Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · OAuth Server Software

authentik vs Amazon Cognito

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 2 checks side by side
Higher score authentik #2 in OAuth Server Software 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit authentik
Amazon Cognito #7 in OAuth Server Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Amazon Cognito

authentik leads on 0 checks, Amazon Cognito on 1, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 2 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreauthentik · 9.2/10
  • Lowest starting priceAmazon Cognito · $0.0055/user/mo
  • Free planboth

authentik scores higher on our rubric for oauth server software: 9.2 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #7.

Amazon Cognito is cheaper to start at $0.0055/mo against $5/mo.

authentik is the better fit for feature-rich open-source identity teams. Amazon Cognito is the better fit for AWS-centric application authentication.

  • authentik fits best

    Feature-rich open-source identity teams

  • Amazon Cognito fits best

    AWS-centric application authentication

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature authentik 9.2/10 Visit ↗ Amazon Cognito 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.2 8.7
Ranking #2 in OAuth Server Software #7 in OAuth Server Software
Best for Feature-rich open-source identity teams AWS-centric application authentication
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $5/user/mo $0.0055/user/mo (best)
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Mobile
Platforms Web Web, iOS, Android
Integrations 11 integrations 13 integrations
Features authentik 0/5 · Amazon Cognito 0/5
OpenID Connect Not checked yet Not checked yet
SAML support Not checked yet Not checked yet
Self-hosting Not checked yet Not checked yet
Token introspection Not checked yet Not checked yet
Machine-to-machine auth Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment model Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Free open-source tier covers major identity and directory protocols
  • MFA, adaptive policies, provisioning, and application proxying
  • Enterprise adds PAM, audit logging, and scheduled offboarding
  • OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML federation, and social sign-in
  • Passwordless access, MFA, and adaptive authentication options
  • Deep integrations with AWS services and Lambda triggers
Cons
  • Deployment is self-hosted rather than hosted by the vendor
  • Advanced enterprise capabilities require paid plans
  • Enterprise Plus uses custom contracts and dedicated support
  • Not designed as a standalone workforce directory
  • No verified directory synchronization or lifecycle provisioning
  • Plus has no free tier, and pricing scales by monthly active users
Our verdict

authentik is a self-hosted identity provider and single sign-on platform for site administrators, application developers, and security engineers. Its free open-source edition supports OAuth2/OpenID Connect, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS,…

Read the review →

Amazon Cognito provides managed user directories, authentication, authorization, identity federation, and temporary AWS credentials for web and mobile applications. It is aimed at developers building customer-facing applications across…

Read the review →
  1. authentikOAuth Server Software 9.2Free plan
  2. Amazon CognitoOAuth Server Software 8.7Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • authentik — where it wins

    • Free open-source tier covers major identity and directory protocols
    • MFA, adaptive policies, provisioning, and application proxying
    • Enterprise adds PAM, audit logging, and scheduled offboarding

    Where it doesn't

    • Deployment is self-hosted rather than hosted by the vendor
    • Advanced enterprise capabilities require paid plans
    • Enterprise Plus uses custom contracts and dedicated support

  • Amazon Cognito — where it wins

    • OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML federation, and social sign-in
    • Passwordless access, MFA, and adaptive authentication options
    • Deep integrations with AWS services and Lambda triggers

    Where it doesn't

    • Not designed as a standalone workforce directory
    • No verified directory synchronization or lifecycle provisioning
    • Plus has no free tier, and pricing scales by monthly active users

More comparisons

All OAuth server software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update