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.
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Janssen Project | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| 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 | ★ 649 | ★ 36,967 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
What are Janssen Project and Keycloak?
Janssen Project
The Janssen Project is a Linux Foundation effort delivering a scalable, cloud-native identity and access management platform. It implements OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and FIDO standards for authentication and authorization.
- OpenID Connect provider
- OAuth 2.0 server
- FIDO2 and passkeys
- Cloud-native deployment
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
Janssen Project vs Keycloak: key differences
Both projects are written in Java. Keycloak is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Keycloak is the more established project (first released 2014), while Janssen Project arrived in 2020. Keycloak has the considerably larger community, at 36,967 GitHub stars versus 649. Keycloak lists first-class Docker deployment; Janssen Project does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Janssen Project if…
- Standards complete
- Built for scale
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Heavy resource needs
Choose Keycloak if…
- Mature and battle-tested
- Strong enterprise feature set
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Resource intensive
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Janssen Project or Keycloak?
Keycloak has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.