Authentik vs Google Cloud Identity
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Google Cloud Identity is the stronger AI pick in Identity & Access Management: it has a visibility score of 5.2 versus 2.7 for Authentik, and ranks ahead in 0% of the answers that name both.
Choose Authentik if…
- You need OpenID Certified coverage
- fully open-source, self-hosted IAM platform
- modern UI
- easy to administer
Choose Google Cloud Identity if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (5.2 vs 2.7)
- Best for organizations already using Google Workspace and cloud environments
- Basic workforce IAM such as SSO and MFA included at no extra charge
- Provides SSO, MFA, app, and endpoint management
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 3
| Metric | Authentik | Google Cloud Identity |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 2.7% | 5.2% |
| Change vs last week | up+1.7% | New |
| Rank in Identity & Access Management | #24 | #17 |
| Share of voice | 0.6% | 1.6% |
| Mentions this run | 2 | 5 |
| Positive in AI answers | 67% | — |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Authentik +1.0000000000000002pp · Google Cloud Identity +5.2pp over 1 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Google Cloud Identity leads on 3 of 3 engines
Head to head in AI answers
1 engine answers name both brands
| Prompt | Engine | Authentik | Google Cloud Identity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is there a free identity and access management platform for small teams? | ChatGPT | #1 | #3 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Authentik | Google Cloud Identity |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per seat | — |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Deployment | Self-hosted (Kubernetes, Terraform, Docker Compose, AWS CloudFormation); no hosted version offered | Cloud service administered through the Google Admin console; can also be signed up for through the Google Cloud console. |
| Integrations | — | 5000+ |
| Compliance | OpenID Certified | — |
| Support | Community Discord, GitHub community support, Ticket-based support (Enterprise over $1k), Dedicated support with SLAs (Enterprise Plus) | — |
| Founded | 2018 | — |
| Employees | 1–10 | — |
| Funding | Later-stage VC · $2M raised | — |
| Best for | Organizations that want to self-host their identity provider and keep control of their identity data, from homelabs to enterprises with thousands of users. | — |
Plans side by side
Authentik
Google Cloud Identity
Pricing not available.
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Authentik
- fully open-source, self-hosted IAM platform
- modern UI
- easy to administer
- affordable, reliable, secure IAM platform for business use
- highly flexible with built-in MFA and proxy outposts
- you must manage hosting, updates, backups, and security yourself
Google Cloud Identity
- Best for organizations already using Google Workspace and cloud environments
- Basic workforce IAM such as SSO and MFA included at no extra charge
- Provides SSO, MFA, app, and endpoint management
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Authentik vs Google Cloud Identity”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/authentik-vs-google-cloud-identity, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.