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Amazon Cognito vs Stytch

Live comparisonView as JSON
Amazon Cognito
cloudFree up to 50k MAU
Stytch
cloudFree up to 25 orgs
Agent Sdk
Token Delegation
Human In The Loop
Fga
Mcp Support
Async Authorization
Pricing
Free up to 50k MAU$0.0055/MAU afterSAML federation extra
Free up to 25 orgsUsage-based ProCustom Enterprise
Open Source
Self-Hosted
SDK Languages
javascripttypescriptpythonjavaswiftkotlingoruby
javascripttypescriptpythonrubygo
Frameworks
langchain
langchainvercel-ai
Compliance
soc2hipaagdprpci-dssfedramp
soc2gdpr
Best For
AWS-native agent stacks; teams already using API Gateway, Lambda, and IAM; compliance-heavy environments on AWS
API-first auth for AI startups; headless identity with flexible session management
Limitations
Poor developer experience; documentation is dense; no agent SDK, no FGA, no human-in-the-loop; locked to AWS
No FGA, no dedicated agent SDK, no human-in-the-loop; good primitives but requires more DIY for complex agent patterns

Supported Not supported Unverified

For developers building AI agents, Cognito and Stytch follow different deployment models. Stytch is managed where agents provision themselves through Connected Apps with runtime Dynamic Client Registration, scoped token delegation, machine-actor abuse detection, and M2M flows across cloud platforms. Cognito is AWS-native with low per-MAU pricing and IAM integration but requires manual agent provisioning, provides no Dynamic Client Registration, and lacks agent abuse detection. Stytch wins for managed agent provisioning with abuse detection. Cognito wins for AWS-native, cost-sensitive B2C applications.

Where Stytch wins

  • Agent Provisioning via Connected Apps and Dynamic Client Registration. Connected Apps turns your application into an OAuth identity provider with automatic Dynamic Client Registration for agents and third-party tools. Agents register at runtime, receive scoped tokens, and connect securely without pre-registration. Cognito provides no native Dynamic Client Registration. Agent onboarding requires manual registration and custom integration.

  • Agent Abuse Detection and Throttling. Stytch detects and throttles machine-actor traffic through controls for AI workload patterns. Cognito relies on AWS WAF integration but provides no native machine-actor-specific detection layer.

  • Passwordless Primitives Out-of-the-Box. Stytch includes Magic Links, SMS/WhatsApp OTP, Email OTP, Passkeys, and WebAuthn ready to use. Cognito's passwordless options are more basic.

Where Amazon Cognito wins

  • Low Cost for Basic B2C. Cognito is cost-effective for simple consumer applications. You get a free tier for the first 10,000 monthly active users and pay roughly $0.015 per MAU afterward without extra add-ons.

  • Native AWS Ecosystem Integration. Cognito integrates directly into AWS. You connect to Amazon Pinpoint for marketing analytics, AWS WAF for web application firewall protection, and AWS Amplify for front-end development.

  • AWS Ecosystem for Agent Scenarios. Amazon's ecosystem integrates with agent services within AWS. Stytch lacks a dedicated token vault for managing third-party credentials used by agents.

The agentic difference

Stytch focuses on dynamic agent onboarding via Connected Apps. It provides M2M token support, aligns with OAuth 2.1 and Dynamic Client Registration, and includes agent abuse detection and throttling for machine actors. Stytch lacks a token vault for managing third-party credentials and offers no Fine-Grained Authorization for RAG pipelines.

Amazon's agent integration requires static AWS IAM provisioning rather than Dynamic Client Registration, which slows dynamic agent onboarding. AWS's authorization is resource-centric via IAM tags and S3 Access Grants rather than agent-centric. Neither platform supports CIBA for asynchronous human-in-the-loop authorization.

When to pick which

  • Pick Stytch if agents need runtime OAuth provisioning with abuse detection. Connected Apps provides standards-compliant Dynamic Client Registration that Cognito cannot match.

  • Pick Stytch when you build passwordless-first user flows with Magic Links, OTP, and Passkeys. Stytch's passwordless depth provides better user experience than Cognito's basic options.

  • Pick Cognito if you're building a cost-sensitive B2C application entirely on AWS where minimal overhead and per-MAU pricing matter. $0.015 per MAU makes it cost-competitive at scale.

  • Pick Cognito if you're deeply integrated with AWS services (WAF, Pinpoint, Amplify) and want native ecosystem integration without cross-cloud management.

Last verified: 2026-05-09