Is authentik or Depot better?

Neither clearly leads. authentik starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, authentik or Depot?

authentik starts at Free and Depot at Free.

Does authentik or Depot run on more platforms?

authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Depot runs on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.

Can I use authentik for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is authentik best used for?

authentik is most often used for self-hosted sso across internal services without commercial identity pricing, putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxy, teams who tried keycloak and wanted something less heavy. Of those, self-hosted sso across internal services without commercial identity pricing and putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxy are not what Depot is typically brought in for.

What can authentik do that Depot cannot?

authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs Depot

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Depot

Developer Tools

Cloud-based builds and CI runs 55x faster with less cost

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: authentik smaller project than Keycloak, with a correspondingly smaller community and fewer integration guides; Depot developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
They diverge on capability: authentik covers Configurable flows, Depot covers Depot CI.
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and Depot actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and Depot differ
Attribute	authentik	Depot
Pricing model	Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier	Unknown
Platforms	Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted	Cloud, GitHub, CLI
Category	Cybersecurity	Developer Tools
Founded	Unknown	2022

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 authentik

Configurable flows
Protocol support
Application proxy
Modern admin interface

Only in Depot

Depot CI
Container builds
GitHub Actions runners
Distributed caching
Build API
Depot Registry
Cross-platform builds
SSH debugging

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

authentik

Self-hosted SSO across internal services without commercial identity pricingnot Depot
Putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxynot Depot
Teams who tried Keycloak and wanted something less heavynot Depot

Depot

Accelerating Docker builds for container-based developmentnot authentik
Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster infrastructurenot authentik
Distributing cache across Monorepo buildsnot authentik
Debugging failed CI builds interactively with SSHnot authentik

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

authentik

Smaller project than Keycloak, with a correspondingly smaller community and fewer integration guides
The flow model is flexible but conceptually unfamiliar, and simple setups can feel over-abstracted
Enterprise support and some governance features sit behind the paid tier
Self-hosted identity is still yours to secure, patch and keep available

Depot

Developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
Startup plan at $200/mo is expensive for smaller teams
Business plan requires custom pricing consultation
macOS M2 runners not available on Developer plan

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Free

Open sourceFree
- Full identity provider
- All protocols
- Community support

Depot

Free

Developer$20/month
- 1 user
- 500 Docker build minutes per month
- 2,000 Depot CI minutes per month
Startup$200/month
- Unlimited users
- 5,000 Docker build minutes per month
- 20,000 Depot CI minutes per month
Business$undefined/custom
- Custom pricing
- Unlimited users
- Custom monthly compute

Which should you pick?

Choose authentik if

You need configurable flows.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted.
You also want protocol support.

authentik review

Choose Depot if

You need depot ci.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
You also want container builds.

Depot review

Questions people ask

Is authentik or Depot better?: Neither clearly leads. authentik starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, authentik or Depot?: authentik starts at Free and Depot at Free.
Does authentik or Depot run on more platforms?: authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Depot runs on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
Can I use authentik for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is authentik best used for?: authentik is most often used for self-hosted sso across internal services without commercial identity pricing, putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxy, teams who tried keycloak and wanted something less heavy. Of those, self-hosted sso across internal services without commercial identity pricing and putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxy are not what Depot is typically brought in for.
What can authentik do that Depot cannot?: authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

authentik: Is authentik free?

The open-source edition is free and complete for most use. An enterprise tier adds support and additional features.

Depot: How much faster are Depot runners compared to GitHub Actions?

Depot runners offer 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster networking than standard GitHub-hosted runners, enabling builds to complete significantly faster.

Source

authentik: authentik or Keycloak?

authentik is generally reported as easier to run and administer; Keycloak is more established with a larger community and Red Hat behind it.

Depot: What is included in the Developer plan?

Developer plan ($20/month) includes 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB storage, unlimited concurrency, and community support.

Source

authentik: Can authentik protect apps with no login of their own?

Yes. Its application proxy places authentication in front of services that have no built-in authentication.

Depot: Can I use Depot with my own AWS account?

Yes, Depot Managed allows deployment within customer AWS accounts. This is available to interested customers; contact sales for details.

Source

authentik vs Depot

authentik

Depot

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in authentik

Only in Depot

What people use each for

authentik

Depot

Where each one falls short

authentik

Depot

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Depot

Which should you pick?

Choose authentik if

Choose Depot if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on authentik

More on Depot

Keep looking

Other head to heads