Ipsilon 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 | Ipsilon | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 80 | ★ 36,967 |
| First released | 2014 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Okta, PingFederate | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
What are Ipsilon and Keycloak?
Ipsilon
Ipsilon is an identity provider service that supports SAML and OpenID for federated single sign-on. It plugs into existing authentication backends like FreeIPA to centralize login for web applications.
- SAML identity provider
- OpenID support
- FreeIPA integration
- Pluggable backends
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
Ipsilon vs Keycloak: key differences
Ipsilon is written in Python, while Keycloak is built with Java. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Ipsilon versus Apache-2.0 for Keycloak. Ipsilon is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Keycloak. Keycloak has the considerably larger community, at 36,967 GitHub stars versus 80. Keycloak lists first-class Docker deployment; Ipsilon does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Ipsilon if…
- Good FreeIPA companion
- Federation focused
Watch out for
- Small community
- Limited recent activity
Choose Keycloak if…
- Mature and battle-tested
- Strong enterprise feature set
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Resource intensive
Frequently asked questions
Is Ipsilon 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 Ipsilon and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Ipsilon is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ipsilon and Keycloak with Docker?
Ipsilon: check the project docs for container support. Keycloak: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ipsilon or Keycloak?
Ipsilon has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Keycloak. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.