Amazon Cognito
Amazon Cognito: A low-cost AWS-native choice for application authentication and customer identity. Ranked #6 of 44 in Identity and Access Management Software by our editors (8.8/10); pricing: Free plan; best for low-cost application authentication on AWS.
At a glance
- Editor score8.8 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forLow-cost application authentication on AWS
- Free planYes
- Paid from$0.0055/user/mo
- MFA methodsEmail, SMS, TOTP authenticator apps, WebAuthn passkeys with user verification
- Facts checked19 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free plan with 10,000 MAUs for eligible Lite and Essentials accounts
- OAuth, OIDC, SAML, social login, MFA, and passwordless access
- Identity pools issue temporary credentials for AWS resource access
Where it doesn't
- Usage-based pricing can vary with monthly active users
- Plus has no free tier and adds cost for threat protection
- Developer-oriented customer IAM rather than a workforce directory
Our verdict on Amazon Cognito
Amazon Cognito is a managed identity and access service for web, iOS, Android, and API applications. It provides user directories, authentication, authorization, identity federation, and temporary AWS credentials. The service is aimed primarily at developers building customer-facing applications, especially those already using AWS. User pools support local accounts, Managed Login, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML 2.0, social identity providers, MFA, passkeys, passwordless sign-in, and Lambda-backed custom authentication flows.
Pricing is usage-based per monthly active user. Lite costs $0.0055 per monthly active user and includes registration, authentication, user management, social, SAML, and OIDC provider integration, username-and-password sign-in, and authenticator-app and SMS MFA. Eligible accounts receive 10,000 monthly active users free per month on Lite. Essentials costs $0.015 per monthly active user and adds Managed Login, passwordless login with passkeys, email, or SMS, email MFA, and access-token customization. Plus costs $0.02 per monthly active user and adds threat protection, risk-based adaptive authentication, compromised-credentials detection, and threat-profile and user-activity logging. The published plans also show a 50-MAU free tier for SAML/OIDC-federated users, while Plus has no free tier.
AWS integration is a major reason to choose Cognito. It connects with Lambda, API Gateway, IAM, S3, DynamoDB, CloudWatch, CloudTrail, SNS, and SES, while identity pools can issue temporary AWS credentials. OAuth 2.0 client credentials support machine-to-machine authorization. MFA methods include email, SMS, TOTP authenticator apps, and supported passkeys, and passwordless sign-in supports email, SMS OTPs, and WebAuthn passkeys. Choose Cognito for low-cost application authentication with AWS services; choose another category fit if the priority is a standalone workforce directory.
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Amazon Cognito pricing
All 3 Amazon Cognito plans and prices →
Amazon Cognito fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $0.0055/user/mo |
| SSO protocols | SAML 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), OAuth 2.0 |
| MFA methods | Email, SMS, TOTP authenticator apps, WebAuthn passkeys with user verification |
| Directory sync | Not verified |
| Lifecycle provisioning | Not verified |
| Adaptive access policies | Yes |
| Included users | 10000 users |
| Deployment | Cloud, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Integrations | 13 integrations: AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, AWS IAM, Amazon S3, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon CloudWatch … |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | aws.amazon.com |
| Facts checked | 19 Sep 2026 |
Amazon Cognito integrations
Amazon Cognito lists 13 integrations on its own site.
- AWS Lambda
- Amazon API Gateway
- AWS IAM
- Amazon S3
- Amazon DynamoDB
- Amazon CloudWatch
- AWS CloudTrail
- Amazon SNS
- Amazon SES
- Amazon
- Apple
Alternatives to Amazon Cognito
- Okta Workforce IdentityA broad workforce IAM suite for organizations with mature identity requirements.9.4
- Google Cloud IdentityA capable IAM choice for Google-centric teams that need MFA, SSO, and lifecycle controls.9.2
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Identity and Access ManagementA low-cost IAM option for OCI access, external users, and connected applications.9.1
See all Amazon Cognito alternatives →
Amazon Cognito vs the competition
- Amazon Cognito vs Okta Workforce Identity
- Amazon Cognito vs Google Cloud Identity
- Amazon Cognito vs Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Identity and Access Management
- Amazon Cognito vs Keycloak
- Amazon Cognito vs AWS IAM Identity Center
- Amazon Cognito vs Thales OneWelcome Identity Platform
Compare Amazon Cognito with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Amazon Cognito is ranked in 6 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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