keycloakvsPterodactyl
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| keycloak | Pterodactyl | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 86/100 | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 40 in Authentication | #5 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 37 583 | 9 437 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +616 | +183 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 11 |
| Latest release | 26.8.1 · 13 Oct 2026 | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Java | PHP |
Which one should you pick?
keycloak scores 86/100 against 75/100 for Pterodactyl, so it is the safer default.
keycloak ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 11 for Pterodactyl.
If you want the quickest setup, keycloak is easier to run; Pterodactyl needs more configuration.
keycloak is growing faster right now (+616 stars in 30 days).
keycloak details →Pterodactyl details →
Swap a project
Keep keycloak, compare it with
Keep Pterodactyl, compare it with