head to head · open source
Keycloak vs HashiCorp Vault
Keycloak has 36,838 GitHub stars, 8,942 forks, 3,292 open issues and last shipped today. HashiCorp Vault has 36,262 stars, 4,760 forks, 1,435 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Keycloak leads on adoption by 2% (36,838 vs 36,262 stars). Keycloak is written in Java under Apache-2.0; HashiCorp Vault is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. Keycloak has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, HashiCorp Vault 13%. 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 | HashiCorp Vault | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 36K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.9K | ⑂ 4.8K |
| 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 HashiCorp Vault if
- You want the HashiCorp Vault feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and HashiCorp Vault 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 HashiCorp Vault
Vault is a secrets management tool built in Go, designed to securely store, control access to, and manage sensitive data such as API keys, passwords, certificates, and encryption keys. It operates as a centralized service that abstracts secret access across diverse systems, providing unified APIs and enforcing strict access policies. Vault lives in the HashiCorp ecosystem and integrates with infrastructure tools like Consul for storage backends and Terraform for provisioning workflows.
read the full HashiCorp Vault overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Keycloak or HashiCorp Vault more popular?
Keycloak has 36,838 GitHub stars and HashiCorp Vault has 36,262. Keycloak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Keycloak and HashiCorp Vault free?
Both are open source. Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0, and HashiCorp Vault has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Keycloak and HashiCorp Vault?
Keycloak is written in Java and HashiCorp Vault 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 HashiCorp Vault?
Choose Keycloak if you want the larger community (36,838 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose HashiCorp Vault if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.