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Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs NICE Actimize

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NICE Actimize logo

NICE Actimize

Cybersecurity

Financial crime, risk and compliance suite for regulated institutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Authelia has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Authelia depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider; NICE Actimize modules are licensed separately, so a bank that starts with AML and later needs fraud and surveillance faces three negotiations and a bill that compounds rather than a suite price.
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, NICE Actimize covers Suspicious activity monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and NICE Actimize actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and NICE Actimize differ
AttributeAutheliaNICE Actimize
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Windows

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 NICE Actimize

  • Suspicious activity monitoring
  • Watchlist filtering
  • Customer due diligence
  • Payment fraud detection
  • Markets surveillance
  • Case management
  • X-Sight marketplace

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

NICE Actimize

  • A bank under a regulatory consent order that needs a monitoring system with an audit trail examiners already recognisenot Authelia
  • A broker dealer required to implement trade surveillance covering both orders and trader communicationsnot Authelia
  • A regional bank outgrowing spreadsheet-based sanctions screening and needing documented model governancenot Authelia
  • A payments firm needing real time fraud scoring on faster payments alongside batch AML monitoringnot 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

NICE Actimize

  • Modules are licensed separately, so a bank that starts with AML and later needs fraud and surveillance faces three negotiations and a bill that compounds rather than a suite price.
  • Tuning and model validation are consultant-heavy, and the services spend over a deployment often exceeds the first year licence cost.
  • The older on premises deployments carry batch-oriented architecture that makes true real time decisioning harder than in newer cloud native rivals.
  • Rule and model changes go through a controlled release process, so a bank reacting to a new fraud typology may wait weeks for a change that a modern platform would ship in days.
  • Because it is the incumbent at so many institutions, criminals have a good working understanding of what the standard rule sets detect, and undifferentiated out of the box configurations catch predictable behaviour.

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

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

NICE Actimize

On request
  • NICE Actimize$undefined/year
    • Licensed per module, not as one suite
    • Scaled by institution asset size or transaction volume
    • On premises or Actimize cloud deployment

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 NICE Actimize if

  • You need suspicious activity monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want watchlist filtering.
NICE Actimize review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or NICE Actimize better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and NICE Actimize at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or NICE Actimize?
Authelia has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Authelia and On request for NICE Actimize.
Does Authelia or NICE Actimize run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. NICE Actimize runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
Can I use Authelia for free?
Yes. Authelia has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. NICE Actimize starts at On request.
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 NICE Actimize is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that NICE Actimize cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. NICE Actimize covers Suspicious activity monitoring, Watchlist filtering, Customer due diligence, Payment fraud detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

NICE Actimize: Is Actimize one product?

No. It is a family of separately licensed modules covering AML, fraud, due diligence and surveillance. You buy what you need and each has its own price.

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.

NICE Actimize: Can it run in the cloud?

Yes, Actimize offers cloud deployment, though a large share of the installed base still runs on premises for data residency reasons.

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.

NICE Actimize: Who owns it?

NICE Ltd, an Israeli company listed on Nasdaq. Actimize is its financial crime division.

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