head to head · open source
Keycloak vs Better Auth
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars, 9,129 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Better Auth has 30,553 stars, 3,052 forks, 723 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Keycloak leads on adoption by 23% (37,657 vs 30,553 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Better Auth is written in TypeScript under MIT. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, Better Auth 10%. Keycloak was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (oidc), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Keycloak | Better Auth | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 31K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 3.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Keycloak if
- You weight community size — 38K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Better Auth if
- You want the Better Auth feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Better Auth fits your workflow better
About Keycloak
Open Source Identity and Access Management Add authentication to applications and secure services with minimum effort. No need to deal with storing users or authenticating users. Keycloak provides user federation, strong authentication, user management, fine grained authorization, and more. Help and Documentation Documentation User Mailing List Mailing list for help and general questions about Keycloak Join keycloak for general questions, or keycloak dev on Slack for design and development discussions, by creating an account at Reporting Security Vulnerabilities If you have found a security vulnerability, please…
read the full Keycloak overview →
About Better Auth
Discord · Website · Issues Better Auth Better Auth is a framework agnostic authentication (and authorization) framework for TypeScript. It provides a comprehensive set of features out of the box and includes a plugin ecosystem that simplifies adding advanced functionalities with minimal code in a short amount of time. Whether you need 2FA, multi tenant support, or other complex features, it lets you focus on building your actual application instead of reinventing the wheel. Why Better Auth Authentication in the TypeScript ecosystem is a half solved problem. Other open source libraries often require a lot of…
read the full Better Auth overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or Better Auth more popular?
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars and Better Auth has 30,553. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and Better Auth free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Better Auth under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Keycloak and Better Auth?
Keycloak is written in Java and Better Auth in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Keycloak or Better Auth?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (37,657 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Better Auth if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.