# keycloak vs nginx-ui

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | keycloak | nginx-ui |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 86/100 ✓ | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 40 in Authentication | #3 of 12 in Web Servers |
| GitHub stars | 37 583 ✓ | 11 680 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +616 ✓ | +143 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 37 ✓ |
| Latest release | 26.8.1 · 13 Oct 2026 | v2.9.1 · 22 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Java | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

keycloak scores 86/100 against 74/100 for nginx-ui, so it is the safer default.

nginx-ui ships more often: 37 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for keycloak.

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

keycloak is growing faster right now (+616 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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