Kanidm vs Keycloak
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kanidm
Modern, simple and secure identity management server
VS
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Kanidm | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,404 | ★ 36,967 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Active Directory, Okta | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
What are Kanidm and Keycloak?
Kanidm
Kanidm is an identity management platform written in Rust, focused on simplicity, security and correctness. It provides authentication for web applications, Unix systems and LDAP-aware services.
- OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider
- Passkey-first authentication
- Unix and LDAP integration
- Strong security defaults
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
Kanidm vs Keycloak: key differences
Kanidm is written in Rust, while Keycloak is built with Java. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Kanidm versus Apache-2.0 for Keycloak. Kanidm 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 Kanidm arrived in 2019. Keycloak has the considerably larger community, at 36,967 GitHub stars versus 5,404.
Why pick each one
Choose Kanidm if…
- Memory safe and lightweight
- Excellent passwordless support
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem and tooling
Choose Keycloak if…
- Mature and battle-tested
- Strong enterprise feature set
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Resource intensive
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanidm or Keycloak better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Kanidm is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kanidm and Keycloak free and open-source?
Yes. Kanidm is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Keycloak under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kanidm and Keycloak with Docker?
Kanidm: yes. Keycloak: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kanidm or Keycloak?
Kanidm 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.