Keycloak and FusionAuth are CIAM platforms designed to register, login and manage users in modern applications. They eliminate the risk, costly development and maintenance time required to build an in-house solution. Keycloak and FusionAuth share many features, but also have important differences. Use this information to compare the two and determine which matches your needs.

What Keycloak and FusionAuth Have In Common

Essential CIAM Features

Keycloak and FusionAuth both have the essential tools of modern identity management including secure login and registration, multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO) across multiple applications, and customizable communication templates. Both also take advantage of OAuth2 & API key management providing secure access across web and mobile applications. These are standard features of any CIAM platform but are often insecurely implemented in custom-built solutions.

Cost: Both Are Free

Every company needs to control their costs, even for essential components like identity management. Fortunately, both Keycloak and FusionAuth are free. Our models are slightly different, but we both offer our full platforms with no restrictions, licenses, or barriers regardless of how many users you have. Other popular SaaS ‘solutions’ charge you more as your monthly active users increase, often jumping to substantially higher pricing tiers just as your app starts getting traction and adding significant numbers of users.

Single-Tenant and On-Prem

Both Keycloak and FusionAuth are single-tenant solutions that install on-premises or in private clouds to isolate and protect user data. This also allows for easier compliance with complex regulatory restrictions enforced by many industries and countries. Germany’s Bundesdatenschutzgesetz, Australia’s Privacy Principles, Canada’s PIPEDA, and most recently the European Union’s GDPR all place different restrictions on how a customer’s personal data can be utilized and transmitted. Keycloak and FusionAuth provide the expanded control required to comply with specific laws and regulations.

Learn more about single- and multi-tenant solutions and GDPR requirements in these whitepapers.

How Keycloak and FusionAuth Are Different

Maintenance and Support

Identity management systems require constant security evaluation and maintenance to stay up-to-date as technology and threats evolve. FusionAuth has a team of security and identity experts that continually challenge our system with the newest hacker strategies and exploits. If vulnerabilities are found, security updates and patches are released immediately to eliminate potential threats. In contrast, issues found in Keycloak are announced to the community, and if addressed and resolved, included in the next scheduled release.

Keycloak and FusionAuth also have very different support models. FusionAuth has several options ranging from migration assistance to 365/24/7 email, chat, and phone support. We can also host and manage your FusionAuth instance for full-time system monitoring and maintenance. Keycloak is a Red Hat open-source project and Red Hat has stated that do not provide any support for Keycloak. Additionally, Keycloak is never patched, and they warn that new releases may break backward compatibility. Support is only possible if you purchase and migrate to RH-SSO and buy a subscription to a JBoss Middleware product. As of this writing, cost and compatibility details are only available by contacting Red Hat sales.

Custom Feature Development

Another difference between Keycloak and FusionAuth is our how we approach custom development. Keycloak is open-source and built by a community of developers. There are many benefits to this model, but getting a unique feature built in a specific timeframe can be very difficult in open-source projects. FusionAuth is a small, bootstrapped company dedicated to our customers. If you have a specific use-case that we don’t cover, we’ll work with you to plan and build a solution within your timeframe. Our experienced team has delivered exceptional solutions for clients like DataStax, StrategyCorp, Deutsche Bank and IBM. Simply contact us to discuss your specific needs.

To see more details on how Keycloak and FusionAuth stack up, download this feature comparison and please contact us if you have any questions.

Download the Keycloak and FusionAuth Feature Comparison

Learn More About FusionAuth

FusionAuth is designed to be the most flexible and secure Customer Identity and Access Management solution available at the best price. We provide registration, login, SSO, MFA, social login, data search, user management and more, 100% free for unlimited users. Find out more about FusionAuth and download it today.

Additional Comparisons

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