Zitadel vs Authentik: Which Identity Provider to Self-Host?

Quick Verdict

Authentik is the better choice for most self-hosters. It has a larger community, better homelab documentation, and unique features like reverse proxy authentication and remote desktop access control. If you run a homelab with mixed apps — some supporting OIDC, some supporting nothing — Authentik’s outpost system protects everything.

Zitadel wins if you need multi-tenancy or run on constrained hardware. Its single Go binary uses a fraction of Authentik’s memory, and native multi-tenant support makes it the better choice for SaaS platforms or MSPs managing multiple organizations from one instance.

Overview

Zitadel and Authentik are both full identity providers — they go beyond simple auth proxies like Authelia to offer user management, application registrations, and multiple protocol support. But they target different audiences.

Zitadel (13.1k GitHub stars) is a cloud-native identity platform written in Go. It’s built around event sourcing, making every authentication event auditable. Originally designed for SaaS platforms, it excels at multi-tenant deployments where one instance serves multiple organizations.

Authentik (20.3k GitHub stars) is a Python/Django identity platform with growing Rust components. It’s built for flexibility — customizable authentication flows, reverse proxy integration, and a visual flow editor that lets you design complex login experiences without code.

Aspect	Zitadel	Authentik
Language	Go (single binary)	Python/Django + Rust
GitHub Stars	13.1k	20.3k
Latest Version	v4.11.0	2025.12.4
License	AGPL 3.0	MIT
First Release	2020	2020
Approach	API-first, event-sourced	Visual flow builder

Protocol Support

Both platforms cover the essential identity protocols, but with different strengths.

Protocol	Zitadel	Authentik
OpenID Connect	Yes (Certified)	Yes
OAuth 2.0	Yes	Yes
SAML 2.0	Yes	Yes
LDAP Provider	Yes	Yes
SCIM 2.0	Yes	No
RADIUS	No	Yes
Forward Auth / Reverse Proxy	No	Yes
Remote Desktop (RDP/SSH/VNC)	No	Yes

Zitadel’s SCIM support means it can handle automated user provisioning from HR systems. Authentik’s RADIUS support covers legacy network equipment that can’t speak modern protocols.

The standout difference: Authentik can act as an authentication reverse proxy. If you have an app with no built-in auth (like a monitoring dashboard), Authentik’s outpost sits in front of it and enforces login. Zitadel doesn’t do this — you’d need Authelia or a similar tool alongside it.

Resource Usage

This is where the architectural difference hits hardest.

Resource	Zitadel	Authentik
Minimum RAM	512 MB	2 GB
Typical RAM	1 GB	4 GB
Minimum CPU	1 core	2 cores
Database	PostgreSQL or CockroachDB	PostgreSQL
Cache Layer	None needed	Optional (Redis removed in 2025.10)
Docker Image Size	~80 MB	~800 MB

Zitadel’s single Go binary is dramatically lighter. On a Raspberry Pi 4 or a small VPS, Zitadel runs comfortably where Authentik would struggle. Authentik dropped its Redis requirement in version 2025.10, which helps, but the Python/Django stack still demands significantly more memory.

Setup and Configuration

Zitadel

Zitadel’s setup is straightforward — one container plus PostgreSQL:

services:
  zitadel:
    image: ghcr.io/zitadel/zitadel:v4.11.0
    command: start-from-init --masterkeyFromEnv --tlsMode disabled
    environment:
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_HOST: db
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_PORT: 5432
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DATABASE: zitadel
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_USERNAME: zitadel
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_PASSWORD: zitadel-secret
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_SSL_MODE: disable
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_USERNAME: postgres
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_PASSWORD: postgres-secret
      ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_SSL_MODE: disable
      ZITADEL_MASTERKEY: a-32-character-master-key-change
      ZITADEL_EXTERNALDOMAIN: auth.example.com
      ZITADEL_EXTERNALPORT: 443
      ZITADEL_EXTERNALSECURE: "true"
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: postgres:17-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres-secret
      POSTGRES_DB: zitadel
    volumes:
      - zitadel-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  zitadel-db:

Configuration happens primarily through the API or the web console after initial deployment. The ZITADEL_MASTERKEY encrypts sensitive data at rest — generate a strong 32-character key.

