Microsoft Entra External ID vs Amazon Cognito.
Last verified 2026-05-07
When Microsoft Entra External ID wins
- Microsoft Entra External ID has auth: push mfa; Amazon Cognito does not
- Microsoft Entra External ID has auth: step up auth; Amazon Cognito does partially
- Microsoft Entra External ID has authz: rbac; Amazon Cognito does partially
- Microsoft Entra External ID has user mgmt: progressive profiling; Amazon Cognito does not
- Microsoft Entra External ID has user mgmt: multi tenancy; Amazon Cognito does partially
- Microsoft Entra External ID has DX: graphql api; Amazon Cognito does not
When Amazon Cognito wins
- (maintainer to fill, no clear capability lead)
Both win
- Both support WebAuthn passkeys natively
- Both support social login at scale
- Both have SOC 2 Type II
Pricing comparison
| MAU band | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 MAU | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| 100,000 MAU | $165/mo | $275/mo |
| 500,000 MAU | $1,500/mo | $2,475/mo |
| 1,000,000 MAU | $3,300/mo | $5,225/mo |
Side-by-side capability matrix
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Password authentication | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Social login | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Magic links | ✕ No | ✕ 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 | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Adaptive MFA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Step-up auth | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| RBAC | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| ABAC | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ReBAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| FGA engine | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| API authorization | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Fine-grained permissions | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | 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 | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Multi-tenancy | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GraphQL API | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| SDKs | 11 listed | 12 listed |
| CLI | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Terraform provider | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Local emulator | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Extension model | Azure Functions + Custom policies (External Identities) | Lambda triggers (pre-sign-up, post-confirmation, custom auth challenge) |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | 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 | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| MCP support | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| OAuth 2.1 | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Dynamic client registration | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Agent vs human token separation | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Web Bot Auth | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27001 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27018 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| HIPAA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PCI DSS | Level 1 | Level 1 |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| CCPA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| FedRAMP | High | High |
| EU data residency | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Microsoft Entra External ID | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Consent management | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Preference center | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Purpose-specific consent | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Integrates with CMPs | n/a | n/a |
FAQ
- How does Microsoft Entra External ID compare to Amazon Cognito on pricing?
- Microsoft Entra External ID prices on tiered-mau; Amazon Cognito prices on tiered-mau. See the pricing comparison table on this page for our editorial estimates at 10k / 100k / 500k / 1M MAU using the standard methodology assumptions.
- Should I switch from Microsoft Entra External ID to Amazon Cognito?
- Switching is a 60–90 day exercise in either direction once SDK rewrites and hooks/Actions migration are accounted for. If your team is hitting cost or feature ceilings on Microsoft Entra External ID, evaluate Amazon Cognito on the specific axes flagged in the "When Amazon Cognito wins" list. If you're operating well within Microsoft Entra External ID, the switching cost rarely pays back.
- Do Microsoft Entra External ID and Amazon Cognito both support passkeys?
- Both Microsoft Entra External ID and Amazon Cognito support WebAuthn passkeys natively per public documentation. Adoption rates depend on orchestration quality (device-aware prompting, conditional UI), not raw protocol support, see the passwordless guide for the orchestration question.
This comparison is auto-generated from the underlying capability matrix and pricing data on each vendor's profile. Editorial verdict lists below are seeded heuristically from the matrix diff; a maintainer review refines them before the page goes public.