Keycloak vs OpenUnison
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
OpenUnison
Identity management and SSO portal for Kubernetes
| Feature | Keycloak | OpenUnison |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Less |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,058 | ★ 136 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID | Okta |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenUnison if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Less
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or OpenUnison 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 OpenUnison free and open-source?
Yes. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenUnison under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keycloak and OpenUnison with Docker?
Keycloak: yes. OpenUnison: check the project docs for container support.