Amazon Cognito vs sso: What are the differences?

Introduction: In the world of web development and application security, both Amazon Cognito and SSO (Single Sign-On) come into play to streamline authentication and user management processes. While both serve the purpose of authenticating users, they differ in their approach and functionality.

1. Integration: One key difference between Amazon Cognito and SSO lies in their integration capabilities. Amazon Cognito is designed to integrate seamlessly with AWS services, making it an ideal choice for applications built on the AWS cloud infrastructure. On the other hand, SSO supports integration with a wide range of applications and platforms beyond the AWS ecosystem, providing flexibility for organizations with diverse environments.

2. User Pools vs. Identity Providers: Amazon Cognito provides user pools as the primary identity provider, offering user directory functionalities, such as user registration, sign-in, and user profiles. It allows developers to manage the end-to-end user authentication flow. SSO, however, does not provide its own user directory or identity provider. Instead, it acts as a federation service, enabling users to sign in once and access multiple applications within an organization using their existing credentials from external identity providers.

3. Granularity of Access Controls: Amazon Cognito offers fine-grained access control capabilities through its Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles, allowing developers to define specific permissions based on user attributes and conditions. This level of control is beneficial for applications that require precise access restrictions. SSO, in contrast, provides a centralized access control system that can simplify the management of user access across various applications, but may not offer the same level of granularity as Amazon Cognito.

4. Security and Compliance: Both Amazon Cognito and SSO prioritize security and compliance. Amazon Cognito offers features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), encryption of data at rest and in transit, and compliance with industry standards like GDPR and HIPAA. SSO, being a federation service, allows organizations to enforce security policies and manage user access centrally, ensuring consistent security controls across multiple applications.

5. User Experience: Another notable difference lies in the user experience aspect. Amazon Cognito provides customizable user authentication flows, allowing developers to tailor the login process according to their application's branding and user experience requirements. SSO, being focused on federated sign-in, offers a simplified user experience by eliminating the need for users to remember multiple usernames and passwords across different applications.

6. Pricing Structure: Lastly, the pricing structure for Amazon Cognito and SSO differs. Amazon Cognito follows a pay-per-use model, where charges are based on the number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs), as well as additional costs for features like MFA and data storage. SSO, on the other hand, is included as part of AWS Single Sign-On pricing, which is based on a per-user, per-month fee.

In summary, Amazon Cognito is a user directory and authentication service with deep integration into the AWS ecosystem, providing fine-grained access control and flexibility in user authentication flows. SSO, on the other hand, is a federated sign-in service that allows users to authenticate once and access multiple applications, accommodating diverse environments beyond AWS, with centralized access control.