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10/06/2026 12:30 am
TL;DR: Operational gaps that matter most to IAM teams are the focus of a comparison of Keycloak alternatives, especially provisioning, offboarding, access requests, and control beyond SCIM, according to Zluri. The core issue is not feature parity, but whether identity programmes can govern access consistently across apps, contractors, and lifecycle events, while highlighting Gartner’s 2025 visibility and remediation report in the context of attack-surface reduction.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Zluri: Security & Compliance Top 7 Keycloak Alternatives In 2026
By the numbers:
- 72% of organisations have experienced or suspect they have experienced a breach of non-human identities, 46% confirmed and 26% suspected.
Questions worth separating out
Q: What should teams evaluate when replacing Keycloak with another IAM platform?
A: Teams should evaluate how well the platform governs access across the full lifecycle, not just authentication.
Q: Why do non-SCIM applications create IAM governance problems?
A: Non-SCIM applications create governance problems because they sit outside standardised automation and often require direct API connectors or manual workflows.
Q: How do teams know if offboarding is actually working?
A: Offboarding is working only if access removal propagates across every connected system, including directories, applications, and contractor accounts.
Practitioner guidance
- Map app coverage beyond SCIM Identify every application that depends on direct API integration, manual provisioning, or custom workflow handling.
- Test offboarding across the full stack Run a termination test that follows access removal from HRMS trigger to directory update to application revocation.
- Separate contractor rules from employee lifecycle rules Use expiry dates, relationship-based approval, and explicit revocation for third-party access.
What's in the full article
Zluri's full article covers the operational comparison this post intentionally leaves at the governance level:
- Side-by-side feature details for each Keycloak alternative, including access management, authentication, and lifecycle functions.
- Vendor-specific notes on provisioning, offboarding, and contractor access handling that help with implementation-stage evaluation.
- Pricing, customer ratings, and product positioning details that support shortlist decisions.
- References to the original Gartner visibility and remediation context used in the article's positioning.
👉 Read Zluri's comparison of Keycloak alternatives for IAM and access governance →
Keycloak alternatives: what IAM teams should evaluate in 2026?
Explore further
10/06/2026 9:37 pm
Access governance is the deciding factor in Keycloak replacement decisions, not authentication alone. Many teams compare IAM tools as if login support were the primary requirement, but the operational risk sits in lifecycle coverage, entitlement review, and revocation consistency. If a platform cannot govern access across HRMS, SSO, APIs, and non-SCIM applications, it leaves an identity control gap that authentication never closes. Practitioners should treat app coverage and offboarding depth as the core evaluation criteria.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 85% of organisations lack full visibility into third-party vendors connected via OAuth apps, and 38% have no or low visibility, according to The State of Non-Human Identity Security.
- 72% of organisations have experienced or suspect they have experienced a breach of non-human identities, with 46% confirmed and 26% suspected, according to The 2024 ESG Report: Managing Non-Human Identities.
A question worth separating out:
Q: What is the difference between provisioning and lifecycle governance?
A: Provisioning is the act of granting access, while lifecycle governance controls how access changes and ends over time. A platform can automate provisioning and still fail at offboarding, recertification, or exception handling. Lifecycle governance is the broader discipline that determines whether access remains accurate after the first grant.
👉 Read our full editorial: Keycloak alternatives in 2026 expose IAM gaps in access governance
