Hello Identity Coop vs Keycloak
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Hello Identity Coop | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7 | ★ 36,967 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
What are Hello Identity Coop and Keycloak?
Hello Identity Coop
Hello is an open-source identity and login service that lets users authenticate with email, phone or social providers without passwords. The wallet and broker components can be self-hosted.
- Passwordless login flows
- Email, phone and social providers
- Standard OpenID Connect
- Developer SDKs and integrations
Keycloak
Keycloak is an enterprise-grade identity and access management solution backed by Red Hat. It provides single sign-on, identity brokering, social login and fine-grained authorization for applications and services.
- SSO with OpenID Connect and SAML 2.0
- Identity brokering and social login
- User federation with LDAP and Active Directory
- Fine-grained authorization services
Hello Identity Coop vs Keycloak: key differences
Hello Identity Coop is written in TypeScript, while Keycloak is built with Java. Licensing differs — MIT for Hello Identity Coop versus Apache-2.0 for Keycloak. Hello Identity Coop is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Keycloak. Keycloak is the more established project (first released 2014), while Hello Identity Coop arrived in 2022. Keycloak has the considerably larger community, at 36,967 GitHub stars versus 7.
Why pick each one
Choose Hello Identity Coop if…
- Simple passwordless onboarding
- Open standards
Watch out for
- Younger project
Choose Keycloak if…
- Mature and battle-tested
- Strong enterprise feature set
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Resource intensive
Frequently asked questions
Is Hello Identity Coop or Keycloak better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Hello Identity Coop is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hello Identity Coop and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Hello Identity Coop is licensed under MIT and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hello Identity Coop and Keycloak with Docker?
Hello Identity Coop: yes. Keycloak: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Hello Identity Coop or Keycloak?
Hello Identity Coop has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Keycloak. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.