# keycloak vs nginx-ldap-auth

> Two self-hosted [Authentication projects](https://selfhost.directory/authentication), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | keycloak | nginx-ldap-auth |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 86/100 ✓ | 43/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 40 in Authentication | #31 of 40 in Authentication |
| GitHub stars | 37 577 ✓ | 709 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +610 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | 26.8.1 · 13 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Main language | Java | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

keycloak scores 86/100 against 43/100 for nginx-ldap-auth, so it is the safer default.

keycloak ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for nginx-ldap-auth.

If you want the quickest setup, keycloak is easier to run; nginx-ldap-auth needs more configuration.

keycloak is growing faster right now (+610 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [keycloak](https://selfhost.directory/project/keycloak) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/keycloak.md)
- [nginx-ldap-auth](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-ldap-auth) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-ldap-auth.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/keycloak-vs-nginx-ldap-auth