Is Arnica or Keycloak better?

Neither clearly leads. Arnica starts at Free and Keycloak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Arnica or Keycloak?

Arnica starts at Free and Keycloak at Free.

Does Arnica or Keycloak run on more platforms?

Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.

Can I use Arnica for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Arnica best used for?

Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Keycloak is typically brought in for.

What can Arnica do that Keycloak cannot?

Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning.

Cybersecurity · head to head

Arnica vs Keycloak

Arnica

Cybersecurity

AI-native application security platform detecting and fixing vulnerabilities across the SDLC

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Keycloak

Developer Tools

Open-source identity and access management server.

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Arnica per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers; Keycloak requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arnica and Keycloak actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnica and Keycloak differ
Attribute	Arnica	Keycloak
Pricing model	Per-identity subscription with annual discount	open-source
Platforms	Web, GitHub, IDE	Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API
Category	Cybersecurity	Developer Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Arnica

AI SAST
Software Composition Analysis
Secrets detection
IaC scanning
Container scanning
SBOM generation
Agentic rules
Pipelineless integration

Only in Keycloak

Nothing recorded that Arnica does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arnica

Detecting AI-generated vulnerabilities in Copilot and Cursor suggestionsnot Keycloak
Finding hardcoded secrets before they reach productionnot Keycloak
Mapping container vulnerabilities back to source codenot Keycloak
Generating SBOM for supply chain compliance requirementsnot Keycloak
Scanning infrastructure-as-code for misconfiguration risksnot Keycloak

Keycloak

Organisations requiring self-hosted identity infrastructure for compliance or data residencynot Arnica
Companies with existing LDAP/Active Directory systems needing federated authenticationnot Arnica
Open-source projects and communities requiring free IAM without licensing costsnot Arnica
Enterprises building custom identity workflows requiring fine-grained authorisationnot Arnica
Teams with sufficient operational expertise to manage infrastructurenot Arnica

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Arnica

Per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers
Overage identity tracking via 90-day PR activity can be unpredictable
Free plan limited to weekly updates, requiring upgrade for real-time scanning
Advanced add-ons (Image Scanning, AI SAST, Agentic Rules Enforcer) pricing not published
On-premises deployment limited to Enterprise tier

Keycloak

Requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain
No managed cloud option provided by Red Hat; organisations must operate infrastructure themselves or use third-party distributions
Clustering and high-availability configurations require additional operational knowledge
Community support only; commercial support requires third-party vendors or distributions

Pricing, plan by plan

Arnica

Free

FreeFree
- No credit card required
- 14-day trial available
- Weekly risk identification updates
Core Business$360/year
- Monthly billing option at $30/identity/month
- Annual billing at $25/identity/month (17% discount)
- Real-time risk scanning and notifications
Core Enterprise$720/year
- Monthly billing option at $60/identity/month
- Annual billing at $50/identity/month (17% discount)
- All Core Business features

Keycloak

Free

Open-sourceFree
- Full platform functionality
- Self-hosted deployment
- Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnica if

You need ai sast.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, GitHub, IDE.
You also want software composition analysis.

Arnica review

Choose Keycloak if

You want to start without paying.
You work on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.

Keycloak review

Questions people ask

Is Arnica or Keycloak better?: Neither clearly leads. Arnica starts at Free and Keycloak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arnica or Keycloak?: Arnica starts at Free and Keycloak at Free.
Does Arnica or Keycloak run on more platforms?: Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.
Can I use Arnica for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Arnica best used for?: Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Keycloak is typically brought in for.
What can Arnica do that Keycloak cannot?: Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnica: How are identities defined in Arnica pricing?

Identities are any users and other contributing entities that contributed code and/or had PR activity during the last 90 days. This ensures billing matches active developers.

Source

Keycloak: What protocols does Keycloak support?

Keycloak supports OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0 protocols for authentication and authorisation.

Source

Arnica: What is the annual discount?

Annual prepayment offers approximately 17% savings versus monthly billing. Core Business annual is $300/identity versus $360 for monthly.

Source

Keycloak: Can Keycloak integrate with existing user directories?

Yes. Keycloak supports user federation with LDAP and Active Directory systems, allowing organisations to leverage existing user directories.

Source

Arnica: Can I cancel or downgrade Arnica anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions can be cancelled or downgraded at any time. Overage identities receive automatic protection with true-up invoicing.

Source

Keycloak: Is Keycloak free?

Yes. Keycloak is fully open-source and free to deploy and use. No licensing fees are required.

Source

Arnica vs Keycloak

Arnica

Keycloak

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Arnica

Only in Keycloak

What people use each for

Arnica

Keycloak

Where each one falls short

Arnica

Keycloak

Pricing, plan by plan

Arnica

Keycloak

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnica if

Choose Keycloak if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Arnica

More on Keycloak

Keep looking

Other head to heads