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Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs Ray

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ray logo

Ray

Machine Learning

Scale AI and Python 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; Ray windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Ray covers Distributed computing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and Ray actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and Ray differ
AttributeAutheliaRay
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Ray

  • Distributed computing
  • Ray Train
  • Ray Tune
  • RLlib
  • Ray Serve
  • PyTorch
  • TensorFlow
  • Hugging Face

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

Ray

  • Distributed AI model training and servingnot Authelia
  • Large-scale data processingnot Authelia
  • Reinforcement learning workloadsnot Authelia
  • ML inference servingnot 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

Ray

  • Windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • Windows lacks copy on write forking, which raises memory requirements, and Ray code assumes UNIX filenames
  • Multi node clusters are untested on Apple Silicon Macs
  • The Java API is experimental and community supported only, and requires matching Java and Python versions
  • Python 3.13 support is beta

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

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

Ray

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full Ray framework
    • All libraries
    • Community support
  • Anyscale PlatformFree
    • Managed infrastructure
    • Enterprise support
    • SLAs

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 Ray if

  • You need distributed computing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want ray train.
Ray review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or Ray better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and Ray at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or Ray?
Authelia starts at Free and Ray at Free.
Does Authelia or Ray run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Ray runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
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 Ray is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that Ray cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. Ray covers Distributed computing, Ray Train, Ray Tune, RLlib.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Ray: Is Ray free?

Yes. Ray is free and open source software with over 34,800 GitHub stars and 1,000+ contributors. Users can download and use the Ray framework at no cost.

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.

Ray: Is there a paid option for Ray?

Yes. Anyscale, the managed platform built by Ray's creators, offers paid tiers with enterprise features like governance and advanced tooling. Specific Anyscale pricing details are not listed on the Ray website.

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.

Ray: Can I try Ray with credits?

Yes. New users can try Ray with $100 credit on Anyscale's managed platform to explore the service.

Source
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