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Software Development · head to head

Baseten vs Keycloak

Baseten logo

Baseten

Software Development

Inference is everything

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Keycloak logo

Keycloak

Developer Tools

Open-source identity and access management server.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Baseten pro and Enterprise pricing not published; requires contacting sales; Keycloak requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baseten and Keycloak actually diverge.

Attributes where Baseten and Keycloak differ
AttributeBasetenKeycloak
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWebSelf-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API
CategorySoftware DevelopmentDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Baseten

  • Custom model deploymentnot Keycloak
  • Fine-tuned LLM hostingnot Keycloak
  • Inference API scalingnot Keycloak

Keycloak

  • Organisations requiring self-hosted identity infrastructure for compliance or data residencynot Baseten
  • Companies with existing LDAP/Active Directory systems needing federated authenticationnot Baseten
  • Open-source projects and communities requiring free IAM without licensing costsnot Baseten
  • Enterprises building custom identity workflows requiring fine-grained authorisationnot Baseten
  • Teams with sufficient operational expertise to manage infrastructurenot Baseten

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Baseten

  • Pro and Enterprise pricing not published; requires contacting sales
  • Pricing varies significantly by compute type and model

Keycloak

  • Requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain
  • No managed cloud option provided by Red Hat; organisations must operate infrastructure themselves or use third-party distributions
  • Clustering and high-availability configurations require additional operational knowledge
  • Community support only; commercial support requires third-party vendors or distributions

Pricing, plan by plan

Baseten

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Pay-as-you-go deployments
    • Dedicated model APIs
    • SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance
  • Pro$null/month
    • Priority GPU access
    • Unlimited autoscaling
    • Volume discounts available
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Self-hosted options
    • Custom SLAs
    • Data residency control

Keycloak

Free
  • Open-sourceFree
    • Full platform functionality
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Baseten if

  • You want to start without paying.
Baseten review

Choose Keycloak if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.
Keycloak review

Questions people ask

Is Baseten or Keycloak better?
Neither clearly leads. Baseten starts at Free and Keycloak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baseten or Keycloak?
Baseten starts at Free and Keycloak at Free.
Does Baseten or Keycloak run on more platforms?
Baseten runs on Web. Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API.
Can I use Baseten for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Baseten best used for?
Baseten is most often used for custom model deployment, fine-tuned llm hosting, inference api scaling. Of those, custom model deployment and fine-tuned llm hosting are not what Keycloak is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Baseten: Does Baseten have a free tier?

Yes, Baseten's Basic plan is free with a pay-as-you-go model for dedicated deployments and model APIs.

Source
Keycloak: What protocols does Keycloak support?

Keycloak supports OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0 protocols for authentication and authorisation.

Source
Baseten: How are GPU instances priced on Baseten?

GPU instances are priced per minute: T4 at $0.01052/min, H100 at $0.10833/min, and B200 at $0.16633/min. CPU instances range from $0.00058 to $0.01382 per minute.

Source
Keycloak: Can Keycloak integrate with existing user directories?

Yes. Keycloak supports user federation with LDAP and Active Directory systems, allowing organisations to leverage existing user directories.

Source
Baseten: What are Model API costs on Baseten?

Model API pricing varies by model: DeepSeek V4 Flash costs $0.13 per million input tokens and $0.028 per million output tokens; GLM-5.3-Flash costs $0.15 and $0.03 respectively.

Source
Keycloak: Is Keycloak free?

Yes. Keycloak is fully open-source and free to deploy and use. No licensing fees are required.

Source
Baseten: Does Baseten charge for idle compute time?

No, Baseten does not charge for idle time; billing only covers active compute usage on deployments.

Source
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