Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs H2O.ai

authentik logo

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
H2O.ai logo

H2O.ai

Machine Learning

AI Cloud for building and deploying AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: authentik smaller project than Keycloak, with a correspondingly smaller community and fewer integration guides; H2O.ai java is always required to run H2O-3 even when working from R or Python, and only a 64-bit JRE or JDK is supported
  • They diverge on capability: authentik covers Configurable flows, H2O.ai covers AutoML.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and H2O.ai actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and H2O.ai differ
AttributeauthentikH2O.ai
Pricing modelOpen-source core with a paid enterprise tierfreemium
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2011

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 H2O.ai

  • AutoML
  • Distributed computing
  • Feature engineering
  • Model explainability
  • Time series forecasting
  • Spark
  • Hadoop
  • Python

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 H2O.ai
  • Putting authentication in front of applications that have none, via the proxynot H2O.ai
  • Teams who tried Keycloak and wanted something less heavynot H2O.ai

H2O.ai

  • Distributed in-memory machine learning over large datasetsnot authentik
  • Training and productionising models from R or Python against a shared H2O clusternot 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

H2O.ai

  • Java is always required to run H2O-3 even when working from R or Python, and only a 64-bit JRE or JDK is supported
  • Supported Java versions stop at Java SE 17; newer versions only run by forcing an unsupported version flag and are guaranteed for experiments rather than production
  • H2O-3 only supports numpy below version 2, so a numpy 2 environment must be downgraded
  • Supported Python versions are limited to 3.7 through 3.11
  • The Flow web UI requires an internet browser and is the only graphical interface

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Free
  • Open sourceFree
    • Full identity provider
    • All protocols
    • Community support

H2O.ai

Free
  • H2O-3 Open SourceFree
    • Core algorithms
    • AutoML
    • Community support
  • Driverless AIFree
    • Automatic feature engineering
    • Model explainability
    • Enterprise support

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 H2O.ai if

  • You need automl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want distributed computing.
H2O.ai review

Questions people ask

Is authentik or H2O.ai better?
Neither clearly leads. authentik starts at Free and H2O.ai at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, authentik or H2O.ai?
authentik starts at Free and H2O.ai at Free.
Does authentik or H2O.ai run on more platforms?
authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. H2O.ai runs on Web, Cloud.
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 H2O.ai is typically brought in for.
What can authentik do that H2O.ai cannot?
authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. H2O.ai covers AutoML, Distributed computing, Feature engineering, Model explainability.

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.

H2O.ai: Is H2O open source and free?

Yes. H2O-3 OSS is free and Apache-licensed, designed for self-managed and experimental workflows. H2O.ai also offers enterprise cloud solutions with additional features.

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.

H2O.ai: How many companies use H2O's open source platform?

Over 18,000 companies across Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Retail, Telco, Sales, and Marketing use H2O's open-source machine learning platform.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on authentik

More on H2O.ai

Keep looking

Other head to heads