head to head · open source
Keycloak vs SuperTokens
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars, 9,129 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SuperTokens has 15,340 stars, 788 forks, 155 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Keycloak leads on adoption by 145% (37,657 vs 15,340 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; SuperTokens is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, SuperTokens 5%. Keycloak was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (keycloak), 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 | SuperTokens | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 788 |
| 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 SuperTokens if
- You want the SuperTokens feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and SuperTokens 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 SuperTokens
Open Source auth provider Add secure login and session management to your apps. SDKs available for popular languages and front end frameworks e.g. Node.js, Go, Python, React.js, React Native, Vanilla JS, etc. Supertokens architecture is optimized to add secure authentication for your users without compromising on user and developer experience Three building blocks of SuperTokens architecture 1. Frontend SDK: Manages session tokens and renders login UI widgets 2. Backend SDK: Provides APIs for sign up, sign in, signout, session refreshing, etc. Your Frontend will talk to these APIs 3. SuperTokens Core: The HTTP…
read the full SuperTokens overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or SuperTokens more popular?
Keycloak has 37,657 GitHub stars and SuperTokens has 15,340. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and SuperTokens free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0, and SuperTokens has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Keycloak and SuperTokens?
Keycloak is written in Java and SuperTokens in Java. 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 SuperTokens?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (37,657 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SuperTokens if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.