# AWS Cognito vs Better Auth

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** AWS Cognito

| Attribute | AWS Cognito | Better Auth |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 80.6 (73% (medium)) | 64.4 (39% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 210 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 30,292 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 11,857,147 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"AWS Cognito provides secure, scalable user authentication and access management that enables applications to support user sign-up, sign-in, and multi-factor authentication. It offers both a pre-built login interface and APIs for custom implementations, supports passwordless authentication via passkeys and SMS/email OTP, and federates with social and enterprise identity providers. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_pr","question":"What is AWS Cognito?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"AWS Cognito offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Lite, Essentials and Plus. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/","question":"Is AWS Cognito free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"AWS Cognito supports the web, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_pr","question":"What platforms does AWS Cognito support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for AWS Cognito, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_pr","question":"Can AWS Cognito be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 10 integrations for AWS Cognito, including Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, SAML, OIDC, AWS Lambda and AWS Amplify, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_pr","question":"What does AWS Cognito integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed HIPAA and GDPR for AWS Cognito. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as AWS Cognito not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/security/?nc1=f_cc","question":"What security certifications does AWS Cognito have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"Better Auth is an open-source framework for building authentication directly into TypeScript applications using code-based configuration. It provides 50+ authentication methods and integrates with 20+ JavaScript frameworks, supporting features like social login, passkeys, multi-factor authentication, and enterprise capabilities such as SAML and SCIM. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"What is Better Auth?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Better Auth is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $20 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"Is Better Auth free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Better Auth. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Better Auth support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Better Auth can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"Can Better Auth be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 21 integrations for Better Auth, including Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Hono, Google, GitHub and Apple, plus 13 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"What does Better Auth integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Better Auth is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth","question":"Is Better Auth open source?","confidence":0.99},{"answer":"Better Auth is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"Where is Better Auth available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Manages authentication and access control through identity federation, social provider integration, passwordless authentication methods, and multi-factor authentication capabilities. Supports both hosted login interfaces and API-driven custom implementations. | An open-source authentication framework that provides multiple authentication methods including social login, passkeys, passwordless auth, and enterprise features like SSO and directory sync, with optional managed cloud infrastructure for auditing and security monitoring. |
| features.capabilities | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":false,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true}` | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"both","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"headless","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 8 | 4 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Apple"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Amazon"},{"name":"SAML"},{"name":"OIDC"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"AWS Amplify"},{"name":"AWS AppSync"},{"name":"AWS Verified Permissions"},{"name":"AWS CloudTrail","native":true,"direction":"outbound"},{"name":"AWS CloudWatch","native":true,"direction":"outbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"Nuxt"},{"name":"SvelteKit"},{"name":"Astro"},{"name":"Hono"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Apple"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Passkey Authentication"},{"name":"Magic Link Authentication"},{"name":"Email OTP Authentication"},{"name":"Two Factor Authentication"},{"name":"Username Authentication"},{"name":"One Tap Authentication"},{"name":"Phone Number Authentication"},{"name":"Anonymous Authentication"},{"name":"Bearer Authentication"},{"name":"Generic OAuth"},{"name":"One Time Token Authentication"},{"name":"SIWE Authentication"},{"name":"Cloudflare","native":true,"category":"social"},{"name":"Microsoft Entra ID","native":true,"category":"social"},{"name":"Yandex","native":true,"category":"social"}]` |
| language.primary | - | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Lite","summary":"$0.015 per MAU above free tier","features":["User registration","Password-based authentication","Social identity federation","SAML/OIDC provider support"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"MAU"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.015,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Basic user registration, authentication, and management with social and SAML/OIDC federation","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"mau":"10000/month"}},{"free":true,"name":"Essentials","summary":"$0.015 per MAU above free tier","features":["All Lite features","Managed Login interface","Passwordless authentication","Passkeys support","Email/SMS OTP"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"MAU"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.015,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Comprehensive authentication with Managed Login and passwordless options via passkeys, email, or SMS","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"mau":"10000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","summary":"$0.020 per MAU","features":["All Essentials features","Risk-based adaptive authentication","Compromised credentials detection","Authentication event export"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"MAU"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Advanced security tier with threat detection, risk-based adaptive authentication, and compromised credential detection","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Multi-Region Replication","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"MAU"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0045,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier with 10,000 MAU/month. Usage-based pricing from $0.015–$0.020 per MAU","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T10:34:04.240Z","startingPrice":{"unit":"MAU","amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Starter","summary":"Free","features":["User management","Audit log","Security detection","Abuse protection","Email templates","Community support"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For evaluation and side projects","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"dashboard_seats":"1","audit_logs_per_month":"10,000","audit_log_retention_days":"1","security_detections_per_month":"1,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$20/month base, plus per-usage overages","features":["Unlimited seats","User management","Audit log with overage","Security detection with overage","Transactional Email & SMS","Self-service SSO","Directory Sync","Dashboard RBAC","Email support","Slack support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For production teams running auth in the critical path","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"dashboard_seats":"Unlimited","audit_logs_per_month":"20,000","audit_log_retention_days":"7","security_detections_per_month":"10,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Custom usage and retention","Custom domain for Dashboard","Log drain","Dashboard RBAC","Custom MSA and DPA","Slack support","Implementation assistance"],"description":"For organizations with bespoke security or volume needs","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Custom domain for Dashboard","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Log drain","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"SSO connection (additional)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Directory Sync connection (additional)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier available. Pro from $20/month. Enterprise custom pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T12:12:32.259Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 2 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.8","date":"2026-10-14T17:50:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.7","date":"2026-09-30T21:29:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.6","date":"2026-09-24T15:56:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.5","date":"2026-09-14T22:10:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.33","date":"2026-09-14T22:04:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.33"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.32","date":"2026-09-14T18:45:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.32"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.4","date":"2026-09-10T11:34:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.31","date":"2026-09-10T09:19:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.31"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.3","date":"2026-09-06T03:02:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.2","date":"2026-08-26T19:03:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.1","date":"2026-08-18T18:51:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0","date":"2026-08-18T00:23:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.30","date":"2026-08-17T19:09:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.30"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0-rc.6","date":"2026-08-14T18:19:37Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.7.0-rc.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.29","date":"2026-08-14T18:18:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.29"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.28","date":"2026-08-13T22:39:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.28"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0-rc.5","date":"2026-08-11T22:16:46Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.7.0-rc.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.27","date":"2026-08-11T17:59:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.27"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0-rc.4","date":"2026-08-05T00:26:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.7.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.26","date":"2026-08-04T21:19:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.26"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"HIPAA","level":"Eligible","status":"active"},{"name":"PCI DSS","status":"active"},{"name":"SOC 2","status":"active"},{"name":"ISO/IEC 27001","status":"active"},{"name":"ISO/IEC 27017","status":"active"},{"name":"ISO/IEC 27018","status":"active"},{"name":"ISO 9001","status":"active"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/ | https://better-auth.com/blog/security-update-june-2026 |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=auth&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | AWS Cognito | Better Auth |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **Methods** |  |  |
| Social login | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passwordless | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passkeys / WebAuthn | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-factor auth | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SAML SSO | ✓ | ✓ |
| SCIM provisioning | - | ✓ |
| B2B / multi-tenancy | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OpenID Connect provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Hosted UI | Both | Headless |
| **Access** |  |  |
| RBAC | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Self-hostable OSS core | ✗ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:13:31.094Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*