Compare Tools

Keycloak vs Stytch

Live comparisonView as JSON
Keycloak
self-hostedFree (self-hosted)
Stytch
cloudFree up to 25 orgs
Agent Sdk
Token Delegation
Human In The Loop
Fga
Mcp Support
Async Authorization
Pricing
Free (self-hosted)Red Hat SSO (commercial support)
Free up to 25 orgsUsage-based ProCustom Enterprise
Open Source
Self-Hosted
SDK Languages
javascriptjavapythongo
javascripttypescriptpythonrubygo
Frameworks
None listed
langchainvercel-ai
Compliance
gdpr
soc2gdpr
Best For
Enterprise on-prem identity; legacy system integration; organizations standardized on Red Hat / Java stacks
API-first auth for AI startups; headless identity with flexible session management
Limitations
No agent SDK, no FGA, no human-in-the-loop; UI and developer experience are dated; heavy Java-based deployment
No FGA, no dedicated agent SDK, no human-in-the-loop; good primitives but requires more DIY for complex agent patterns

Supported Not supported Unverified

For developers building AI agents, Keycloak and Stytch follow different deployment philosophies. Stytch is managed — agents provision themselves through Connected Apps with Dynamic Client Registration, scoped token delegation, and machine-actor abuse detection. Keycloak is self-hosted Java software with enterprise protocols (LDAP, SAML), deep Java SPI customization, and no per-user fees, but requires manual agent setup. Stytch wins for managed agent provisioning with abuse detection. Keycloak wins for self-hosted enterprise environments with legacy directory integration.

Where Stytch wins

  • Agent Provisioning via Connected Apps. Connected Apps turns your application into an OAuth identity provider with automatic Dynamic Client Registration. Agents register at runtime, receive scoped tokens, and connect securely without pre-registration. Keycloak requires manual OAuth2 configuration.

  • Agent Abuse Detection. Stytch detects and throttles machine-actor traffic. High-frequency requests, bulk token acquisition, and anomalous behavior trigger automatic mitigation. Keycloak relies on rate limiting without machine-actor-specific detection.

  • Passwordless Authentication with Headless APIs. Stytch includes Magic Links, SMS/WhatsApp OTP, Email OTP, Passkeys, and WebAuthn ready to use. Keycloak supports some passwordless methods through custom flows but lacks Stytch's headless API depth and passwordless options.

Where Keycloak wins

  • Open-Source Self-Hosted with Air-Gap Support. You can deploy Keycloak entirely within your infrastructure, including air-gapped environments with no outbound internet access. Stytch is cloud-only with no self-hosting, making it unsuitable for organizations with strict data residency requirements or classified environment constraints.

  • No MAU-Based Pricing. Keycloak's open-source license has no per-user or per-MAU fees. It's cost-effective at very high user volumes where Stytch's pricing scales with usage. Organizations with large user bases can eliminate variable identity infrastructure costs by self-hosting Keycloak.

  • Enterprise Protocols. Keycloak supports OIDC, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and LDAP user federation natively. Stytch focuses on modern passwordless authentication and lacks LDAP or SAML support, limiting use in legacy enterprise scenarios.

The agentic difference

Stytch focuses on dynamic agent onboarding via Connected Apps. It provides M2M tokens, OAuth 2.1, Dynamic Client Registration, and agent abuse detection. Stytch lacks a token vault for third-party API credentials and no FGA for RAG pipelines.

Keycloak lacks dedicated agent primitives. It has no token vault for third-party API credentials. MCP server support requires wrapping OAuth2 and OIDC APIs. Keycloak offers no FGA for RAG scoping. Neither supports CIBA for asynchronous human-in-the-loop authorization.

When to pick which

  • Pick Stytch if agents need runtime OAuth provisioning and abuse detection. Connected Apps handles agent onboarding with built-in throttling that Keycloak's manual configuration cannot match.

  • Pick Stytch when you build passwordless-first user flows with Magic Links, OTP, and Passkeys. Stytch's headless APIs avoid custom Keycloak flow development.

  • Pick Keycloak if you must keep deployment self-hosted, air-gapped, or on-premises with no SaaS vendor lock-in. Keycloak's open-source code gives you complete infrastructure control and eliminates per-user fees.

  • Pick Keycloak if your environment requires native LDAP federation, SAML 2.0 identity provider integration, and deep Java SPI customization for legacy enterprise identity flows that managed services cannot support.

Last verified: 2026-05-09