Is Keycloak or Stytch better?

Neither wins outright. Keycloak is best for teams with ops capacity that need on-prem or regulated-data deployments. Stytch is best for b2b saas that want flexible auth ux without building org modeling from scratch.

Which is cheaper, Keycloak or Stytch?

Keycloak: Free, open source. Hosting and ops are on you.. Stytch: Free up to 10k MAU. B2B from $249/mo.. Per-seat pricing means the cheaper sticker price isn't always the cheaper bill — model your seat count first.

Can I migrate from Keycloak to Stytch?

Yes. Most teams export Keycloak data as CSV or Markdown and re-import into Stytch. The painful part is usually automations and integrations, not the data itself.

Authentication · 2026

Keycloak·vs·Stytch

Two solid choices in authentication. Here's how they stack up on pricing, fit, and trade-offs — so you can decide in a minute.

Reviewed by Switchpoint Editors · Last updated May 1, 2026

Contender A

Keycloak

Battle-tested open-source IAM you run yourself — no MAU costs, full data residency.

Best for

Teams with ops capacity that need on-prem or regulated-data deployments.

Pricing

Free, open source. Hosting and ops are on you.

Pros

Zero per-user cost
Full data ownership and residency control
Mature enterprise feature set (SSO, SCIM, federation)

Trade-offs

You operate it — upgrades, scaling, security
Steeper learning curve than hosted SaaS

Visit Keycloak

Contender B

Stytch

Developer-first auth with strong B2B org/role primitives and passwordless flows.

Best for

B2B SaaS that want flexible auth UX without building org modeling from scratch.

Pricing

Free up to 10k MAU. B2B from $249/mo.

Pros

B2B-native org and RBAC primitives
Excellent docs and DX
Flexible UI — headless or pre-built

Trade-offs

Smaller community than Clerk/Auth0
Pricing steps up at the B2B tier

Visit Stytch

The matrix

Side-by-side

Best for

Keycloak

Teams with ops capacity that need on-prem or regulated-data deployments.

Stytch

B2B SaaS that want flexible auth UX without building org modeling from scratch.

Pricing

Keycloak

Free, open source. Hosting and ops are on you.

Stytch

Free up to 10k MAU. B2B from $249/mo.

Top strength

Keycloak

Zero per-user cost

Stytch

B2B-native org and RBAC primitives

Biggest trade-off

Keycloak

You operate it — upgrades, scaling, security

Stytch

Smaller community than Clerk/Auth0

	Keycloak	Stytch
Best for	Teams with ops capacity that need on-prem or regulated-data deployments.	B2B SaaS that want flexible auth UX without building org modeling from scratch.
Pricing	Free, open source. Hosting and ops are on you.	Free up to 10k MAU. B2B from $249/mo.
Top strength	Zero per-user cost	B2B-native org and RBAC primitives
Biggest trade-off	You operate it — upgrades, scaling, security	Smaller community than Clerk/Auth0

The verdict

Which should you pick?

If…Pick Keycloak

Teams with ops capacity that need on-prem or regulated-data deployments.

If…Pick Stytch

B2B SaaS that want flexible auth UX without building org modeling from scratch.

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