Databases · head to head
Dgraph vs Keycloak
Dgraph
Databases
Apache 2.0 distributed graph database written in Go, maintained by Hypermode, queried through GraphQL or its own DQL language.
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
Keycloak
Developer Tools
Open-source identity and access management server.
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Keycloak is an open-source IAM platform supporting OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.
- Keycloak is free; Dgraph starts at $39/mo.
- Where Keycloak falls short: requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Dgraph and Keycloak actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).
Not yet recorded: founded for Keycloak.
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 Dgraph
- Apache 2.0 licence
- Generated GraphQL API
- DQL query language
- Predicate sharding
- Raft replication
- Distributed ACID transactions
- Written in Go
- Full-text and geo indexing
Only in Keycloak
Nothing recorded that Dgraph does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Dgraph
- An application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes GraphQLnot Keycloak
- A knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiationnot Keycloak
- Recommendation or fraud-detection features that traverse several hops at request time, where a relational join chain has become the bottlenecknot Keycloak
- Teams that want a graph database they can read, fork and self-host under a permissive licence rather than a source-available onenot Keycloak
Keycloak
- Organisations requiring self-hosted identity infrastructure for compliance or data residencynot Dgraph
- Companies with existing LDAP/Active Directory systems needing federated authenticationnot Dgraph
- Open-source projects and communities requiring free IAM without licensing costsnot Dgraph
- Enterprises building custom identity workflows requiring fine-grained authorisationnot Dgraph
- Teams with sufficient operational expertise to manage infrastructurenot Dgraph
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Dgraph
- Sharding is by predicate, so a single very hot predicate lives entirely in one Raft group and cannot be split further; adding nodes does not relieve it and the fix is a data model change
- Stewardship passed from Dgraph Labs to Hypermode after the original company stopped operating independently, so anyone building on it is betting on a second custodian rather than on the original team's roadmap
- The GraphQL layer is generated and opinionated, so anything it does not express drops you into DQL, which is a second language your team must learn and which no other database speaks
- The community is a fraction of Neo4j's, so operational answers, tuning experience, hiring and third-party tooling are all thinner, and unusual failure modes in a Zero and Alpha cluster leave you reading source rather than a forum
- There is no portable graph standard to migrate to; Cypher, Gremlin and SPARQL are all different query models, so the schema and every query is a rewrite if you later leave, and that cost grows with the application
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
Dgraph
Free- CommunityFree
- Native GraphQL
- Graph queries
- Full-text search
- Cloud$39/mo
- Managed service
- Auto-scaling
- Enterprise support
Keycloak
Free- Open-sourceFree
- Full platform functionality
- Self-hosted deployment
- Community support
Which should you pick?
Choose Dgraph if
- You need apache 2.0 licence.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
- You also want generated graphql api.
Choose Keycloak if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Self-hosted, Linux, Windows, API.
Questions people ask
- Is Dgraph or Keycloak better?
- Neither clearly leads. Dgraph 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, Dgraph or Keycloak?
- Dgraph starts at Free and Keycloak at Free.
- Does Dgraph or Keycloak run on more platforms?
- Dgraph runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web. Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Linux, Windows, API.
- Can I use Dgraph for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Dgraph best used for?
- Dgraph is most often used for an application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes graphql, a knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiation, recommendation or fraud-detection features that traverse several hops at request time, where a relational join chain has become the bottleneck, teams that want a graph database they can read, fork and self-host under a permissive licence rather than a source-available one. Of those, an application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes graphql and a knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiation are not what Keycloak is typically brought in for.
- What can Dgraph do that Keycloak cannot?
- Dgraph covers Apache 2.0 licence, Generated GraphQL API, DQL query language, Predicate sharding.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Dgraph: Is Dgraph open source?
Yes. The current repository is Apache 2.0, which is a permissive OSI licence, and the project is at v25 under Hypermode's maintenance.
Keycloak: What protocols does Keycloak support?
Keycloak supports OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0 protocols for authentication and authorisation.
SourceDgraph: Is it really GraphQL?
It serves a generated GraphQL API, which is real GraphQL for clients. Its native language, DQL, resembles GraphQL syntactically but is Dgraph's own language and is not the GraphQL specification.
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.
SourceDgraph: How does it compare to Neo4j?
Neo4j has the larger ecosystem, Cypher, and far more operational precedent. Dgraph distributes storage across nodes by default and gives you a GraphQL endpoint without writing resolvers. The choice usually turns on whether you need horizontal scale and a GraphQL surface more than you need ecosystem depth.
Keycloak: Is Keycloak free?
Yes. Keycloak is fully open-source and free to deploy and use. No licensing fees are required.
SourceDgraph: What does a production cluster look like?
At minimum a set of Zero nodes for coordination and a replicated set of Alpha nodes for data, typically three of each for fault tolerance, which is a meaningfully larger operational footprint than a single graph server.
Dgraph: Who maintains it now?
Hypermode. Dgraph Labs, the original company, no longer operates it, and that change of custodian is the main non-technical risk to weigh.
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- Keycloak vs Typesense
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- Keycloak vs Jenkins
- Keycloak vs Atlantis
- Keycloak vs Soketi
- Keycloak vs Kubernetes
- Keycloak vs GitLab
- Keycloak vs Vite
- Keycloak vs Depot
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- Keycloak vs Buildkite
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- Keycloak vs Bitbucket
- Keycloak vs Sweep
- Keycloak vs Git
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- Keycloak vs GoLand
- Keycloak vs Hookdeck
- Keycloak vs Istio
- Keycloak vs JFrog Artifactory