Keycloak vs OpenFGA
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?
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management for modern apps
VS
OpenFGA
High-performance fine-grained authorization engine
| Feature | Keycloak | OpenFGA |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,058 | ★ 5,564 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID | Auth0 FGA |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenFGA if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 5.6k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or OpenFGA better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while OpenFGA is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Keycloak and OpenFGA free and open-source?
Yes. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenFGA under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keycloak and OpenFGA with Docker?
Keycloak: yes. OpenFGA: yes.