top10.dev / Authentication / Keycloak / alternatives

9 Keycloak alternatives, ranked

Picked from the top10.dev Authentication rankings. Each option includes why a developer would choose it over Keycloak.

#1
Clerk score 10.0/10 · CROWN

Drop-in authentication and user management. Beautiful pre-built components with deep framework integration.

  • Strong on: Beautiful pre-built UI
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Great React/Next.js integration
#2
Auth.js score 10.0/10 · RISING

Authentication for the web. Open source, framework-agnostic. Formerly NextAuth.js — now supports everything.

  • Strong on: Open source
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Many providers
#3
Auth0 score 10.0/10

Enterprise identity platform by Okta. Powerful, flexible, and battle-tested at scale.

  • Strong on: Enterprise features
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Universal Login
#4
WorkOS score 10.0/10 · NEW

Auth for B2B SaaS. SSO, SCIM, and directory sync that enterprise customers demand.

  • Strong on: Built for B2B
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Enterprise SSO out of box
#5
Supabase Auth score 9.2/10

Authentication baked into Supabase. Email, social, phone auth with row-level security.

  • Strong on: Integrated with Supabase
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Row-level security
#6
Firebase Auth score 9.0/10

Google's authentication service. Easy setup, many providers, great for mobile and web.

  • Strong on: Easy to set up
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Many sign-in providers
#7
Lucia score 8.9/10 · RISING

Auth library with zero vendor lock-in. Lightweight, framework-agnostic, and fully open source.

  • Strong on: Zero dependencies
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Full control
#8
Stytch score 8.1/10

Passwordless authentication API. Magic links, OTPs, OAuth — modern auth without passwords.

  • Strong on: Passwordless first
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Great API design
#9
Passport.js score 7.8/10

The classic Node.js auth middleware. 500+ strategies, battle-tested, and still going strong.

  • Strong on: 500+ auth strategies
  • Addresses Keycloak's tradeoff: Resource heavy
  • Also: Mature ecosystem