Auth0 vs Amazon Cognito.
Last verified 2026-08-19
When Auth0 wins
- Time-to-first-login, SDK quality, and the largest CIAM community
- First-class Organizations, SCIM, and enterprise federation breadth
- Auth0 FGA without standing up a second authorization service
- Packaged agent identity: Auth0 for AI Agents and Auth for MCP
- Magic links, passwordless-only flows, and a broader factor catalog
When Amazon Cognito wins
- Native AWS IAM-mapped tokens for S3, DynamoDB, and Lambda
- Lower TCO at 500k MAU and above on Compass standard assumptions
- FedRAMP High, PCI Level 1, and a 50k MAU free tier on user pools
- Lambda triggers plus Terraform as the extension and IaC model for AWS shops
Both win
- Both support WebAuthn passkeys natively; neither converts them well without extra orchestration
- Both support social login at scale
- Both have SOC 2 Type II
- Both get you to production; only one of them matches the rest of your cloud
Pricing comparison
| MAU band | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 MAU | $240/mo | $0/mo |
| 100,000 MAU | $1,200/mo | $275/mo |
| 500,000 MAU | $4,500/mo | $2,475/mo |
| 1,000,000 MAU | $9,500/mo | $5,225/mo |
Developer experience & lock-in
Editorial 1–5 scores and migration effort, on the same axes for both. Lower migration effort is better (easier to adopt, less lock-in).
| Signal | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| DX overallDeveloper experience | 5/5✓ | 3/5 |
| Docs qualityDocumentation | 5/5✓ | 4/5 |
| Passkey orchestrationPasskey / WebAuthn depth | 3/5✓ | 2/5 |
| Adoption effortMigrating in | Moderate✓ | Involved |
| Lock-in (exit effort)Migrating out | Involved | Involved |
Enterprise readiness
Computed across the enterprise pillars from the capability matrix. See the enterprise-ready pillars.
| Pillar | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | Enterprise-ready · 100 | Mostly ready · 69 |
| Enterprise SSO | 100 | 100 |
| Directory sync (SCIM) | 100✓ | 0 |
| Organizations & tenancy | 100✓ | 20 |
| RBAC & custom roles | 100✓ | 65 |
| Audit logs & streaming | 100 | 100 |
| Compliance certifications | 100 | 100 |
| Security posture | 100 | 100 |
Side-by-side capability matrix
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Password authentication | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Social login | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Magic links | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| SMS OTP | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Email OTP | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| TOTP (authenticator app) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Push MFA | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| WebAuthn / passkeys | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Biometric | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Hardware security keys | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SAML SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| OIDC SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| OAuth 2.0 SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Enterprise federation | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Passwordless-only flows | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Adaptive MFA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Step-up auth | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| RBAC | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| ABAC | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| ReBAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| FGA engine | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| API authorization | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Fine-grained permissions | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service registration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Progressive profiling | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Self-service account | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Bulk user import | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Admin user search | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Custom user metadata | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Organizations / tenants | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Multi-tenancy | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| SCIM provisioning | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GraphQL API | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| SDKs | 16 listed | 12 listed |
| CLI | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Terraform provider | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Local emulator | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Extension model | Actions (Node.js serverless) | Lambda triggers (pre-sign-up, post-confirmation, custom auth challenge) |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Bot detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Breached password detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Brute-force protection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Anomaly detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Log streams | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Audit logs | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GDPR data export | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PII minimization | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Post-quantum roadmap | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| MCP support | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| OAuth 2.1 | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Dynamic client registration | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Agent vs human token separation | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Web Bot Auth | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27001 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27018 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| HIPAA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PCI DSS | Level 1 (with config) | Level 1 |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| CCPA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| FedRAMP | High (via Okta) | High |
| EU data residency | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Consent management | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Preference center | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Purpose-specific consent | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Integrates with CMPs | 2 listed | n/a |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-region deployment | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Data residency control | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Proven at high scale (1M+ MAU) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Auth0 | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Password-hash import | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Lazy / just-in-time migration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Account linking & dedup | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Custom domains per brand | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Per-brand theming of all flows | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Per-brand consent partitioning | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Deletion webhooks / cascade | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Event streaming / webhooks | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Documented rate limits | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
FAQ
- When is Cognito cheaper than Auth0?
- On Compass TCO bands, Cognito is free at 10k MAU (Auth0 about $240/month), about $275 vs $1,200 at 100k, about $2,475 vs $4,500 at 500k, and about $5,225 vs $9,500 at 1M. Advanced Security Features on Cognito and Enterprise SSO on Auth0 move those numbers. Always confirm with a quote at your scale.
- Does Cognito have Organizations like Auth0?
- No. Multi-tenant SaaS on Cognito is user-pool groups, claims, and Lambda triggers. If B2B tenancy is the product, Cognito is the wrong save. Use Auth0, WorkOS, or Frontegg.
- Which has better passkeys?
- Neither, relative to Stytch or Descope. Auth0 scores 3/5 on orchestration; Cognito scores 2/5. Both speak WebAuthn. Auth0's default UI still stalls around 5 to 10% adoption without an extra orchestrator. Cognito's hosted UI is thinner.
- Should I switch from Auth0 to Cognito?
- Switch if the app is already AWS-native and the MAU bill is the reason you are shopping, and you can live without Organizations. Do not switch for DX. Cognito's API is the tax you pay for IAM tokens. Budget more than 60 days; inbound migration difficulty on Cognito is 4/5.
This is a cloud-and-cost decision, not a feature bake-off. Auth0 wins the first 90 days. Cognito wins the AWS account.
Choose Auth0 when Organizations, FGA, or agent SKUs are on the RFP, or when the team will not staff Lambda trigger archaeology. Choose Cognito when IAM-mapped tokens are the architecture, FedRAMP High on AWS is non-negotiable, or the Auth0 invoice at 500k MAU is the meeting.
Do not pick either for passkey conversion. Look at Stytch or Descope. Do not pick Cognito for B2B tenancy.
Profiles: Auth0, Amazon Cognito. Adjacent: Cognito vs Entra External ID.