head to head · open source
Keycloak vs lesspass
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars, 9,129 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lesspass has 6,077 stars, 360 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. Keycloak leads on adoption by 520% (37,657 vs 6,077 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, lesspass 6%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Keycloak | lesspass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 6.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 360 |
| 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 lesspass if
- You want the lesspass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and lesspass 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 lesspass
LessPass LessPass is a stateless password manager. Stop wasting your time synchronizing your encrypted vault. Remember one master password to access your passwords, anywhere, anytime. No sync needed. Try the demo at How to use LessPass Web extensions Install the web extension on Chrome or Firefox. When you need to generate a password, click on the password field on the web site you want to generate a password for. Hit Ctrl + Shift + L or Command + Shift + L on mac to open the web extension. Fill the login and master password and hit Enter . Your password is now copied in the clipboard. Hit esc key and paste the…
read the full lesspass overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Identity & Access Management (IAM) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Identity & Access Management (IAM) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or lesspass more popular?
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars and lesspass has 6,077. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and lesspass free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lesspass under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Keycloak and lesspass?
Keycloak is written in Java and lesspass 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 lesspass?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (37,657 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lesspass if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.