Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs OpenTelemetry

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenTelemetry logo

OpenTelemetry

Cloud

Vendor-neutral standard for traces, metrics and logs

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; OpenTelemetry genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and OpenTelemetry actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and OpenTelemetry differ
AttributeAutheliaOpenTelemetry
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker
CategoryCybersecurityCloud

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 OpenTelemetry

  • Vendor-neutral SDKs
  • Collector
  • Three signals
  • Auto-instrumentation

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

OpenTelemetry

  • Instrumenting once and keeping the option to change observability vendor laternot Authelia
  • Standardising telemetry across services written in different languagesnot Authelia
  • Routing and filtering telemetry centrally to control observability spendnot 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

OpenTelemetry

  • Genuinely complex to adopt: collectors, pipelines, samplers and exporters are a system to run in their own right
  • Language SDKs mature at different rates, so a polyglot estate gets uneven support
  • It produces and moves telemetry but does not store or visualise it, so a backend is still required and still billed

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

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

OpenTelemetry

Free
  • OpenTelemetryFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community 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 OpenTelemetry if

  • You need vendor-neutral sdks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
  • You also want collector.
OpenTelemetry review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or OpenTelemetry better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or OpenTelemetry?
Authelia starts at Free and OpenTelemetry at Free.
Does Authelia or OpenTelemetry run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. OpenTelemetry runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
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 OpenTelemetry is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that OpenTelemetry cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. OpenTelemetry covers Vendor-neutral SDKs, Collector, Three signals, Auto-instrumentation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

OpenTelemetry: Is OpenTelemetry free?

Yes, open source under the CNCF. What you pay for is the backend you export to.

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.

OpenTelemetry: Does OpenTelemetry replace Datadog or Grafana?

No. It replaces their proprietary agents and instrumentation libraries. You still need a backend to store and query the data.

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.

OpenTelemetry: Why adopt a vendor-neutral standard?

Because instrumentation is the expensive part. Once code emits OTel, changing observability vendor is a collector config change instead of re-instrumenting every service.

Share

Related pages

More on Authelia

More on OpenTelemetry

Keep looking

Other head to heads