Janssen Project 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?
Janssen Project
Cloud-native identity and access management platform
VS
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Janssen Project | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 646 | ★ 36,058 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Janssen Project or Keycloak better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Janssen Project and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Janssen Project is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Janssen Project and Keycloak with Docker?
Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. Keycloak: yes.