# AWS Cognito vs WorkOS

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** AWS Cognito

| Attribute | AWS Cognito | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 80.6 (73% (medium)) | 72 (71% (medium)) |
| 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":"WorkOS provides a unified interface for integrating enterprise authentication methods, including SAML and OIDC identity providers, along with user directory synchronization and access control features. It helps developers quickly add enterprise-ready authentication to their applications. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://workos.com/","question":"What is WorkOS?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"WorkOS offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://workos.com/blog/auth0-pricing-how-it-works-and-compares-to-workos","question":"Is WorkOS free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to WorkOS. 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://workos.com/","question":"What platforms does WorkOS support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for WorkOS, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://workos.com/","question":"Can WorkOS be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 25 integrations for WorkOS, including LinkedIn, Slack, GitLab, Bitbucket, Xero, Rippling, ADP and Intuit, plus 17 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://workos.com/","question":"What does WorkOS integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for WorkOS. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as WorkOS not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://workos.com/security","question":"What security certifications does WorkOS have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"WorkOS is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://workos.com/blog/auth0-pricing-how-it-works-and-compares-to-workos","question":"Where is WorkOS available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":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. | A platform providing identity infrastructure including SSO, multi-factor authentication, directory synchronization, and user management capabilities for SaaS applications and enterprise software. |
| 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":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":false,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 8 | 17 |
| 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":"LinkedIn"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Bitbucket"},{"name":"Xero"},{"name":"Rippling"},{"name":"ADP"},{"name":"Intuit"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Microsoft"},{"name":"Apple"},{"name":"SAML","native":true,"direction":"inbound"},{"name":"OIDC","native":true,"direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Vercel","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Clever","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Asana","native":true},{"name":"Box","native":true},{"name":"Dropbox","native":true},{"name":"Front","native":true},{"name":"HelpScout","native":true},{"name":"Hubspot","native":true,"category":"crm"},{"name":"Intercom","native":true,"category":"chat"},{"name":"Jira","native":true},{"name":"Sentry","native":true},{"name":"Mailgun","native":true,"category":"email","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Microsoft Sentinel","native":true,"direction":"outbound"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":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":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free up to 1,000,000 MAUs/month","features":["Single Sign-On (SAML & OIDC)","SCIM provisioning","Role-based access control","Bot detection","Identity linking","Multi-factor authentication","Social authentication (Microsoft, Google, Apple, GitHub, LinkedIn, Slack, GitLab, Bitbucket, Xero, Rippling, ADP, Intuit)","Magic Auth (passwordless email codes)","Audit logs","Agent authentication"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Up to 1 million monthly active users with core features included","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"maus":"1,000,000/month","admins":"unlimited","organizations":"unlimited"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Overage Monthly Active Users","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":2500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"SSO Connections per Organization","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":125,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Custom Domain","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free up to 1,000,000 MAUs. $2,500/month per additional million MAUs. $125/month per SSO-enabled organization.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://workos.com/blog/auth0-pricing-how-it-works-and-compares-to-workos","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:35:19.116Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.99 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | 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 | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/ | - |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | AWS Cognito | WorkOS |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud only |
| **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 2026-10-16T19:27:20.979Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*