, user federation, and admin console. Features identity brokering, multi-tenancy via realms, and client adapters for Java, JavaScript, and Node.js. Self-hosted with no per-user licensing, making it ideal for organizations needing full control over identity infrastructure.

Is Keycloak free?

Yes — Keycloak is open source and free to use. Free open-source / Red Hat SSO for enterprise

Is Keycloak open source?

Yes — Keycloak is open source.

What are the best Keycloak alternatives?

The top editor-verified Keycloak alternatives are Logto, Casdoor.

How does Keycloak score in our review?

Our hands-on review scores Keycloak 88/100 overall, based on speed, privacy, and developer-experience testing.