Hanko 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?
Hanko
Passkey-first authentication for modern applications
VS
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Hanko | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,002 | ★ 36,058 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Clerk | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
Why pick each one
Choose Hanko if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Hanko or Keycloak better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Hanko is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hanko and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Hanko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hanko and Keycloak with Docker?
Hanko: yes. Keycloak: yes.