Keycloak vs Rauthy
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
Rauthy
Lightweight OpenID Connect provider written in Rust
| Feature | Keycloak | Rauthy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,058 | ★ 1,256 |
| First released | 2014 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID | Keycloak, Auth0 |
Why pick each one
Choose Rauthy if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or Rauthy better?
Neither is universally better. Keycloak has the larger community, while Rauthy is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Keycloak and Rauthy free and open-source?
Yes. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rauthy under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keycloak and Rauthy with Docker?
Keycloak: yes. Rauthy: yes.