Amazon Cognito vs Stack Auth: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026
Compare features, pricing, reviews, and more to make an informed decision
Amazon Cognito
Amazon Cognito is a cloud service that adds secure user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to web and mobile apps.
Stack Auth
Stack Auth is an open-source authentication platform that handles login, signup, and user management for developers in minutes.
Amazon Cognito
Amazon Cognito is a cloud service that adds secure user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to web and mobile apps.
Stack Auth
Stack Auth is an open-source authentication platform that handles login, signup, and user management for developers in minutes.
Amazon Cognito
User pools for managing accounts
Social login with Google, Facebook, Apple
Enterprise federation via SAML and OIDC
Passwordless authentication options
Multi-factor authentication support
Advanced security and threat detection
Customizable login pages
AWS service access control
Email and SMS verification
Lambda triggers for custom workflows
Mobile and web SDK support
Compliance with security standards
Stack Auth
Password, OAuth, and magic link authentication
Two-factor authentication and passkeys
Team and organization management
Role-based permissions and access control
Pre-built React components and UI
User impersonation for support
Webhooks and real-time notifications
Custom email templates
REST API for integrations
Open-source and self-hostable
Next.js, React, JavaScript support
Admin dashboard for user management
Amazon Cognito
Amazon Cognito uses pay-as-you-go pricing based on monthly active users (MAUs). A user counts as active when they sign in during the month. The service offers three pricing tiers:
Free Tier: Get 10,000 MAUs free every month for users signing in directly, plus 50 free MAUs for enterprise federation. This never expires and works for both new and existing customers.
Lite Tier: Starts at free for the first 10,000 users, then $0.0055 per MAU for users 10,001 to 100,000. Prices decrease as volume grows, reaching $0.0025 per MAU above 10 million users.
Essentials Tier: Costs $0.015 per MAU above 10,000 users. Includes standard security features and is the default for new accounts.
Plus Tier: Costs $0.02 per MAU with no free tier. Includes advanced security like threat detection, compromised credential monitoring, and risk-based authentication. This tier can save up to 60% compared to adding security features separately.
Enterprise federation through SAML or OIDC costs $0.015 per MAU above 50 users across all tiers.
Stack Auth
Stack Auth offers transparent pricing that scales with your needs. The Free plan is perfect for individuals and small projects, supporting up to 10,000 users with unlimited projects and teams. You get one dashboard administrator and access to all core authentication features.
The Team plan costs $49 per month and increases your user limit to 50,000 users. It includes three dashboard administrators, with additional admins available at $49 each. This plan is ideal for early startups and small teams building their products.
The Growth plan at $299 per month removes all user limits entirely. You get unlimited users, projects, and teams, along with five dashboard administrators included. Additional admins cost $49 each. This plan is designed for growing businesses that need to scale without worrying about user count restrictions.
All plans include the same core features, with the main differences being user limits and admin accounts.