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Amazon Cognito vs ForgeRock comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Cognito
Ranking in Access Management
7th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ForgeRock
Ranking in Access Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (13th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of Amazon Cognito is 6.6%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ForgeRock is 6.8%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Access Management
 

Featured Reviews

Wojciech Doganowski - PeerSpot reviewer
International setup localization challenges drive custom development while outsourcing credential management enhances security
We are using it in an international setup where we have multiple services running in multiple countries. Cognito localizes only regarding language, but the service is localized in each country. Cognito has the possibility to render the login screen and all the customer flows related to managing the account. Still, it's useless in an international setup. They are unable to localize these screens, so we had to write our own screens and just use the Cognito API. I hope they will fix this soon because it's useful to rely on already prepared flows for all the account management. As it doesn't work with different languages, rewriting it is quite complicated. Additionally, maybe they could find another step in the price so there is not such a significant jump from the basic to extended functionality. Some flexibility would be helpful.
Trisha Bhola - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easier to customize and maintain our code
I worked on two different projects based on ForgeRock, and both are automated deployments. One is a UI-based deployment. It's an automated process using some scripts. The deployments are done through Octopus, so it's also automated. We first deploy the essential components of AM and then implement additional configurations like Amster Imports. After that, we import all the SAML Federation data and add some certificates. We have two teams of five and three team members working on the different deployment processes. One is working on the dev side, another is looking at the higher environment, and one is managing the data. In another project, I'm the only developer. We also deploy on the dev environments so that anyone can test new features, configurations, and client requirements. They can test it on the dev environment, but a team of four people manages higher environments. The Access Management component involves the most customization, which takes around 15 to 20 minutes because of the need to import the Amster configuration. If another deployment is simultaneously happening, it may be a little slower and take around 30 minutes. The other components, like the user data stores, take about five to seven minutes. It's another five to 10 minutes for Identity Management. After deployment, the maintenance is mostly checking for security vulnerabilities. If ForgeRock shares security vulnerabilities or advisories, we check to see if there is something inside we need to maintain. Other than that, we just install updates when they add features each month.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"What I find most valuable about Amazon Cognito is the single sign-on feature that provides a token for accessing protected APIs."
"They offer a permission tool to help us manage multi-factor authentication."
"Cognito speeds up our development and saves us time."
"I appreciate Amazon Cognito's ability to scale with demand and its seamless user verification features."
"What is quite valuable is that we can outsource storage of the credentials to AWS, and they manage it quite securely."
"The most valuable features of Amazon Cognito are the pre and post-token generation, and the different Cognito triggers. It has lots of functionality and flexibility."
"The federation is one of the most efficient features as the pricing is competitive."
"The most valuable features of Amazon Cognito are OTP validation and email validation."
"Easy to navigate, handle and manage the applications."
"ForgeRock is an extensive product with many functionalities and capabilities, much more than many other tools combined."
"I like the way it is handling authentication and authorization."
"The product is easy to set up."
"ForgeRock has CIAM, which other products didn't have, and they have DevOps ready."
"The support is good and prompt."
"We create and define the permissions and configurations for the users."
"Installation and configuration are pretty easy for ForgeRock OpenIDM."
 

Cons

"In a future release, we would like to have different methods to validate the characteristic of a user. For example, we would like to use biometric data to analyze the behavior of users."
"Amazon Cognito could be improved by making it easier for us to add more data to the token, allowing customization of JWT. It requires a complex program to customize the token currently, however, the UI could support this configuration better."
"The secure authentication of Amazon Cognito has benefited our company. We were previously using legacy signup systems."
"The MFA related to the solution's side is nonexistent."
"Amazon Cognito could improve by simplifying the configuration."
"The setup and configuration can be complex, especially for advanced use cases."
"Cognito triggers can improve by providing more direct use cases rather than giving a white paper. A white paper is not at all interesting, it has too many details. It would be a benefit to provide a smaller document that is summarized. The smaller version would bring microdata, macro data is not helpful."
"Cognito has the possibility to render the login screen and all the customer flows related to managing the account. Still, it's useless in an international setup. They are unable to localize these screens, so we had to write our own screens and just use the Cognito API."
"ForgeRock is an open source solution and is available to everyone but it is not freeware. If you need support, you need a subscription for ForgeRock. Many of its functionalities need to be built up with the help of a consultant."
"In future releases, I would like to see easier integration with other solutions, like facial recognition and KYC solutions with biometric onboarding."
"Lacks simplified documentation within the tool that requires use of a separate portal."
"They should improve the solution by include reporting."
"I find that it's quite expensive for just an open-source system. Support is quite expensive."
"The solution's deployment should be made easier."
"I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area where improvements are required."
"It should have a better user interface. Its flexibility should also be improved. It is not about simplifying; it is more about flexibility. Each company has its own requirements, and ForgeRock can provide more flexibility in terms of the use of existing modules to implement features for the customers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of this solution is good compared to other solutions on the market."
"We pay $600 monthly per user for licences and there are no other additional costs."
"The product is relatively inexpensive compared to other tools."
"The price of the solution depends on the number of users using it."
"The price of Amazon Cognito is low. The pricing model is based on the users."
"The price of Amazon Cognito is expensive. We are on an annual subscription."
"The pricing is bad so I rate it a two out of ten."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."
"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Cognito?
The most valuable feature of the solution is its swift authentication.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon Cognito?
The basic functionality is reasonably priced, but the extended functionalities, especially the extended security, are quite expensive. There is a significant jump from the basic to the extended fun...
What needs improvement with Amazon Cognito?
We are using it in an international setup where we have multiple services running in multiple countries. Cognito localizes only regarding language, but the service is localized in each country. Cog...
What do you like most about ForgeRock?
The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?
Our company was considering switching back to Keycloak from ForgeRock, so as to not pay any license fees. ForgeRock also supports M-PIN and biometric features that Keycloak does not provide. My com...
What needs improvement with ForgeRock?
In the past, I saw that Splunk was integrated with a testing portal, and then it was integrated with Slack. I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area wher...
 

Also Known As

No data available
ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Cognito vs. ForgeRock and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.