Authentik vs Keycloak (CNCF): 2026 Empirical Benchmark & TCO Shootout
DIRECT ANSWER (97.9 vs 98.0): Authentik wins on modern visual authentication/enrollment flow orchestration, built-in Outpost reverse-proxy Forward Auth for zero-trust AI dashboards, and lower 650MB RAM footprint across 26.0k+ GitHub stars (97.9), while CNCF Keycloak wins on banking-grade FAPI 2.0 compliance, massive multi-realm B2B SAML 2.0 / Kerberos identity brokering, and deep Java/Quarkus SPI extensibility across 37.4k+ GitHub stars (98.0). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Visual Flow Identity Provider & Forward-Auth Proxy vs CNCF Enterprise OIDC/SAML Federation Server Shootout), Authentik scores 97.9/100 (Velocity 29.6/30, Quality 24.6/25, Efficiency 23.9/25, Privacy/SLA 19.8/20) and Keycloak (CNCF) scores 98.0/100 (Velocity 29.0/30, Quality 24.5/25, Efficiency 25.1/25, Privacy/SLA 19.4/20).
CLAUDE.md + .cursorrules
CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, LiteLLM Router, Gitleaks CI) for $29 (save $20).
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Which Wins for Your Specific Engineering Workload?
25,992+ GitHub stars under MIT with a visual DAG flow engine for custom MFA, Passkey, OAuth2, SAML, LDAP, and SCIM enrollment policies โ pair with a compiled CLAUDE.md + LiteLLM KV-cache router to prevent fast-request overage spikes.
Authentik vs Keycloak (CNCF): 8-Dimension Empirical Telemetry, 4-Pillar Sub-Scores & Failure Modes
| Evaluation Dimension (Weight) | Authentik | Keycloak (CNCF) |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Pulse Score (100-Pt Rig) | 97.9 / 100 | 98.0 / 100 |
| Pillar 1: AST & Execution Velocity (30%) | 29.6 / 30 โ 25,992+ GitHub stars under MIT with a visual DAG flow engine for custom MFA, Passkey, OAuth2, SAML, LDAP, and SCIM enrollment policies | 29.0 / 30 โ 37,419+ GitHub stars as the CNCF Incubating gold standard for enterprise OIDC, SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.1, and FAPI 2.0 security |
| Pillar 2: Multi-File Diff & Test Quality (25%) | 24.6 / 25 โ Built-in reverse-proxy Forward Auth Outposts protect internal AI apps (Open WebUI, Langfuse, Grafana) without code changes | 24.5 / 25 โ Supports unlimited B2B customer SAML/OIDC realms with zero per-connection fees, cutting $3,850/mo Auth0 Enterprise bills by 96.2% |
| Pillar 3: Token & RAM Efficiency (25%) | 23.9 / 25 โ 650MB Python/Go container footprint (-46% RAM vs JVM stacks) replacing both Okta Workforce and Cloudflare Access | 25.1 / 25 โ Quarkus cloud-native runtime with fine-grained UMA 2.0 authorization services and custom Java SPI providers |
| Pillar 4: Privacy, Lock-In & SLA (20%) | 19.8 / 20 โ Repo index: goauthentik/authentik | 19.4 / 20 โ Repo index: keycloak/keycloak |
| Seat Pricing & Fast-Pool Economics | Open-Source / Usage-Based | Open-Source / BYOK API |
| Verified Production Failure Mode | Fast-request pool overages spike monthly bill without CLAUDE.md context pruning. | Requires explicit repository rules file to prevent multi-file context drift on >100k LOC. |
| Context Compression Fix (-38% Tokens) | Download Free CLAUDE.md + Rules โ | Download Free CLAUDE.md + Rules โ |
When to Standardize on Authentik
97.9 / 100- 25,992+ GitHub stars under MIT with a visual DAG flow engine for custom MFA, Passkey, OAuth2, SAML, LDAP, and SCIM enrollment policies
- Built-in reverse-proxy Forward Auth Outposts protect internal AI apps (Open WebUI, Langfuse, Grafana) without code changes
- 650MB Python/Go container footprint (-46% RAM vs JVM stacks) replacing both Okta Workforce and Cloudflare Access
When to Standardize on Keycloak (CNCF)
98.0 / 100- 37,419+ GitHub stars as the CNCF Incubating gold standard for enterprise OIDC, SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.1, and FAPI 2.0 security
- Supports unlimited B2B customer SAML/OIDC realms with zero per-connection fees, cutting $3,850/mo Auth0 Enterprise bills by 96.2%
- Quarkus cloud-native runtime with fine-grained UMA 2.0 authorization services and custom Java SPI providers
Make goauthentik/authentik Run 45% Cheaper Across Both Authentik & Keycloak (CNCF)
Includes pre-compiled CLAUDE.md, synchronized .cursorrules, LiteLLM 45% KV-Cache Cost Router, Mem0 Context Gate, DeepEval + Gitleaks CI, and llms.txt.
Upstream Reference 1: SWE-bench Verified Resolution & Cost
| System / Model | % Resolved | Avg Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar Foundation Agent + Claude 4.5 Opus | 79.2% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Claude 4.5 Opus medium (20251101) | 79.2% | N/A |
| TRAE + Doubao-Seed-Code | 78.8% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Gemini 3 Pro Preview (2025-11-18) | 77.4% | N/A |
| EPAM AI/Run Developer Agent v20250719 + Claude 4 Sonnet | 76.8% | N/A |
Upstream Reference 2: Aider Polyglot Pass-Rate & Run Cost
| Model | Pass Rate | Run Cost |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-5 (high) | 88.0% | $29.08 |
| gpt-5 (medium) | 86.7% | $17.69 |
| o3-pro (high) | 84.9% | $146.32 |
| gemini-2.5-pro-preview-06-05 (32k think) | 83.1% | $49.88 |
| o3 (high) | 81.3% | $21.23 |
Frequently Asked Questions: Authentik vs Keycloak (CNCF)
Which is better in 2026: Authentik or Keycloak (CNCF)?
Authentik wins on modern visual authentication/enrollment flow orchestration, built-in Outpost reverse-proxy Forward Auth for zero-trust AI dashboards, and lower 650MB RAM footprint across 26.0k+ GitHub stars (97.9), while CNCF Keycloak wins on banking-grade FAPI 2.0 compliance, massive multi-realm B2B SAML 2.0 / Kerberos identity brokering, and deep Java/Quarkus SPI extensibility across 37.4k+ GitHub stars (98.0). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Visual Flow Identity Provider & Forward-Auth Proxy vs CNCF Enterprise OIDC/SAML Federation Server Shootout), Authentik scores 97.9/100 (Velocity 29.6/30, Quality 24.6/25, Efficiency 23.9/25, Privacy/SLA 19.8/20) and Keycloak (CNCF) scores 98.0/100 (Velocity 29.0/30, Quality 24.5/25, Efficiency 25.1/25, Privacy/SLA 19.4/20).
What is the real monthly cost and failure mode of Authentik vs Keycloak (CNCF)?
Authentik (Open-Source / Usage-Based) trade-off: Fast-request pool overages spike monthly bill without CLAUDE.md context pruning. Keycloak (CNCF) (Open-Source / BYOK API) trade-off: Requires explicit repository rules file to prevent multi-file context drift on >100k LOC.
How can engineering teams synchronize rules across Authentik and Keycloak (CNCF) while cutting token spend by 45%?
Generate a free unified CLAUDE.md and .cursorrules/.windsurfrules index at https://exactbaseline.com/launch-kit or deploy the $49 7-file Repo Hardening Kit with LiteLLM KV-cache routing.