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Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs Transcend

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Transcend logo

Transcend

Cybersecurity

Privacy request automation, consent and AI governance across internal systems

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; Transcend value is proportional to integration coverage, so every bespoke internal service needs a connector that your engineers build and then maintain, and the automation promise degrades quietly each time an internal API changes and nobody updates the connector.
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Transcend covers Data subject request automation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and Transcend actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and Transcend differ
AttributeAutheliaTranscend
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, API

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 Transcend

  • Data subject request automation
  • Silo discovery
  • Column level data mapping
  • Consent and preference management
  • Consent Mode support
  • AI governance
  • Assessments
  • Audit evidence

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

Transcend

  • A consumer app processing millions of user records that has to delete a user across a warehouse, a CRM, a support desk and three internal services within a statutory deadlinenot Authelia
  • A privacy team that currently fulfils requests by emailing system owners and wants machine evidence that deletion actually occurrednot Authelia
  • A company wiring consent signals through to advertising and analytics platforms so refused consent is honoured downstream rather than only at the bannernot Authelia
  • An organisation putting policy controls on which customer data models and internal agents may read, ahead of an AI governance auditnot 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

Transcend

  • Value is proportional to integration coverage, so every bespoke internal service needs a connector that your engineers build and then maintain, and the automation promise degrades quietly each time an internal API changes and nobody updates the connector.
  • Pricing is quoted and scales with data volume and integration count, so the cost grows precisely as the company grows, and there is no public anchor to negotiate against at renewal.
  • It is deep on fulfilment and consent but thinner than OneTrust on wider governance, third party risk and ethics programme management, so a large enterprise privacy office may end up running two vendors.
  • Deployment requires engineering time to install and authorise integrations into production data stores, which means the privacy team cannot buy and implement it alone and the project competes with engineering roadmap.
  • Automated deletion against production systems is a destructive operation, so organisations without good staging environments and confident data ownership move slowly and often run the tool in advisory mode for months before letting it execute.

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

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

Transcend

On request
  • Transcend$undefined/year
    • Priced by data volume, integrations and modules
    • Subject request automation
    • Consent and preference management

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 Transcend if

  • You need data subject request automation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want silo discovery.
Transcend review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or Transcend better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and Transcend at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or Transcend?
Authelia has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Authelia and On request for Transcend.
Does Authelia or Transcend run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Transcend runs on Web, API.
Can I use Authelia for free?
Yes. Authelia has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Transcend 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 Transcend is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that Transcend cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. Transcend covers Data subject request automation, Silo discovery, Column level data mapping, Consent and preference management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Transcend: How is Transcend different from a subject request ticketing tool?

It executes the request against your systems through integrations rather than routing a task to a person. That is the whole product, and it is why the deployment requires engineering involvement.

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.

Transcend: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Reported deals begin around 10,000 US dollars a year and rise with data volume, integration count and modules such as AI governance.

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.

Transcend: Can it replace OneTrust?

For subject rights, consent and data mapping, often yes. For third party risk, ethics reporting and wider GRC programme management it is narrower.

Transcend: Does it handle unregistered systems?

It scans for personal data silos rather than relying solely on a declared inventory, which routinely surfaces systems the privacy register did not contain.

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