authentik

Open-source identity provider with flexible authentication flows

As of 29 August 2026, authentik is free to use. Self-hosted identity provider built around configurable flows, positioned as a lighter Keycloak. Softwr lists it under Cybersecurity. authentik is made by Authentik Security, available on Self-hosted, Linux.

Visit siteVisit authentik

Overview

What authentik does

authentik is an open-source identity provider supporting SSO, OAuth2, SAML, LDAP and multi-factor authentication. Its distinguishing idea is flows: authentication, enrolment and recovery are each modelled as a sequence of configurable stages, so unusual requirements are assembled rather than coded around. It is commonly chosen by teams who found Keycloak heavier than their problem needed, particularly in homelab and small-to-mid infrastructure where a friendlier interface matters.

What people use it 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

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of authentik

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

authentikvs
Keycloak
Keycloak: The larger, more established open-source identity provider, heavier to run
authentikvs
Okta
Okta: The managed option, removing operations entirely in exchange for per-user pricing

Pricing

What authentik costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Open source

Free

Full identity provider
All protocols
Community support

Capabilities

Features

Configurable flows
Authentication, enrolment and recovery built from composable stages
Protocol support
OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, LDAP and proxy-based authentication
Application proxy
Puts authentication in front of applications that have none
Modern admin interface
Noticeably more approachable than older IAM consoles

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is authentik free?

The open-source edition is free and complete for most use. An enterprise tier adds support and additional features.

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.

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.

Keep looking

Where to go from authentik

Best Cybersecurity software for

Compare authentik with

Other Cybersecurity software

Authelia
Open-source authentication and two-factor portal for reverse proxies
Open source9 researched notes
Logto
Open-source identity and authentication infrastructure for apps and APIs
Free, then $24/mo8 researched notes
Ory
Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure
Free, then $64/mo8 researched notes
Passbolt
Open-source password manager for teams with self-hosted or cloud deployment
Free, then $4.9/mo9 researched notes
Clerk
Drop-in user authentication and management for developers
Free, then $25/mo9 researched notes
1Password
The world's most-loved password manager
From $2.99/mo10 researched notes
Frontegg
Customer identity and access management platform for SaaS applications
Free plan9 researched notes
OWASP ZAP
Free, open-source web application scanner and intercepting proxy, now governed by the Software Security Project.
Free plan14 researched notes
Infisical
Security infrastructure for developers and AI agents
Free, then $20/mo10 researched notes
Chainguard
Secure-by-default open source software with hardened container images and libraries
Free, then $19,000/yr11 researched notes
Bitwarden
Open source password management for everyone
Free, then $1.65/mo12 researched notes
Cosign
Signs and verifies container images and artifacts, with or without managing keys
Open source12 researched notes
C
CyberGhost VPN
Consumer VPN operated from Romania and owned by Kape Technologies, with a no-logs claim audited by Deloitte.
From $2.19/mo14 researched notes
Dahua Technology
Large Chinese video platform that US federal buyers and federal contractors cannot lawfully use
Pricing on request12 researched notes
Descope
No-code drag-and-drop authentication platform.
Free, then $249/mo12 researched notes
Drata
Agentic trust management with compliance automation.
12 researched notes
DTiQ
Managed video loss prevention with human auditors for restaurants, convenience stores and retail
Pricing on request12 researched notes
Ory Kratos
Headless identity and user management API
Free plan9 researched notes

Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for authentik, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

Best Cybersecurity software alternatives

View all Cybersecurity software