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Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs Ray

authentik logo

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ray logo

Ray

Machine Learning

Scale AI and Python 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; Ray windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • They diverge on capability: authentik covers Configurable flows, Ray covers Distributed computing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and Ray actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and Ray differ
AttributeauthentikRay
Pricing modelOpen-source core with a paid enterprise tierfreemium
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Ray

  • Distributed computing
  • Ray Train
  • Ray Tune
  • RLlib
  • Ray Serve
  • PyTorch
  • TensorFlow
  • Hugging Face

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

Ray

  • Distributed AI model training and servingnot authentik
  • Large-scale data processingnot authentik
  • Reinforcement learning workloadsnot authentik
  • ML inference servingnot 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

Ray

  • Windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • Windows lacks copy on write forking, which raises memory requirements, and Ray code assumes UNIX filenames
  • Multi node clusters are untested on Apple Silicon Macs
  • The Java API is experimental and community supported only, and requires matching Java and Python versions
  • Python 3.13 support is beta

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

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

Ray

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full Ray framework
    • All libraries
    • Community support
  • Anyscale PlatformFree
    • Managed infrastructure
    • Enterprise support
    • SLAs

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 Ray if

  • You need distributed computing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want ray train.
Ray review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Ray: Is Ray free?

Yes. Ray is free and open source software with over 34,800 GitHub stars and 1,000+ contributors. Users can download and use the Ray framework at no cost.

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.

Ray: Is there a paid option for Ray?

Yes. Anyscale, the managed platform built by Ray's creators, offers paid tiers with enterprise features like governance and advanced tooling. Specific Anyscale pricing details are not listed on the Ray website.

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.

Ray: Can I try Ray with credits?

Yes. New users can try Ray with $100 credit on Anyscale's managed platform to explore the service.

Source
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