Keycloak vs AWS IAM Identity Center

Keycloak9.0Visit AWS IAM Identity Center8.9Visit

Higher score Keycloak #4 in Identity and Access Management Software 9.0/10 Open source ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Keycloak

vs

AWS IAM Identity Center #5 in Identity and Access Management Software 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit AWS IAM

• Keycloak fits best

  Self-hosted open-source SSO and federation

• AWS IAM Identity Center fits best

  AWS organizations managing multi-account access

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Side by side

Feature	Keycloak 9.0/10 Visit ↗	AWS IAM Identity Center 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.9
Ranking	#4 in Identity and Access Management Software	#5 in Identity and Access Management Software
Best for	Self-hosted open-source SSO and federation	AWS organizations managing multi-account access
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Open source	Free plan
Free plan	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Self-hosted	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web, Windows, Linux	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations	10 integrations	10 integrations
Features Keycloak 2/3 · AWS IAM Identity Center 2/3
Directory sync	✓	✓
Lifecycle provisioning	✓	✓
Adaptive access policies	Not checked yet	—
Specs
SSO protocols	OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0	SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OIDC
MFA methods	TOTP, HOTP, WebAuthn/passkeys, recovery codes	FIDO2 authenticators, virtual authenticator apps, RADIUS MFA
Included users	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0 Combines LDAP, Active Directory, MFA, passkeys, and social login Provides fine-grained authorization and SCIM user and group management APIs	Free access with SSO, permission sets, and multi-account assignments SCIM provisioning and federation through SAML 2.0 MFA, temporary CLI credentials, and deep AWS integrations
Cons	Deployment and ongoing administration are managed by the organization SCIM support is a preview feature and disabled by default Requires self-hosted infrastructure such as virtual machines or containers	Adaptive-access policy features are not part of the documented feature set Its strongest capabilities are tied to AWS accounts and services Non-AWS application access centers on SAML-enabled cloud applications
Our verdict	Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management server for web applications, REST services, and other applications. It is designed for organizations that want to manage authentication and access controls themselves across web,… Read the review →	AWS IAM Identity Center centralizes workforce access across AWS accounts, AWS-managed applications, and SAML-enabled cloud applications. It is designed for organizations using AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts and needing… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Keycloak — where it wins

  • Supports OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0
  • Combines LDAP, Active Directory, MFA, passkeys, and social login
  • Provides fine-grained authorization and SCIM user and group management APIs

  Where it doesn't

  • Deployment and ongoing administration are managed by the organization
  • SCIM support is a preview feature and disabled by default
  • Requires self-hosted infrastructure such as virtual machines or containers

• AWS IAM Identity Center — where it wins

  • Free access with SSO, permission sets, and multi-account assignments
  • SCIM provisioning and federation through SAML 2.0
  • MFA, temporary CLI credentials, and deep AWS integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Adaptive-access policy features are not part of the documented feature set
  • Its strongest capabilities are tied to AWS accounts and services
  • Non-AWS application access centers on SAML-enabled cloud applications

• Keycloak9.0/10 · Open source

  A capable open-source IAM server for teams that want self-hosted SSO and federation.

  Visit KeycloakFull verdict →
• AWS IAM Identity Center8.9/10 · Free plan

  A free, AWS-centered IAM service for multi-account SSO and access control.

  Visit AWS IAMFull verdict →