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Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs H2O.ai

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

Open-source authentication and two-factor portal for reverse proxies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
H2O.ai logo

H2O.ai

Machine Learning

AI Cloud for building and deploying AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Authelia depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider; H2O.ai java is always required to run H2O-3 even when working from R or Python, and only a 64-bit JRE or JDK is supported
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, H2O.ai covers AutoML.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and H2O.ai actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and H2O.ai differ
AttributeAutheliaH2O.ai
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2011

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 Authelia

  • Reverse proxy integration
  • Two-factor authentication
  • Access control rules
  • Lightweight backends

Only in H2O.ai

  • AutoML
  • Distributed computing
  • Feature engineering
  • Model explainability
  • Time series forecasting
  • Spark
  • Hadoop
  • Python

What people use each for

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

Authelia

  • Putting a login and 2FA in front of self-hosted services that have nonenot H2O.ai
  • Adding SSO across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platformnot H2O.ai
  • Home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxynot H2O.ai

H2O.ai

  • Distributed in-memory machine learning over large datasetsnot Authelia
  • Training and productionising models from R or Python against a shared H2O clusternot Authelia

Where each one falls short

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

Authelia

  • Depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider
  • Configuration is YAML-first with no administrative interface, so changes mean editing files
  • Not a full IAM: user management, provisioning and federation are limited compared with Keycloak
  • Scales poorly as an organisation-wide identity solution, which is not its target

H2O.ai

  • Java is always required to run H2O-3 even when working from R or Python, and only a 64-bit JRE or JDK is supported
  • Supported Java versions stop at Java SE 17; newer versions only run by forcing an unsupported version flag and are guaranteed for experiments rather than production
  • H2O-3 only supports numpy below version 2, so a numpy 2 environment must be downgraded
  • Supported Python versions are limited to 3.7 through 3.11
  • The Flow web UI requires an internet browser and is the only graphical interface

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

Free
  • AutheliaFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

H2O.ai

Free
  • H2O-3 Open SourceFree
    • Core algorithms
    • AutoML
    • Community support
  • Driverless AIFree
    • Automatic feature engineering
    • Model explainability
    • Enterprise support

Which should you pick?

Choose Authelia if

  • You need reverse proxy integration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want two-factor authentication.
Authelia review

Choose H2O.ai if

  • You need automl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want distributed computing.
H2O.ai review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or H2O.ai better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and H2O.ai at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or H2O.ai?
Authelia starts at Free and H2O.ai at Free.
Does Authelia or H2O.ai run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. H2O.ai runs on Web, Cloud.
Can I use Authelia for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Authelia best used for?
Authelia is most often used for putting a login and 2fa in front of self-hosted services that have none, adding sso across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platform, home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxy. Of those, putting a login and 2fa in front of self-hosted services that have none and adding sso across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platform are not what H2O.ai is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that H2O.ai cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. H2O.ai covers AutoML, Distributed computing, Feature engineering, Model explainability.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

H2O.ai: Is H2O open source and free?

Yes. H2O-3 OSS is free and Apache-licensed, designed for self-managed and experimental workflows. H2O.ai also offers enterprise cloud solutions with additional features.

Source
Authelia: Does Authelia need a reverse proxy?

Yes. It integrates through forward authentication with Nginx, Traefik, Caddy or HAProxy rather than sitting in front of traffic itself.

H2O.ai: How many companies use H2O's open source platform?

Over 18,000 companies across Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Retail, Telco, Sales, and Marketing use H2O's open-source machine learning platform.

Source
Authelia: Authelia or Keycloak?

Authelia is far lighter and aimed at protecting self-hosted services behind a proxy. Keycloak is a full identity and access management platform, and much more to run.

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