Keycloak

A widely used open-source IAM platform, backed by Red Hat

ToolIdentity & Access ManagementOpen SourceSelf-hosted

Pricing: Free (open source) / Red Hat Build of Keycloak via subscription

Reviewed by the CyberSecTool editorial team against the public sources cited below · Last reviewed February 2026 · How we review listings

What is Keycloak?

Keycloak is the open-source identity and access management platform backed by Red Hat. It provides SSO, federation, identity brokering, and social login for modern applications and services. Keycloak is the upstream project for Red Hat Build of Keycloak (the commercially supported version) and is widely deployed in both enterprise and community settings where full control over the identity stack is required.

Best for: Teams that need full control, auditability, and zero license cost
Pros
  • Free, fully open source, self-hosted forever
  • Rich feature set comparable to commercial platforms
  • Strong federation with LDAP and Active Directory
  • Large community and extensive extension ecosystem
Considerations
  • Operational overhead of running it yourself
  • Admin UI is functional but less modern
  • Requires expertise to deploy for high availability
  • Upgrades between major versions can be time-consuming

Reported in public reviews and vendor documentation. See sources below.

Key Features

OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0 support
Identity brokering with social login providers
User federation with LDAP and Active Directory
Multi-factor authentication (TOTP, WebAuthn)
Adaptive authentication via custom authenticators
Fine-grained authorization services
Admin and Account REST APIs
Realms for multi-tenant deployments
Customizable login and account themes
Kubernetes operator for declarative deployment

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Sources & references

Where the information on this listing comes from. Always verify pricing and capabilities against the vendor before a purchasing decision.

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Quick Info
PricingFree (open source) / Red Hat Build of Keycloak via subscription
ModelOpen Source + Enterprise Subscription
Founded2014
CloudNo
Self-HostedYes
Open SourceYes

Last updated: Feb 20, 2026

In the glossary