# AWS Cognito vs Keycloak

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** AWS Cognito

| Attribute | AWS Cognito | Keycloak |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 80.6 (73% (medium)) | 65.4 (46% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 678 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 37,140 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 998,112 |
| 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":"Centralized authentication and authorization platform that manages user identity and access control across applications, reducing the need for individual apps to build their own login systems. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"What is Keycloak?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Keycloak is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"Is Keycloak free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Keycloak supports the web, Windows, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"What platforms does Keycloak support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Keycloak can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"Can Keycloak be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 10 integrations for Keycloak, including GitHub, Google, Facebook, Twitter, LDAP, Active Directory, Kerberos and Kubernetes, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.keycloak.org","question":"What does Keycloak integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Keycloak is published under the Apache-2.0 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/keycloak/keycloak","question":"Is Keycloak open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| 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 identity management solution that allows users to authenticate once and gain access to multiple applications, eliminating the need for individual login handling at the application level. |
| 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":"both","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 8 | 8 |
| 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":"GitHub"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Twitter"},{"name":"LDAP"},{"name":"Active Directory"},{"name":"Kerberos"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Apache APISIX"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"},{"name":"OpenID Connect","native":true},{"name":"SAML 2.0","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | - | Java |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":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":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.keycloak.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-07T13:10:46.299Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 13 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/nightly","date":"2022-09-27T02:22:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"nightly"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.8.0","date":"2026-10-01T05:57:20Z","type":"stable","version":"26.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.5","date":"2026-09-30T17:44:19Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.4","date":"2026-09-16T14:44:06Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.3","date":"2026-08-31T09:29:37Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.2","date":"2026-08-19T05:26:20Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.1","date":"2026-08-05T15:54:37Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.7.0","date":"2026-07-09T06:58:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.4","date":"2026-06-26T19:19:51Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.3","date":"2026-06-04T17:00:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.2","date":"2026-05-19T12:41:03Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.1","date":"2026-04-15T13:58:02Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.6.0","date":"2026-04-08T08:54:19Z","type":"stable","version":"26.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.7","date":"2026-04-02T14:47:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.6","date":"2026-03-19T06:45:39Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.5","date":"2026-03-05T15:40:30Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.4","date":"2026-02-20T09:19:45Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.3","date":"2026-02-10T07:30:08Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.2","date":"2026-01-23T14:26:58Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/tag/26.5.1","date":"2026-01-14T18:09:13Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.1"}]` |
| 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 | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 9.3 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/ | https://www.keycloak.org/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.keycloak%3Akeycloak-server-spi&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | AWS Cognito | Keycloak |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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 | Both |
| **Access** |  |  |
| RBAC | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Self-hostable OSS core | ✗ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:15:12.526Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*