Keycloak vs Ory Oathkeeper
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
Ory Oathkeeper
Identity and access proxy for zero-trust networks
| Feature | Keycloak | Ory Oathkeeper |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 3,590 |
| First released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID | Cloudflare Access |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Oathkeeper if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or Ory Oathkeeper better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Ory Oathkeeper is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Keycloak and Ory Oathkeeper free and open-source?
Yes. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Oathkeeper under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keycloak and Ory Oathkeeper with Docker?
Keycloak: yes. Ory Oathkeeper: yes.