What is the main difference between Hanko and Keycloak?

Hanko and Keycloak are both authentication & sso providers but differ in their approach, features, and target audience. Compare their GitHub stats, technology stack, and community adoption to make the best choice.

Which is better: Hanko or Keycloak?

The choice between Hanko and Keycloak depends on your specific needs, technical requirements, and team preferences. Both are quality open source solutions with active communities.

Can I migrate from Hanko to Keycloak?

Migration between Hanko and Keycloak is possible but requires careful planning. Consider data export/import capabilities, feature parity, and potential workflow changes.

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Hanko vs Keycloak

Learn how Hanko and Keycloak differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these authentication & sso providers is best for you.

Hanko

Open source authentication platform supporting passkeys, 2FA, SSO, and social login. Self-host or use Hanko Cloud, with full control over your data and no lock-in.

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9,017stars+25(+0.3%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
3 days ago
Repository age
4 years
Version
v3.0.4
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
teamhanko/hanko

Keycloak

Comprehensive open source identity management solution offering single sign-on, social login, and fine-grained authorization for applications and services.

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36,518stars+579(+1.6%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
5 hours ago
Repository age
13 years
Version
26.7.3
License
Apache-2.0
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
keycloak/keycloak

Detailed Comparison

Keycloak appears to have several advantages over Hanko, particularly in popularity, growth, maturity and licensing. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Keycloak wins

Community & Popularity

Keycloak significantly outpaces Hanko in community adoption with 36,518 stars compared to 9,017 stars on GitHub. This 4.0x difference suggests Keycloak has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Keycloak has 8,873 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Keycloak wins

Growth Momentum

Keycloak is growing faster, adding 579 stars in the last 30 days (+1.6%) against adding 25 stars for Hanko (+0.3%). Keycloak is both larger and pulling further ahead.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Hanko last updated 3 days ago and Keycloak 5 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Typescript, JSX. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Hanko uses Next.js, Golang, Vue while Keycloak leverages Python, C, Java.

Keycloak wins

Project Maturity

Keycloak has been in development longer, starting 13 years ago, compared to Hanko which began 4 years ago. This 8.8-year head start suggests Keycloak may have more mature features and established processes.

Keycloak wins

Licensing

Keycloak is licensed under Apache-2.0, while Hanko's license terms are not publicly specified.

Comparable

Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in Authentication & SSO. However, they also have distinct specializations: Keycloak extends into Authorization & Permissions.

Comparable