Is Keycloak or WorkOS better?

Neither clearly leads. Keycloak starts at Free and WorkOS at $125/one-time per connection, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Keycloak or WorkOS?

Keycloak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Keycloak and $125/one-time per connection for WorkOS.

Does Keycloak or WorkOS run on more platforms?

Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API. WorkOS runs on Web, API.

Can I use Keycloak for free?

Yes. Keycloak has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. WorkOS starts at $125/one-time per connection.

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 WorkOS is typically brought in for.

Developer Tools · head to head

Keycloak vs WorkOS

Keycloak

Developer Tools

Open-source identity and access management server.

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

WorkOS

Cybersecurity

Developer platform for enterprise-ready authentication and identity.

From: $125/one-time per connection
Free plan: No

Full review Website

The short version

Only Keycloak has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Keycloak requires self-hosted deployment and operational expertise to install, configure and maintain; WorkOS authKit free tier limited to 1 million monthly active users; additional millions cost $2,500/month
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keycloak and WorkOS actually diverge.

Attributes where Keycloak and WorkOS differ
Attribute	Keycloak	WorkOS
Starting price	Free	$125/one-time per connection
Pricing model	open-source	usage-based
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API	Web, API
Category	Developer Tools	Cybersecurity

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

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 WorkOS
Companies with existing LDAP/Active Directory systems needing federated authenticationnot WorkOS
Open-source projects and communities requiring free IAM without licensing costsnot WorkOS
Enterprises building custom identity workflows requiring fine-grained authorisationnot WorkOS
Teams with sufficient operational expertise to manage infrastructurenot WorkOS

WorkOS

SaaS applications needing rapid enterprise SSO deploymentnot Keycloak
Companies selling to mid-market and enterprise customersnot Keycloak
Applications requiring SCIM directory sync with corporate identity systemsnot Keycloak
Product teams needing audit logs for compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001)not Keycloak
Platforms with multiple identity provider requirementsnot 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

WorkOS

AuthKit free tier limited to 1 million monthly active users; additional millions cost $2,500/month
Per-connection pricing for SSO and Directory Sync ($125–$50 each) scales poorly for enterprises with many identity providers
Audit logs require separate subscription at $125/month per SIEM connection or $99/month per 1 million events
Radar fraud protection billed separately at $100/month per 50,000 additional checks beyond 1,000 free checks
Custom domain feature requires $99/month subscription
Requires annual commitment for SLA and support guarantees; pay-as-you-go tier lacks uptime guarantee

Pricing, plan by plan

Keycloak

Free

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

WorkOS

$125/one-time per connection

Pay as You Go$undefined/variable
- Per-connection pricing from $125 to $50 with volume discounts
- Up to 60% discount at scale
- Quick deployment
Annual Credits$undefined/variable
- Custom pricing with volume discounts
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Guided migration

Which should you pick?

Choose Keycloak if

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

Keycloak review

Choose WorkOS if

You work on Web, API.

WorkOS review

Questions people ask

Is Keycloak or WorkOS better?: Neither clearly leads. Keycloak starts at Free and WorkOS at $125/one-time per connection, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keycloak or WorkOS?: Keycloak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Keycloak and $125/one-time per connection for WorkOS.
Does Keycloak or WorkOS run on more platforms?: Keycloak runs on Self-hosted, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, API. WorkOS runs on Web, API.
Can I use Keycloak for free?: Yes. Keycloak has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. WorkOS starts at $125/one-time per connection.
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 WorkOS 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

WorkOS: How quickly can I implement WorkOS SSO?

Developers can implement single sign-on in minutes instead of months. Multiple customers report setting up SSO in less than a week, with WorkOS handling the complexity of SAML and OIDC protocols.

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

WorkOS: What SDKs does WorkOS provide?

WorkOS offers SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, and .NET.

Source

Keycloak: Is Keycloak free?

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

Source

WorkOS: Does WorkOS support SCIM provisioning?

Yes. WorkOS supports SCIM provisioning integration with systems like Okta and Entra ID for automated user management.

Source

Keycloak vs WorkOS

Keycloak

WorkOS

The short version

Where they differ

What people use each for

Keycloak

WorkOS

Where each one falls short

Keycloak

WorkOS

Pricing, plan by plan

Keycloak

WorkOS

Which should you pick?

Choose Keycloak if

Choose WorkOS if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Keycloak

More on WorkOS

Keep looking

Other head to heads