Is authentik or Penpot better?

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

Which is cheaper, authentik or Penpot?

authentik starts at Free and Penpot at Free.

Does authentik or Penpot run on more platforms?

authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Penpot runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.

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 Penpot is typically brought in for.

What can authentik do that Penpot cannot?

authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. Penpot covers Vector editing, Interactive prototyping, Design systems, Components & libraries.

Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs Penpot

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Penpot

Developer Tools

Open source design and prototyping platform

From: Free
Rated: -

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; Penpot smaller user base and community compared to Figma means fewer templates and resources
They diverge on capability: authentik covers Configurable flows, Penpot covers Vector editing.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and Penpot actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and Penpot differ
Attribute	authentik	Penpot
Pricing model	Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier	Unknown
Platforms	Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Category	Cybersecurity	Developer Tools
Founded	Unknown	2021

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 Penpot

Vector editing
Interactive prototyping
Design systems
Components & libraries
Real-time collaboration
SVG support
CSS Grid & Flexbox
Code export

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

Penpot

UI/UX designnot authentik
Prototypingnot authentik
Design systemsnot authentik
Developer handoffnot authentik
Open source projectsnot 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

Penpot

Smaller user base and community compared to Figma means fewer templates and resources
Self-hosting requires Linux server and Docker knowledge for technical setup
Real-time collaboration features may have performance issues with very large design files

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Free

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

Penpot

Free

FreeFree
- Cloud-based design
- Real-time collaboration
- Components and variants
Unlimited$7/month
- All free features
- Priority support
- Advanced cloud features
Enterprise$950/month
- Custom enterprise features
- Dedicated support
- Advanced security

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 Penpot if

You need vector editing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
You also want interactive prototyping.

Penpot review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Penpot: Is Penpot really free?

Yes. Penpot is completely free with no feature gates. The open-source version can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure for zero cost beyond server expenses.

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.

Penpot: Can I self-host Penpot?

Yes. Penpot can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure with no licensing costs. Organizations with specific privacy or governance needs can run Penpot on their own servers.

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.

Penpot: What are the paid plans if I use Penpot cloud?

Penpot's cloud service offers a free tier, Unlimited plan at $7 per user per month for professionals and medium teams, and Enterprise starting at $950 per month for larger organizations.

Source

Penpot: What platforms does Penpot support?

Penpot runs in the browser, so it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and any OS with a web browser. No platform-specific downloads required.

Source

authentik vs Penpot

authentik

Penpot

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in authentik

Only in Penpot

What people use each for

authentik

Penpot

Where each one falls short

authentik

Penpot

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Penpot

Which should you pick?

Choose authentik if

Choose Penpot if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on authentik

More on Penpot

Keep looking

Other head to heads