# AWS Cognito vs Zitadel

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Zitadel

| Attribute | AWS Cognito | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 44.8 (73% (medium)) | 65.3 (46% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 42 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 14,862 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A multi-tenant, API-first identity and access management platform offering single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, passkeys, and complete audit trails. Available as a managed cloud service or self-hosted deployment, designed for developers building secure SaaS and B2B applications. |
| features.capabilities | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"hosting":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":false,"passwordless":true,"social_login":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 | 10 | 12 |
| 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":"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":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"CH","primaryMarkets":["US","EU"],"availabilityScope":"regional","availableCountries":["US","AU","CH"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Lite","description":"Basic user registration, authentication, and management capabilities, including social identity and SAML/OIDC provider integration, and password-based authentication.","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Essentials","description":"Comprehensive user authentication and access control with Managed Login, passwordless login using passkeys, email, or SMS, access token customization, and password reuse restrictions.","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","description":"Advanced security with risk-based adaptive authentication, compromised credentials detection, and authentication event log export.","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Usage-based pricing with no minimum fees or upfront commitments. Three tiers available (Lite, Essentials, Plus).","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:06:18.259Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free tier for development and testing","features":["100 daily active users","3 external identity providers","5,000 management API requests","Community support","1 management instance"],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"instances":"1","daily_active_users":"100","management_api_requests":"5000","external_identity_providers":"3"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$100/month including 25,000 DAU and 500,000 API requests; overage pricing available","features":["25,000 daily active users","500,000 management API requests","3 external identity providers","Multifactor authentication","Passkeys/WebAuthn","Customizable hosted login","Professional support","24/7 support hours","Audit trail with 2-week history","Role-based access control"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"25000","management_api_requests":"500000","external_identity_providers":"3"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing and configuration","features":["Custom scaling","Custom compliance","Custom security questionnaires","Custom contract and MSA","Up to 99.99% availability SLA","Support with SLO as low as 30 minutes"],"contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Custom Domain","components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":50,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extended Support & SLA","components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":999,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier available. Pro plan from $100/month with 25,000 DAU included. Usage-based overage pricing for additional capacity.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://zitadel.com/pricing/detail","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:22:35.614Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | high |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 5 |
| release.history | - | `[{"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"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.11","date":"2026-06-10T04:46:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.1","date":"2026-06-08T18:30:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.0","date":"2026-05-04T05:21:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.10","date":"2026-05-04T07:16:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.14.0","date":"2026-04-24T05:41:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.13.1","date":"2026-04-01T07:41:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.13.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.13.0","date":"2026-03-23T07:23:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v5.0.0-base","date":"2026-03-23T06:56:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v5.0.0-base"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.99 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:20:26.957Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*