# AWS Cognito vs Zitadel

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** AWS Cognito

| Attribute | AWS Cognito | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 80.6 (73% (medium)) | 56.1 (43% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 32 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 15,201 |
| 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":"An open-source identity platform providing multi-tenant architecture with support for passwordless authentication, social logins, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and enterprise integrations via standardized protocols like OIDC, SAML, and SCIM. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What is Zitadel?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zitadel is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $100 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://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Is Zitadel free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Zitadel. 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://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Zitadel support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zitadel can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Can Zitadel be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 12 integrations for Zitadel, including Google, Microsoft, GitHub, LDAP, SAML 2.0, SCIM 2.0, OpenID Connect and gRPC, plus 4 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What does Zitadel integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Zitadel. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Zitadel not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing/detail","question":"What security certifications does Zitadel have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zitadel is published under the AGPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel","question":"Is Zitadel open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Zitadel is available in the United States, Australia and Switzerland. Its primary markets are the United States, Australia and Switzerland.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Where is Zitadel available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| 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. | Zitadel is an identity and access management platform that provides API-first authentication, authorization, and user management. It supports multiple deployment models (cloud and self-hosted), comprehensive authentication methods including passwordless and passkeys, and is designed for B2B multi-tenant applications. |
| 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 | 3 |
| 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":"Google"},{"name":"Microsoft"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"LDAP"},{"name":"SAML 2.0"},{"name":"SCIM 2.0"},{"name":"OpenID Connect"},{"name":"gRPC"},{"name":"connectRPC"},{"name":"REST API"},{"name":"Webhooks"},{"name":"Actions"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | AGPL-3.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"regional","availableCountries":["US","AU","CH","EU"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":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":"Free","summary":"$0/month","features":["All security features","Data Residency: EU, US, Switzerland, Australia","Store unlimited Users","Unlimited Organizations","100 Daily Active Users","Service Users / Agents","3 identity providers","Custom workflows"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"100"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$100/month","features":["Everything in Free","25,000 Daily Active Users per month included","3 identity providers included","Custom domain included","99.5% uptime guarantee","1h response SLO"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"25000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Cloud or own infrastructure","Unlimited Daily Active Users","Custom Support SLA","Technical Account Manager","Volume discounts","Commercial license","Custom Security Questionnaires","99.99% uptime guarantee","Custom contract/MSA"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"Unlimited"}}],"summary":"Free plan, Pro from $100/month, Enterprise custom pricing","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T10:09:39.266Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | high |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":100,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 3 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.4","date":"2026-10-01T13:03:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.3","date":"2026-09-29T16:16:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.2","date":"2026-09-28T06:27:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.1","date":"2026-09-23T16:33:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.0","date":"2026-09-23T05:36:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.18.0","date":"2026-09-21T11:56:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.3","date":"2026-09-04T06:44:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.2","date":"2026-08-31T09:04:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.1","date":"2026-08-14T06:41:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.15","date":"2026-08-14T07:59:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.0","date":"2026-08-12T08:37:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.3","date":"2026-08-07T17:10:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.2","date":"2026-07-29T05:55:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.14","date":"2026-07-29T07:30:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.1","date":"2026-07-17T08:44:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.13","date":"2026-07-17T09:07:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.0","date":"2026-07-10T05:56:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.3","date":"2026-06-22T11:46:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.2","date":"2026-06-17T04:21:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.12","date":"2026-06-17T07:09:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.12"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.5 |
| 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"}]` | `[{"name":"OpenID Connect certified","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/ | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=zitadel%2Fzitadel&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | AWS Cognito | Zitadel |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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 2026-10-16T21:42:58.232Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*