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.
Not the right match-up?
Kanidm
Modern, simple and secure identity management server
VS
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
| Feature | Kanidm | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 5,214 | ★ 36,058 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Active Directory, Okta | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID |
Why pick each one
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.