head to head · open source
Keycloak vs pocket-id
Keycloak has 36,855 GitHub stars, 8,942 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pocket-id has 9,222 stars, 310 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Keycloak leads on adoption by 300% (36,855 vs 9,222 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; pocket-id is written in Go under BSD-2-Clause. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, pocket-id 3%. 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 | pocket-id | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 9.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.9K | ⑂ 310 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Keycloak if
- You weight community size — 37K 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 pocket-id if
- You want the pocket-id feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and pocket-id fits your workflow better
About Keycloak
Keycloak is an open source identity and access management server, written in Java and licensed under Apache 2.0, that adds authentication and access control to applications and services, and it is intended for teams and organisations that want to own their user store rather than rent one.
read the full Keycloak overview →
About pocket-id
Pocket ID is a self hosted, OpenID Connect Certified™ and OAuth 2.0 provider, written in Go, that authenticates users with passkeys and passwords never, aimed at anyone who wants single sign on for their own applications without standing up a heavyweight identity platform.
read the full pocket-id overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or pocket-id more popular?
Keycloak has 36,855 GitHub stars and pocket-id has 9,222. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and pocket-id free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pocket-id under BSD-2-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Keycloak and pocket-id?
Keycloak is written in Java and pocket-id 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 pocket-id?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (36,855 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pocket-id if its feature set, stack or BSD-2-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.