Is authentik or Speakeasy better?

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

Which is cheaper, authentik or Speakeasy?

authentik has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for authentik and On request for Speakeasy.

Does authentik or Speakeasy run on more platforms?

authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Speakeasy runs on web, api.

Can I use authentik for free?

Yes. authentik has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Speakeasy starts at On request.

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 Speakeasy is typically brought in for.

What can authentik do that Speakeasy cannot?

authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. Speakeasy covers AI tool catalog, Per-agent identity, Role-based access control, Real-time policy enforcement.

Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs Speakeasy

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Speakeasy

Cybersecurity

AI control plane for governing enterprise agents, MCP servers, and skills

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only authentik has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: authentik smaller project than Keycloak, with a correspondingly smaller community and fewer integration guides; Speakeasy no self-serve pricing is published; every plan requires a sales conversation.
They diverge on capability: authentik covers Configurable flows, Speakeasy covers AI tool catalog.
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and Speakeasy actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and Speakeasy differ
Attribute	authentik	Speakeasy
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	Open-source core with a paid enterprise tier	quote
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted	web, api

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Speakeasy

AI tool catalog
Per-agent identity
Role-based access control
Real-time policy enforcement
Audit logging
MDM and SSO integration

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

Speakeasy

Governing AI agents at enterprise scalenot authentik
Preventing shadow AI tool sprawlnot authentik
Enforcing least-privilege access for agentsnot authentik
Auditing AI tool call activity for compliancenot 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

Speakeasy

No self-serve pricing is published; every plan requires a sales conversation.
The product pivoted away from its original SDK-generation offering, so past documentation and customers built on that use case are no longer the focus.
Requires integration with an existing identity provider such as Okta or Entra ID to be useful, so it is not a standalone solution.
No published free tier or trial pricing was found.

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Free

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

Speakeasy

On request

Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom pricing
- AI tool catalog and visibility
- Per-agent identity and access control

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 Speakeasy if

You need ai tool catalog.
You work on web, api.
You also want per-agent identity.

Speakeasy review

Questions people ask

Is authentik or Speakeasy better?: Neither clearly leads. authentik starts at Free and Speakeasy at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, authentik or Speakeasy?: authentik has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for authentik and On request for Speakeasy.
Does authentik or Speakeasy run on more platforms?: authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Speakeasy runs on web, api.
Can I use authentik for free?: Yes. authentik has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Speakeasy starts at On request.
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 Speakeasy is typically brought in for.
What can authentik do that Speakeasy cannot?: authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. Speakeasy covers AI tool catalog, Per-agent identity, Role-based access control, Real-time policy enforcement.

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.

Speakeasy: How much does Speakeasy cost?

Speakeasy offers an Enterprise tier with features including SaaS catalog integrations, custom server creation, code mode efficiency, and serverless hosting. No specific pricing is published; interested parties contact the company to discuss pricing.

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.

Speakeasy: What is included in Speakeasy's Enterprise plan?

The Enterprise plan includes SaaS catalog integrations, custom server creation, code mode efficiency, and serverless hosting. Customers contact Speakeasy to discuss their specific pricing for these features.

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.

authentik vs Speakeasy

authentik

Speakeasy

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in authentik

Only in Speakeasy

What people use each for

authentik

Speakeasy

Where each one falls short

authentik

Speakeasy

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

Speakeasy

Which should you pick?

Choose authentik if

Choose Speakeasy if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on authentik

More on Speakeasy

Keep looking

Other head to heads