Cerbos vs Keycloak: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for Cerbos and Keycloak side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
Cerbos
Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems.
Best for you if:
- • You want engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management
Best for you if:
- • You want a fully free tool (Cerbos requires payment)
| At a Glance | Cerbos | |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free plan, paid from $25/mo, billed monthly Development plan | Free 100% free |
Category | Security Compliance | Identity & Access Security |
Rating | 4.9/5 G2 4.9 · Capterra 5.0 6 reviews | n/a |
Free plan | Yes | Yes |
Choose Cerbos or Keycloak?
Choose Cerbos if
- You want engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
- You want security and product teams can change who can access what without waiting for an engineering release
- You work in security, not identity & access
Choose Keycloak if
- You want a fully free tool (Cerbos requires payment)
- You want open source identity
- You want self-hostable
- You work in identity & access, not security
In-Depth Analysis
Cerbos
Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems.
Strengths
- Pro: Engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
- Pro: Security and product teams can change who can access what without waiting for an engineering release
- Pro: One view of what every user, service and AI agent can access, with audit logs ready for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA
- Pro: Teams can approve AI agent rollouts, because every agent action is checked against access rules and logged
- Pro: Supports a wide range of programming languages and deployment environments.
Weaknesses
- Con: Each app needs code added where it checks access, so there’s some setup work in existing applications
- Con: No built-in database for relationship data. It stays in your own systems, and Cerbos fetches it when a check runs
Key features
Keycloak
Open-source identity and access management
Keycloak's pricing is exceptionally generous, being entirely free as an open-source solution.
Strengths
- Pro: Open source identity
- Pro: Self-hostable
- Pro: Feature rich
- Pro: No per-user cost
- Pro: Enterprise ready
Weaknesses
- Con: Complex to set up
- Con: Requires maintenance
- Con: Learning curve
- Con: Java-based
- Con: UI dated
Key features
Plans and prices: Cerbos vs Keycloak
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cerbos |
| cerbos.dev/pricing read Nov 3, 2026 |
| Keycloak |
| keycloak.org read Sep 28, 2026 |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on Cerbos pricing and Keycloak pricing.
Key Takeaways
Cerbos
- Choose if you want fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems
Keycloak
- Choose if you want open-source identity and access management
What the data shows
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
- Only Cerbos has a published user rating (4.9/5 from 6 reviews); Keycloak has none we can show.
- Cerbos starts at $25/mo, billed monthly; Keycloak has no public paid plan price on file.
- Both have a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Cerbos and Keycloak compare in 2026?
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair. Only Cerbos has a published user rating (4.9/5 from 6 reviews); Keycloak has none we can show. Cerbos starts at $25/mo, billed monthly; Keycloak has no public paid plan price on file. Both have a free plan.
What are Cerbos and Keycloak used for?
Cerbos: Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems. Keycloak: Open-source identity and access management.
What does Cerbos cost vs Keycloak?
Cerbos's cheapest paid plan is Development at $25/mo, billed monthly; it also has a free plan. Keycloak is free. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Nov 3, 2026.
What's the main difference between Cerbos and Keycloak?
Cerbos's main strength: engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house. Keycloak's main strength: open source identity.