Cerbos vs Keycloak
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Cerbos
Scalable, decoupled authorization service
VS
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Cerbos | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,529 | ★ 36,058 |
| First released | 2021 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA, OPA | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
Why pick each one
Choose Cerbos if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Cerbos or Keycloak better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Cerbos is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Cerbos and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Cerbos is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cerbos and Keycloak with Docker?
Cerbos: yes. Keycloak: yes.