head to head · open source
Keycloak vs Permify
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars, 9,129 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Permify has 5,968 stars, 329 forks, 75 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Keycloak leads on adoption by 531% (37,657 vs 5,968 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Permify is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, Permify 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.
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Side by side
| Keycloak | Permify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 329 |
| 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 Permify if
- You want the Permify feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Permify 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 Permify
Exciting news: Permify has been acquired by FusionAuth! 🎉 Permify Blog Post Official Press Release FusionAuth Blog Post Permify Open Source Fine Grained Authorization Implement fine grained, scalable and extensible access controls within minutes to days instead of months. Inspired by Google’s consistent, global authorization system, Zanzibar What is Permify? Permify is an open source authorization service for easily building and managing fine grained, scalable, and extensible access controls for your applications and services. Inspired by Google’s consistent, global authorization system, Google Zanzibar Our…
read the full Permify overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or Permify more popular?
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars and Permify has 5,968. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and Permify free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Permify under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Keycloak and Permify?
Keycloak is written in Java and Permify in Go. 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 Permify?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (37,657 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Permify if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.