authentik vs Keycloak: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
authentik is a commercial multi-factor authentication and single sign-on tool by authentik. Keycloak is a commercial multi-factor authentication and single sign-on tool by keycloak. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best multi-factor authentication and single sign-on fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Startups and SMBs that need SSO and MFA without vendor lock-in should run authentik; the open-source model means you own the codebase, avoid licensing creep as you scale, and can self-host or go hybrid without renegotiating contracts. It covers NIST PR.AA identity management and access control natively, and the built-in application proxy handles remote access to RDP, SSH, and VNC without bolting on a separate tool. Expect to staff more ops lift than a SaaS alternative; this is not the tool for teams wanting a hands-off managed identity service.
Startups and mid-market teams building custom applications need Keycloak because it's open-source IAM you can actually modify without vendor lock-in, and self-host it on infrastructure you already control. The tool supports OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML protocols out of the box, plus passkey-based MFA and multi-tenancy through its Organizations feature, covering NIST CSF 2.0's Identity Management function without licensing per user. Skip this if your organization needs managed SaaS convenience and hands-off operations; Keycloak requires DevOps capacity to deploy, patch, and maintain in production.
