head to head · open source
Keycloak vs JumpServer
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars, 9,129 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. JumpServer has 31,886 stars, 5,809 forks, 97 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Keycloak leads on adoption by 18% (37,657 vs 31,886 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; JumpServer is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, JumpServer 18%. Keycloak was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | JumpServer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 32K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 5.8K |
| 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 JumpServer if
- You want the JumpServer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and JumpServer 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 JumpServer
An open source PAM platform (Bastion Host) [![][license shield]][license link] [![][docs shield]][docs link] [![][deepwiki shield]][deepwiki link] [![][discord shield]][discord link] [![][docker shield]][docker link] [![][github release shield]][github release link] [![][github stars shield]][github stars link] English · 中文(简体) · 中文(繁體) · 日本語 · Português (Brasil) · Español · Русский · 한국어 What is JumpServer? JumpServer is an open source Privileged Access Management (PAM) platform that provides DevOps and IT teams with on demand and secure access to SSH, RDP, Kubernetes, Database and RemoteApp endpoints through a…
read the full JumpServer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or JumpServer more popular?
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars and JumpServer has 31,886. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and JumpServer free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and JumpServer under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Keycloak and JumpServer?
Keycloak is written in Java and JumpServer in Python. 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 JumpServer?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (37,657 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose JumpServer if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.