# Clerk vs Keycloak

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Clerk

| Attribute | Clerk | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 71.4 (71% (medium)) | 65.4 (46% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 678 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 37,140 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 998,112 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A unified platform providing authentication, user profile management, and billing integration through pre-built components and APIs, enabling developers to implement secure user systems without building them from scratch. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What is Clerk?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Clerk is a paid product; published pricing starts at $12 per user per month. There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"How much does Clerk cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Clerk supports the web, iOS, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What platforms does Clerk support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Clerk, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"Can Clerk be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for Clerk, including Google OAuth, GitHub OAuth, Google Workspace, Convex and MCP. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What does Clerk integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for Clerk. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Clerk not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What security certifications does Clerk have?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"Centralized authentication and authorization platform that manages user identity and access control across applications, reducing the need for individual apps to build their own login systems. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"What is Keycloak?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Keycloak is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"Is Keycloak free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Keycloak supports the web, Windows, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"What platforms does Keycloak support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Keycloak can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"Can Keycloak be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 10 integrations for Keycloak, including GitHub, Google, Facebook, Twitter, LDAP, Active Directory, Kerberos and Kubernetes, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"What does Keycloak integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Keycloak is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak","question":"Is Keycloak open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Provides embeddable components and APIs for adding authentication, profile management, organizations, and subscription billing to applications. Supports enterprise features like SAML, SCIM provisioning, and multi-tenancy. | An open-source identity management solution that allows users to authenticate once and gain access to multiple applications, eliminating the need for individual login handling at the application level. |
| features.capabilities | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"both","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 7 | 8 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Google OAuth"},{"name":"GitHub OAuth"},{"name":"Google Workspace"},{"name":"Convex"},{"name":"MCP"},{"name":"Stripe","native":true,"category":"payments","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Okta Workforce","native":true,"category":"sso","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Microsoft Entra ID","native":true,"category":"sso","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Google","native":true,"category":"social_login","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"category":"social_login","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Facebook","native":true,"category":"social_login","direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Twitter"},{"name":"LDAP"},{"name":"Active Directory"},{"name":"Kerberos"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Apache APISIX"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"},{"name":"OpenID Connect","native":true},{"name":"SAML 2.0","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | - | Java |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free, up to 50K MRU","features":["Social authentication (Google, GitHub, Facebook)","Email/password authentication","Magic links","Organizations","Multifactor authentication","Basic billing features"],"description":"Up to 50,000 monthly retained users","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"mru":"50000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$20/mo billed annually (includes 50K MRU + 1 enterprise connection)","features":["50K monthly retained users included","1 enterprise SSO connection included","Custom session lifetime","Clerk branding removal","Directory sync","Team dashboard","API keys","Events stream","Premium support SLA","99.99% Uptime SLA"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing applications","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"mru":"50000/mo","enterprise_sso_connections":"1"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Additional Monthly Retained Users","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"mru"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Additional Enterprise SSO Connection","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":75,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Directory Sync","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":75,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"MFA Connection","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"SMS Authentication","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"sms"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.01,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Clerk Billing with Stripe","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","plus":{"amount":0.3,"currency":"USD"},"rate":2.9},{"of":"billing_volume","kind":"percentage","rate":0.7}]}],"summary":"Free up to 50K MRU. Pro from $20/mo billed annually (includes 50K MRU + 1 enterprise connection). Add-ons available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://clerk.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T12:35:42.526Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.keycloak.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-07T13:10:46.299Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | mid | free |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 13 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/nightly","date":"2022-09-27T02:22:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"nightly"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.8.0","date":"2026-10-01T05:57:20Z","type":"stable","version":"26.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.5","date":"2026-09-30T17:44:19Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.4","date":"2026-09-16T14:44:06Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.3","date":"2026-08-31T09:29:37Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.2","date":"2026-08-19T05:26:20Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.1","date":"2026-08-05T15:54:37Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.0","date":"2026-07-09T06:58:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.4","date":"2026-06-26T19:19:51Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.3","date":"2026-06-04T17:00:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.2","date":"2026-05-19T12:41:03Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.1","date":"2026-04-15T13:58:02Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.0","date":"2026-04-08T08:54:19Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.7","date":"2026-04-02T14:47:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.6","date":"2026-03-19T06:45:39Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.5","date":"2026-03-05T15:40:30Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.4","date":"2026-02-20T09:19:45Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.3","date":"2026-02-10T07:30:08Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.2","date":"2026-01-23T14:26:58Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.1","date":"2026-01-14T18:09:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.1"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 9.3 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | - | https://www.keycloak.org/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.keycloak%3Akeycloak-server-spi&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | Clerk | Keycloak |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **Methods** |  |  |
| Social login | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passwordless | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passkeys / WebAuthn | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-factor auth | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SAML SSO | ✓ | ✓ |
| SCIM provisioning | ✓ | ✓ |
| B2B / multi-tenancy | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OpenID Connect provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Hosted UI | Both | Both |
| **Access** |  |  |
| RBAC | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Self-hostable OSS core | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:59:32.805Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*