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Comparison · Infra & APIs
authentik vs Dashy
A side-by-side editorial comparison of authentik and Dashy — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hostedopen-source
authentik vs Dashy: at a glance
What is authentik?
authentik 2026.8.0 ships an Agent for machine identity and domain join, then enters rapid patch mode.
authentik is in a high-cadence maintenance cycle following the 2026.8.0 major release. Three point releases have landed in quick succession addressing admin file search, API autocomplete, and a blueprint field typo. The 2026.5 and 2026.2 legacy branches are still receiving backports, reflecting an enterprise install base that moves slowly between majors.
What is Dashy?
Dashy ships multiple releases daily—mostly dependency housekeeping punctuated by new widget additions.
Dashy is an open-source self-hosted dashboard that ships in a high-velocity, community-driven cadence—often several patch releases per day. The current run is dominated by automated dependency bumps via Dependabot, with one substantive widget addition: a calendar widget (v4.6.10) resolving two long-standing feature requests. Individual releases are small and scoped to a single PR.
authentik vs Dashy: editorial side-by-side
authentik
5.0INFRA · APIS
authentik 2026.8.0 ships an Agent for machine identity and domain join, then enters rapid patch mode.
◆ Current state
authentik is in a high-cadence maintenance cycle following the 2026.8.0 major release. Three point releases have landed in quick succession addressing admin file search, API autocomplete, and a blueprint field typo. The 2026.5 and 2026.2 legacy branches are still receiving backports, reflecting an enterprise install base that moves slowly between majors.
◆ Where it's heading
2026.8.0 introduced the authentik Agent — enabling machine-initiated identity flows and device domain join — alongside an Actors entity type for non-human identity tracking. This is authentik's first explicit move beyond user-focused SSO into device and service account identity, putting it in territory occupied by commercial PAM and device trust vendors. The multi-branch backport pace signals that the team is supporting long deployment cycles while actively pushing the frontier forward.
◆ Prediction
The authentik Agent and Actors system are early features — expect expanded directory sync, credential lifecycle, and machine token management in the 2026.9 cycle. If domain join matures, authentik becomes a self-hosted alternative for organizations wanting to consolidate SSO and device identity on a single stack.
Dashy
5.0INFRA · APIS
Dashy ships multiple releases daily—mostly dependency housekeeping punctuated by new widget additions.
◆ Current state
Dashy is an open-source self-hosted dashboard that ships in a high-velocity, community-driven cadence—often several patch releases per day. The current run is dominated by automated dependency bumps via Dependabot, with one substantive widget addition: a calendar widget (v4.6.10) resolving two long-standing feature requests. Individual releases are small and scoped to a single PR.
◆ Where it's heading
Dashy's release pattern is more housekeeping than expansion: dependency updates keep the package graph current while occasional community-submitted widgets broaden the integration library. Beyond the top 6 entries, v4.6.7 added an `allowInsecure` prop for skipping certificate verification on internal services, v4.6.6 added status text overrides for uptime widgets, and v4.6.4 improved the Uptime Kuma widget—a cluster of quality-of-life improvements for self-hosters running home lab stacks. There's no visible architectural shift or major new capability surface.
◆ Prediction
The project will continue its community PR cadence: one or two widget additions per week interspersed with automated dependency updates. No major redesign or new integration pattern is visible in the entries.
Alternatives to authentik and Dashy
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either authentik or Dashy.
ToolJet
ToolJet bundles MCP into its EE image and adds PAT auth, making the AI builder addressable by external agents
GitHub
GitHub meters agentic CLI extensions as Copilot enterprise governance tightens
Ably
Ably ships LiveObjects as production-ready and expands its AI Transport SDK to cover Temporal durable workflows.
Jackett
Jackett ships near-daily releases keeping its tracker catalog current with domain migrations and category fixes.
Buildkite
Buildkite ships Agent v4 after eight years and lands a VS Code extension, reshaping CI as IDE infrastructure.
See all authentik alternatives → · See all Dashy alternatives →
Recent activity from authentik and Dashy
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoauthentik2026.8.3: Case-insensitive file search, search autocomplete, and blueprint fix
- 9d agoauthentikRelease 2026.8.2
- 9d agoauthentik2026.5.7: Backport CI and endpoint auth schema fixes
- 9d agoauthentik2026.2.7: Container hardening and policy filter backport
- 13d agoDashyDashy v4.6.13 🚀
- 13d agoDashyDashy v4.6.12 🚀
- 14d agoDashyDashy v4.6.11 🚀
- 15d agoDashyv4.6.10: Calendar widget added
- 15d agoDashyDashy v4.6.9 🚀
- 15d agoDashyDashy v4.6.8 🚀
- 17d agoauthentikRelease 2026.8.1
- 1mo agoauthentik2026.8.0: authentik Agent, Actors for non-human identity, and device domain join ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between authentik and Dashy?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted, open-source — within Infra & APIs. authentik and Dashy are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is authentik better than Dashy?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. authentik and Dashy are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to authentik?
Top authentik alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "authentik alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/authentik for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Dashy?
Top Dashy alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Dashy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dashy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.