authentik review
A broad, self-hosted identity stack for teams that need open-source control.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
authentik is a self-hosted identity provider and single sign-on platform for site administrators, application developers, and security engineers. Its free open-source edition supports OAuth2/OpenID Connect, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos, and proxy use cases. It also includes configurable authentication flows, user and group management, multi-factor authentication, policy-based access control, directory synchronization, and application integrations. Teams that want control over deployment and a broad protocol set should find the product a strong fit; organizations seeking a vendor-hosted identity service should look elsewhere.
The Free plan provides the open-source edition with support for OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos, and proxy deployments, plus community Discord support. Enterprise is listed at $5 per user per month when billed annually and adds privileged access management, Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra ID integrations, scheduled user offboarding, and enhanced audit logging. Enterprise Plus adds custom contracts, expert support, dedicated support and SLAs, multi-instance deployment support, and FIPS compliance for FedRAMP requirements. The published plans make authentik suitable for teams that want to begin with a free deployment and add governance features as their requirements grow.
Its standout strength is breadth across authentication, access policy, directory lifecycle, and remote access. MFA options include static tokens, TOTP, WebAuthn/passkeys, email, SMS, and Duo, while policies can use attributes, time, location, and request context. The platform also supports RDP, SSH, and VNC access, OAuth 2.0 token exchange, API security, and approval-based privileged access with automatic expiration. That scope will appeal to security teams consolidating identity workflows, but it also brings self-hosted deployment responsibility. Choose authentik for protocol flexibility and open-source control; choose an alternative if a hosted service or a narrower, simpler identity tool is the priority.
authentik pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free open-source tier covers major identity and directory protocols
- MFA, adaptive policies, provisioning, and application proxying
- Enterprise adds PAM, audit logging, and scheduled offboarding
- Where it doesn't
- Deployment is self-hosted rather than hosted by the vendor
- Advanced enterprise capabilities require paid plans
- Enterprise Plus uses custom contracts and dedicated support
authentik fact sheet, pricing and score →
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