Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

authentik vs Weaviate

authentik logo

authentik

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weaviate logo

Weaviate

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database

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; Weaviate the free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • They diverge on capability: authentik covers Configurable flows, Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which authentik and Weaviate actually diverge.

Attributes where authentik and Weaviate differ
AttributeauthentikWeaviate
Pricing modelOpen-source core with a paid enterprise tierfreemium
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
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 Weaviate

  • Vector and keyword search
  • Built-in vectorizers
  • GraphQL API
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Hybrid search
  • OpenAI
  • Hugging Face
  • Cohere

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

Weaviate

  • Running a vector database for semantic and hybrid searchnot authentik
  • Generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describenot 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

Weaviate

  • The free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • Billing is per million vector dimensions rather than per record, so wider embeddings cost proportionally more for the same object count
  • Premium is a prepaid contract starting at $400 a month rather than pay as you go
  • Storage rates do not fall consistently with tier, and Premium Dedicated is $0.1505 per GiB against $0.12 on the cheaper Flex plan
  • The Query Agent is metered separately, free to 1,000 requests a month and $30 a month plus overage beyond

Pricing, plan by plan

authentik

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

Weaviate

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full features
    • Self-hosted
  • ServerlessFree
    • Managed service
    • Auto-scaling

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 Weaviate if

  • You need vector and keyword search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
  • You also want built-in vectorizers.
Weaviate review

Questions people ask

Is authentik or Weaviate better?
Neither clearly leads. authentik starts at Free and Weaviate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, authentik or Weaviate?
authentik starts at Free and Weaviate at Free.
Does authentik or Weaviate run on more platforms?
authentik runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. Weaviate runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, 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 Weaviate is typically brought in for.
What can authentik do that Weaviate cannot?
authentik covers Configurable flows, Protocol support, Application proxy, Modern admin interface. Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Built-in vectorizers, GraphQL API, Multi-tenancy.

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.

Weaviate: What pricing options does Weaviate offer?

Weaviate provides a free tier with usage-based pricing, plus enterprise options. Visit the pricing page for detailed information on plans.

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.

Weaviate: Does Weaviate offer customer support?

Yes, support is included with Weaviate's cloud offerings. Enterprise customers receive first-class support from their global team of experts.

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.

Weaviate: Can I deploy Weaviate on my own infrastructure?

Yes. Weaviate is open source and deployment-agnostic. You can run it in your own cloud environment or use their managed cloud service.

Source
Weaviate: What data security features does Weaviate provide?

Weaviate includes security & governance, RBAC, SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance, along with multi-tenancy and high availability for enterprise requirements.

Source
Weaviate: How do I get started with Weaviate?

Sign up for their cloud tier, create your first dataset, connect an LLM, and build your AI app. Documentation and quickstart guides are available for Python, Go, TypeScript, and JavaScript.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on authentik

More on Weaviate

Keep looking

Other head to heads