A Comparison of AWS Cognito vs. AWS IAM Identity Center
Tags: aws, cognito, identity, sso
Published: 2023-10-10 13:59:26

Today, I got a question from a consultant, who is really confused about AWS Cognito and AWS IAM Identity Center (successor to AWS Single Sign-On). They are both identity and access management (IAM) services offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Both services can be used to manage user identities and access to AWS resources. However, there are some key differences between the two services.

**AWS Cognito**

AWS Cognito is a service that helps you manage user identities for your web and mobile applications. It provides a variety of features, including:

* User authentication and authorization
* User sign-in and sign-up
* Social media integration
* Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
* Identity federation
* User profiling
* Analytics

AWS Cognito is a good choice for applications that need to manage user identities and authentication independently of other AWS services. It is also a good choice for applications that need to integrate with social media or other identity providers.

**AWS IAM Identity Center**

AWS IAM Identity Center is a service that helps you manage sign-in security for your workforce identities. It provides a single place where you can create or connect workforce users and centrally manage their access across all their AWS accounts and applications. You can use AWS IAM Identity Center to:

* Create and manage workforce identities
* Connect to external identity providers
* Centrally manage access to AWS accounts and applications
* Implement MFA and other security features
* Monitor user activity and audit access

AWS IAM Identity Center is a good choice for organizations that need to manage a large number of workforce identities and access to multiple AWS accounts and applications. It is also a good choice for organizations that need to implement strict security controls.

**Comparison**

The following table provides a comparison of AWS Cognito and AWS IAM Identity Center:

| Feature                                 | AWS Cognito | AWS IAM Identity Center |
|-----------------------------------------|-------------|-------------------------|
| User authentication and authorization   | Yes         | Yes                     |
| User sign-in and sign-up                | Yes         | Yes                     |
| Social media integration                | Yes         | No                      |
| Multi-factor authentication (MFA)       | Yes         | Yes                     |
| Identity federation                     | Yes         | Yes                     |
| User profiling                          | Yes         | Yes                     |
| Analytics                               | Yes         | Yes                     |
| Centralized access management           | No          | Yes                     |
| Workforce identity management           | No          | Yes                     |
| Support for external identity providers | Yes         | Yes                     |

AWS Cognito Security features: MFA, social login, identity federation 
AWS IAM Identity Center Security features: MFA, centralized access management, user activity monitoring, audit logging 

**Which service is right for you?**

The best service for you will depend on your specific needs. If you need to manage user identities for your web and mobile applications, then AWS Cognito is a good choice. If you need to manage workforce identities and access to multiple AWS accounts and applications, then AWS IAM Identity Center is a good choice.

Here are some additional considerations:

* **AWS Cognito is a good choice for:**
    * Applications that need to manage user identities and authentication independently of other AWS services
    * Applications that need to integrate with social media or other identity providers
    * Applications that need to support user profiling and analytics
* **AWS IAM Identity Center is a good choice for:**
    * Organizations that need to manage a large number of workforce identities and access to multiple AWS accounts and applications
    * Organizations that need to implement strict security controls
    * Organizations that need to centralize access management

In short, Amazon Cognito is identity management solution for developers building B2C or B2B apps for their customers, which makes it a customer-targeted IAM and user directory solution. Whereas AWS SSO is focused on SSO for employees accessing AWS and business apps, initially with Microsoft AD as the underlying employee directory.