Authentik
The Open-Source Identity Provider.
Overview
Authentik is an open-source Identity Provider (IdP) that offers a flexible and secure way to manage user identities and access. It integrates with existing environments through standard protocols like OAuth 2.0, SAML, and LDAP. A key feature of Authentik is its powerful visual flow engine, which allows administrators to create highly customizable authentication and enrollment policies. It is designed to be self-hosted, giving organizations full control over their identity infrastructure.
✨ Key Features
- Identity Provider (Forward auth, SAML, OAuth2, OpenID)
- Visual Policy & Flow Engine
- Federation (LDAP, SCIM)
- Multi-factor Authentication
- Application Proxy
- Recovery Keys
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Powerful and intuitive visual flow engine for policies
- Modern, container-native architecture
- Integrated application proxy for legacy apps
Unique Value: Offers unparalleled flexibility in defining authentication policies through its visual flow engine, all within a free, open-source, self-hostable package.
🎯 Use Cases (4)
✅ Best For
- A home lab enthusiast using Authentik to provide SSO for all their personal services (Plex, Home Assistant, etc.).
- A company using the flow engine to require MFA only for users accessing sensitive applications or those coming from untrusted networks.
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Organizations without the technical capability to deploy and maintain a containerized, self-hosted application.
- Companies requiring official certifications like FedRAMP or HIPAA compliance out-of-the-box.
🏆 Alternatives
Compared to Keycloak, Authentik's flow engine is often considered more powerful and intuitive for creating custom logic. It provides a much broader feature set than lighter-weight proxy solutions like Authelia.
💻 Platforms
🔌 Integrations
🛟 Support Options
- ✓ Email Support
- ✓ Dedicated Support (Enterprise Support tier)
🔒 Compliance & Security
💰 Pricing
Free tier: The software is free and open-source. A cloud service and enterprise support are available.
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