Keycloak vs LemonLDAP::NG
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
VS
LemonLDAP::NG
Web single sign-on and access management system
| Feature | Keycloak | LemonLDAP::NG |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 41 · Fair |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,967 | ★ 84 |
| First released | 2014 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID | Okta, PingFederate |
What are Keycloak and LemonLDAP::NG?
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
LemonLDAP::NG
LemonLDAP::NG is an open-source Web SSO, access management, and identity federation product. It supports SAML, OpenID Connect, and CAS, and protects web applications behind a configurable portal.
- Web SSO portal
- SAML and OIDC support
- CAS protocol
- Fine-grained access rules
Keycloak vs LemonLDAP::NG: key differences
Keycloak is written in Java, while LemonLDAP::NG is built with Perl. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Keycloak versus GPL-2.0 for LemonLDAP::NG. LemonLDAP::NG is the more established project (first released 2005), while Keycloak arrived in 2014. Keycloak has the considerably larger community, at 36,967 GitHub stars versus 84.
Why pick each one
Choose Keycloak if…
- Mature and battle-tested
- Strong enterprise feature set
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Resource intensive
Choose LemonLDAP::NG if…
- Mature and full-featured
- Many protocol options
Watch out for
- Complex configuration
- Perl stack is uncommon
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or LemonLDAP::NG 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 Keycloak and LemonLDAP::NG free and open-source?
Yes. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and LemonLDAP::NG under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keycloak and LemonLDAP::NG with Docker?
Keycloak: yes. LemonLDAP::NG: yes.