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Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs Hugging Face

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hugging Face logo

Hugging Face

Machine Learning

The AI community building the future

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; Hugging Face model discovery across 3 million models lacks robust filtering and sorting by quality metrics
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Hugging Face covers Model hub.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and Hugging Face actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and Hugging Face differ
AttributeAutheliaHugging Face
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, API
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2016

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 Hugging Face

  • Model hub
  • Datasets
  • Spaces
  • Transformers library
  • GitHub
  • Cloud providers
  • MLOps tools
  • Web support

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 Hugging Face
  • Adding SSO across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platformnot Hugging Face
  • Home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxynot Hugging Face

Hugging Face

  • ai tools managementnot Authelia
  • Workflow automationnot Authelia
  • Reportingnot 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

Hugging Face

  • Model discovery across 3 million models lacks robust filtering and sorting by quality metrics
  • Community-driven content means variable model quality and documentation
  • Private models and datasets require Pro subscription
  • Enterprise support and SLAs require custom arrangements

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

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

Hugging Face

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hugging Face review.

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 Hugging Face if

  • You need model hub.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want datasets.
Hugging Face review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or Hugging Face better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and Hugging Face at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or Hugging Face?
Authelia starts at Free and Hugging Face at Free.
Does Authelia or Hugging Face run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Hugging Face runs on Web, API.
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 Hugging Face is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that Hugging Face cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. Hugging Face covers Model hub, Datasets, Spaces, Transformers library.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Hugging Face: Is Hugging Face free to use?

Yes. Hugging Face allows users to host and collaborate on unlimited public models, datasets, and applications at no cost. Models can be accessed and used freely from the Hub.

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.

Hugging Face: How many models are available on Hugging Face?

Hugging Face Hub currently hosts nearly 3 million machine learning models across various tasks including text generation, image processing, and video generation.

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.

Hugging Face: What is the Hugging Face Inference API?

Hugging Face provides access to 45,000+ models from leading AI providers through a single unified API with no service fees, simplifying access to diverse models.

Source
Hugging Face: What content types does Hugging Face support?

Hugging Face supports text, image, video, audio, and 3D content models, allowing collaboration across multiple modalities and use cases.

Source
Hugging Face: What is the transformers library?

Transformers is a Hugging Face library built for natural language processing applications, providing pre-built models and utilities for NLP tasks.

Source
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