Authentik

Authentik requires more containers but offers a visual setup experience:

services:
  authentik-server:
    image: ghcr.io/goauthentik/server:2025.12.4
    command: server
    environment:
      AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY: generate-a-long-random-string-here
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__HOST: db
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__USER: authentik
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__NAME: authentik
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__PASSWORD: authentik-secret
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "9443:9443"
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    restart: unless-stopped

  authentik-worker:
    image: ghcr.io/goauthentik/server:2025.12.4
    command: worker
    environment:
      AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY: generate-a-long-random-string-here
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__HOST: db
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__USER: authentik
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__NAME: authentik
      AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__PASSWORD: authentik-secret
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: postgres:17-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: authentik
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: authentik-secret
      POSTGRES_DB: authentik
    volumes:
      - authentik-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U authentik"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  authentik-db:

Authentik’s web-based setup wizard walks you through creating your first user and configuring applications. The visual flow editor is where it really shines — you can design multi-step authentication flows (MFA, conditional access, enrollment) by dragging and connecting stages.

Multi-Tenancy

This is Zitadel’s flagship feature. It supports true multi-tenancy at the architecture level — one Zitadel instance can serve completely isolated organizations, each with their own users, applications, branding, and policies. Organizations can be created and managed via API.

Authentik has no native multi-tenancy. You can simulate it with tenants mapped to groups and conditional flows, but it’s not the same. For SaaS platforms or managed service providers, this is the deciding factor.

User Management

Feature	Zitadel	Authentik
Web UI for user admin	Yes	Yes (more polished)
Self-service portal	Yes	Yes
User enrollment flows	API-driven	Visual flow editor
Group management	Yes	Yes
RBAC	Yes (fine-grained)	Yes
Custom attributes	Yes	Yes
Brute-force protection	Yes	Yes
Password policies	Yes	Yes
Social login (Google, GitHub)	Yes	Yes

Authentik’s admin UI is generally considered more intuitive, especially for users who aren’t comfortable with API-driven configuration.

MFA and Passwordless

Both platforms support modern authentication methods:

Method	Zitadel	Authentik
TOTP (authenticator apps)	Yes	Yes
WebAuthn / FIDO2	Yes	Yes
Passkeys	Yes (first-class)	Yes
SMS OTP	No	Yes
Duo Push	No	Yes
Email OTP	Yes	Yes

Zitadel treats passkeys as a first-class authentication method — it’s designed for a passwordless future. Authentik supports more legacy MFA methods (SMS, Duo) which matters if you’re migrating from an existing system.

Use Cases

Choose Zitadel If…

• You’re building a SaaS platform that needs per-customer isolation
• You run on constrained hardware (Pi, 1GB VPS)
• You prefer API-first configuration and infrastructure-as-code
• You need SCIM provisioning from HR tools
• You want a complete audit trail via event sourcing
• You need to serve multiple organizations from one instance

Choose Authentik If…

• You run a homelab with apps that lack built-in authentication
• You want to protect apps behind a reverse proxy without modifying them
• You need remote desktop access control (RDP/SSH/VNC)
• You prefer visual configuration over API calls
• You need RADIUS for network equipment
• You want the largest community and most third-party guides

Final Verdict

For homelab and self-hosting, Authentik is the stronger choice. The reverse proxy integration alone justifies it — most homelabbers have at least a few apps with no built-in auth. The larger community means you’ll find integration guides for almost every self-hosted app. The tradeoff is resource consumption: budget 2-4 GB RAM.

For multi-tenant or SaaS deployments, Zitadel is the clear winner. Native multi-tenancy, event sourcing, and the lightweight Go runtime make it purpose-built for this use case. It’s also the better choice if you’re running on a Raspberry Pi or small VPS where every megabyte of RAM counts.

For a lightweight auth proxy without full IdP features, consider Authelia instead — it uses under 30 MB RAM and integrates directly with reverse proxies. See our Authelia vs Authentik comparison for details.

Related

• How to Self-Host Zitadel
• How to Self-Host Authentik
• Authelia vs Authentik
• Authelia vs Keycloak
• Zitadel vs Keycloak
• Best Self-Hosted Authentication & SSO
• Docker Compose Basics