Is authentik or Harness better?

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

Which is cheaper, authentik or Harness?

authentik starts at Free and Harness at Free.

Does authentik or Harness run on more platforms?

authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Harness runs on Web.

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 Harness is typically brought in for.

What can authentik do that Harness cannot?

authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface.

Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs Harness

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Harness

Developer Tools

Software delivery platform across CI, CD, security testing and cost management

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; Harness essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and Harness actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and Harness differ
Attribute	authentik	Harness
Pricing model	Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier	freemium
Platforms	Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted	Web
Category	Cybersecurity	Developer Tools

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 Harness

Nothing recorded that authentik does not also cover.

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

Harness

Deploying apps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with rollbacksnot authentik
Integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before productionnot authentik
Automating cloud cost reduction and tracking unit-level expensesnot authentik
Enabling developers to provision infrastructure without operations bottlenecksnot authentik
Assessing deployment frequency and lead time productivity metricsnot 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

Harness

Essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
DevOps Essentials has no on-premises deployment option
Internal Developer Portal requires minimum 20 developer licenses
Pipeline execution history retention 6 months (Essentials) vs 25 months as add-on (Enterprise)

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Free

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

Harness

Free

FreeFree
- Starter platform for software delivery lifecycle
- Open source options available (Harness Open Source, Litmus Chaos)
Essentials$null/month
- Growing organizations with small to mid-size teams
- Packaged DevOps Essentials bundle
- Continuous software delivery capabilities
Enterprise$null/month
- Large-scale organizations
- Pick any modules based on needs
- Advanced features

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 Harness if

You want to start without paying.

Harness review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Harness: Is there a free Harness plan?

Yes, Harness offers a free plan for individual developers and small teams with open source options including Harness Open Source and Litmus Chaos.

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.

Harness: What are Harness's paid pricing tiers?

Harness offers Essentials for growing teams and Enterprise for large-scale organizations. Both require contacting sales for custom pricing. Pricing is based on modules and features selected.

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.

Harness: Can Harness be deployed on-premises?

Enterprise plans include self-managed platform deployment option. DevOps Essentials bundle does not offer on-premises deployment.

Source

authentik vs Harness

authentik

Harness

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in authentik

Only in Harness

What people use each for

authentik

Harness

Where each one falls short

authentik

Harness

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Harness

Which should you pick?

Choose authentik if

Choose Harness if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on authentik

More on Harness

Keep looking

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