Best Open-Source Authentication Tools in 2026

Here are open-source authentication tools for sign-in, SSO, and identity management. Keycloak provides identity and access management with single sign-on and multi-factor authentication. Authelia adds an SSO multi-factor portal for web apps, and Lucia keeps auth libraries simple for application code. Compare them when you need login flows you can host yourself.

The most popular open-source Authentication tool by GitHub stars is Appwrite(55.7k stars), followed by Keycloak(33.8k stars)and Authelia(27.5k stars). This page lists the top 12 of 12 authentication tools in the directory, ranked by community adoption.

Quick comparison

Best open-source Authentication tools in 2026, ranked by GitHub stars
#ToolStarsLanguageLicense
1Appwrite

Appwrite is an open-source backend server for Web, Mobile, and Flutter developers. It provides a set of easy-to-use REST APIs for managing authentication, databases, storage, and more.

55.7kTypeScriptBSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License
2Keycloak

Open Source Identity and Access Management solution for modern applications and services, offering single sign-on, user federation, and multi-factor authentication.

33.8kJavaApache License 2.0
3Authelia

Authelia is a Single Sign-On Multi-Factor Authentication portal for web apps, providing secure and streamlined access management.

27.5kGoApache License 2.0
4Server

Bitwarden infrastructure and backend solution for managing API, database, and Docker environments.

18.4kC#Other
5Zitadel

ZITADEL is a modern identity infrastructure that simplifies authentication and authorization for developers, providing advanced features like multi-factor authentication and single sign-on.

13.5kGoGNU Affero General Public License v3.0
6Fastapi_mcp

Enhance your FastAPI application by exposing endpoints as Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools, complete with authentication support.

11.8kPythonMIT License
7Lucia

A user-friendly authentication library designed to be simple and clean for developers.

10.5kBSD Zero Clause License
8Nhost

Nhost is an open-source platform providing a Firebase alternative with GraphQL support.

9.1kTypeScriptMIT License
9OpenAuth

OpenAuth is a universal, standards-based authentication provider designed to simplify secure authentication for applications.

5.7kTypeScriptMIT License
10Authgear-server

authgear-server is an open-source authentication server that serves as an alternative to Auth0 and Firebase Auth. It provides secure, flexible, and scalable user authentication and identity management for web and mobile applications.

1.6kGoApache License 2.0

All 12 Authentication tools

Frequently asked questions

What is the best open-source authentication tool in 2026?

Appwrite leads by GitHub stars(55.7k). Appwrite is an open-source backend server for Web, Mobile, and Flutter developers. It provides a set of easy-to-use REST APIs for managing authentication, databases, storage, and more.

Are these authentication tools free?

Yes. Every tool on this list is open source and free to use in your own projects. Many can be self-hosted.

How is this list ranked?

Tools are ranked by GitHub star count, a strong proxy for community adoption and active maintenance. Star counts are refreshed regularly.

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