Cybersecurity · alternatives
Alternatives to authentik
21 cybersecurity tools sit alongside authentik in this directory. Below is what separates each from authentik on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 16
- Cheaper to start
- -
- authentik starts at
- Free
Why people look past authentik
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the authentik entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
authentik publishes a single plan, Open source at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Open-source identity and access management server.
- Publishes an entry price of Free, where authentik does not.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier.
The identity platform for builders
- Publishes an entry price of $6/user/month (annual minimum $1,500), where authentik does not.
- 5 tiers to authentik's 1.
Open-source authentication and two-factor portal for reverse proxies
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier.
Vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier.
Headless identity and user management API
- Sold on a Open-source self-hosted, with a paid managed network model rather than Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier.
Open-source vulnerability and misconfiguration scanner
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier.
Every authentik alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| authentik (this page) | Free | Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier | 1 | |
| KeycloakThe larger, more established open-source identity provider, heavier to run | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs authentik |
| OktaThe managed option, removing operations entirely in exchange for per-user pricing | Free, then $6/user/month (annual minimum $1,500) | - | 5 | vs authentik |
| Authelia | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs authentik |
| Grype | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs authentik |
| Ory Kratos | Free | Open-source self-hosted, with a paid managed network | 1 | vs authentik |
| Trivy | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs authentik |
| Aikido | Free | Subscription with free tier | 4 | vs authentik |
| Socket | Free, then $25/month | Per-developer monthly subscription with tiered access | 4 | vs authentik |
| Chainguard | Free, then $19000/year | Licensing by artifact type and team size | 7 | vs authentik |
| Endor Labs | Free | Seat-based per contributing developer with volume discounts | 1 | vs authentik |
| Doppler | Free, then $21/month | - | 3 | vs authentik |
| Arnica | Free, then $300/year | Per-identity subscription with annual discount | 3 | vs authentik |
| Infisical | Free, then $20/month | - | 5 | vs authentik |
| Akeyless | Free | Usage-based pricing units that vary by product module | 2 | vs authentik |
| Windscribe | Free, then $3/month | Freemium | 3 | vs authentik |
| TunnelBear | Free, then $9.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs authentik |
| Tenable | $3500/year | Subscription | 5 | vs authentik |
| Sysdig | On request | Custom pricing based on number of hosts, events processed, or time series data | - | vs authentik |
| Legit Security | On request | Contact sales for custom pricing | - | vs authentik |
| Tanium | On request | Quote | 1 | vs authentik |
| Veracode | On request | Quote | - | vs authentik |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the authentik badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
authentik is most often brought in for self-hosted sso across internal services without commercial identity pricing, putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxy, teams who tried keycloak and wanted something less heavy. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If authentik is broadly right and the question is cost, the authentik pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Cybersecurity category lists everything the directory holds, and best cybersecurity tools ranks them.
authentik runs on docker, kubernetes, linux, self-hosted. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about authentik alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to authentik?
- 21 other cybersecurity tools are listed in this directory, led by Keycloak, Okta, Authelia, Grype. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to authentik?
- 16 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Keycloak, Okta, Authelia, Grype, Ory Kratos.
- Why do people look for an alternative to authentik?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from authentik?
- authentik is most often brought in for self-hosted sso across internal services without commercial identity pricing, putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxy, teams who tried keycloak and wanted something less heavy. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to authentik?
- Keycloak is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these authentik alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Cybersecurity, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare authentik against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against authentik covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every cybersecurity tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Cybersecurity category, 21 tools beside authentik. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.