Keycloak vs Shibboleth Identity Provider
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
Shibboleth Identity Provider
Standards-based SAML identity provider for federations
| Feature | Keycloak | Shibboleth Identity Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,058 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2014 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0, Microsoft Entra ID | Okta, Ping Identity |
Why pick each one
Choose Shibboleth Identity Provider if…
- Gold standard for SAML federations
- Highly configurable
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or Shibboleth Identity Provider 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 Shibboleth Identity Provider free and open-source?
Yes. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Shibboleth Identity Provider under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keycloak and Shibboleth Identity Provider with Docker?
Keycloak: yes. Shibboleth Identity Provider: yes.