Comparison

Keycloak vs Zitadel

On the evidence we track, Keycloak leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Keycloak65
Zitadel56
Score
vioscaleAI score
Keycloak65 / 100low · 46%
Zitadel56 / 100low · 43%
Pricing
Free tier
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Model
Keycloakopen_source
Zitadelfreemium
Price level
Keycloakfree
Zitadelhigh
Starting price
Keycloak–
Zitadel$100
Transparent
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Integrations
Count
Keycloak8
Zitadel3
Reliability
Sla pct
Keycloak–
Zitadel99.5
Status page
Keycloak–
Zitadel✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Keycloak678
Zitadel0
Github stars
Keycloak37,140
Zitadel15,201
Package downloads weekly
Keycloak998,112
Zitadel–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Keycloak100
Zitadel32
Release
Cadence days
Keycloak13
Zitadel3
History
Keycloak20 items
Zitadel20 items
License
Spdx
KeycloakApache-2.0
ZitadelAGPL-3.0
Language
Primary
KeycloakJava
ZitadelGo
Market
Content
Faq
Keycloak6 items
Zitadel8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for auth & identity software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
KeycloakCloud + self-hosted
ZitadelCloud + self-hosted
Methods
Social login
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Passwordless
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Passkeys / WebAuthn
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Multi-factor auth
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Enterprise
SAML SSO
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
SCIM provisioning
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
B2B / multi-tenancy
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Standards
OpenID Connect provider
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Delivery
Hosted UI
KeycloakBoth
ZitadelBoth
Access
RBAC
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Licensing
Self-hostable OSS core
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Keycloak

Leader

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.

Independently observed

Zitadel

Zitadel is an identity and access management platform that provides API-first authentication, authorization, and user management. It supports multiple deployment models (cloud and self-hosted), comprehensive authentication methods including passwordless and passkeys, and is designed for B2B multi-tenant applications.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Keycloak

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

Zitadel

from $100/moHybridFree tier

Free plan, Pro from $100/month, Enterprise custom pricing

  • FreeFree
    • All security features
    • Data Residency: EU, US, Switzerland, Australia
    • Store unlimited Users
    • Unlimited Organizations
    • 100 Daily Active Users
    • +3 more
  • Pro$100/month
    • Everything in Free
    • 25,000 Daily Active Users per month included
    • 3 identity providers included
    • Custom domain included
    • 99.5% uptime guarantee
    • +1 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Cloud or own infrastructure
    • Unlimited Daily Active Users
    • Custom Support SLA
    • Technical Account Manager
    • Volume discounts
    • +4 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Keycloak✗
Zitadel✓
Windows
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✗
Linux
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✗
CLI
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓
Self-hosted
Keycloak✓
Zitadel✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (5)
  • GitHub
  • Google
  • LDAP
  • OpenID Connect
  • SAML 2.0

Keycloak

Leader
12 total - 7 not shared
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Active Directory
  • Kerberos
  • Kubernetes
  • Apache APISIX
  • OpenTelemetry
Independently observed

Zitadel

12 total - 7 not shared
  • Microsoft
  • SCIM 2.0
  • gRPC
  • connectRPC
  • REST API
  • Webhooks
  • Actions
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Keycloak or Zitadel: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.