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Developer Tools · head to head

Keycloak vs Qdrant

Keycloak logo

Keycloak

Developer Tools

Open-source identity and access management server.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit KeycloakFull review
Qdrant logo

Qdrant

Databases

High-performance vector database for similarity search and embedding-based retrieval

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit QdrantFull review

The short version

  • Keycloak is an open-source IAM platform supporting OpenID Connect, OAuth 2; Qdrant is an open-source vector search engine.
  • Both are free.
  • Where Keycloak falls short: requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain.
  • Where Qdrant falls short: free tier extremely limited (0.5 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB disk); suitable only for experiments.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keycloak and Qdrant actually diverge.

Attributes where Keycloak and Qdrant differ
AttributeKeycloakQdrant
Pricing modelOpen-sourceFreemium
PlatformsSelf-hosted, Linux, Windows, APIWeb, Self-hosted, Browser extension, Serverless (coming)
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

What people use each for

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

Keycloak

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

Qdrant

  • Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) backends for LLM applicationsnot Keycloak
  • Semantic search across large document corporanot Keycloak
  • Multimodal retrieval (text, images, video) for recommendation systemsnot Keycloak
  • Similarity-based product or content recommendationsnot Keycloak
  • Real-time vector indexing for streaming embedding datanot Keycloak

Where each one falls short

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

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

Qdrant

  • Free tier extremely limited (0.5 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB disk); suitable only for experiments
  • Standard and Premium pricing usage-based; specific costs not published; requires calculator or quote
  • Requires understanding of embeddings and vector search concepts; not suitable for SQL-only teams
  • Early-stage serverless offering (coming soon) suggests maturity gaps in that deployment model

Pricing, plan by plan

Keycloak

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

Qdrant

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Single-node cluster
    • 0.5 vCPU
    • 1GB RAM
  • StandardOn request
    • Dedicated resources
    • Flexible scaling
    • High availability
  • PremiumOn request
    • SSO and SAML
    • Private VPC links
    • 99.9% uptime SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Keycloak if

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

Choose Qdrant if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Browser extension, Serverless (coming).
Qdrant review

Questions people ask

Is Keycloak or Qdrant better?
Neither clearly leads. Keycloak starts at Free and Qdrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keycloak or Qdrant?
Keycloak starts at Free and Qdrant at Free.
Does Keycloak or Qdrant run on more platforms?
Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Linux, Windows, API. Qdrant runs on Web, Self-hosted, Browser extension, Serverless (coming).
Can I use Keycloak for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Keycloak best used for?
Keycloak is most often used for organisations requiring self-hosted identity infrastructure for compliance or data residency, companies with existing ldap/active directory systems needing federated authentication, open-source projects and communities requiring free iam without licensing costs, enterprises building custom identity workflows requiring fine-grained authorisation. Of those, organisations requiring self-hosted identity infrastructure for compliance or data residency and companies with existing ldap/active directory systems needing federated authentication are not what Qdrant is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Keycloak: What protocols does Keycloak support?

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

Source
Qdrant: Can I use Qdrant for free?

Yes, Qdrant offers a free tier that provides a single node cluster with 0.5 vCPU, 1GB RAM, and 4GB disk space. It includes free cloud inference with selected models and is described as free forever for testing and prototypes.

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
Qdrant: How is Qdrant Cloud billing calculated?

Billing is calculated based on actual resource usage during each billing period. You are charged hourly for compute (vCPU), memory (GB), storage (GB), backups, and any paid inference tokens used.

Source
Keycloak: Is Keycloak free?

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

Source
Qdrant: What happens if I scale beyond the free tier?

The Standard Tier uses the same usage-based billing model as the free tier but adds features like dedicated resources with flexible scaling, highly available setups with backup and disaster recovery, and a 99.5% uptime SLA.

Source
Qdrant: What SLA does Qdrant offer?

The Standard Tier provides 99.5% uptime SLA. The Premium Tier, which requires a minimum spend for enterprises, offers 99.9% uptime SLA along with single sign-on and private VPC links.

Source
Qdrant: Are there dedicated cloud infrastructure options?

Yes, Qdrant offers Hybrid Cloud (runs on your infrastructure) and Private Cloud (complete isolation) options, both with custom pricing that requires contacting the sales team.

Source
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