Dex 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?
Dex
OpenID Connect identity provider with pluggable connectors
VS
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Dex | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,019 | ★ 36,058 |
| First released | 2016 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dex or Keycloak better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Dex is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dex and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Dex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dex and Keycloak with Docker?
Dex: yes. Keycloak: yes.