Pricing overview

AWS Cognito's pricing structure is primarily designed around a pay-as-you-go model, with costs determined by the number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs). An MAU is defined as a unique user who initiates an authentication or authorization event within a calendar month. AWS Cognito separates its core offerings, User Pools and Identity Pools, each having distinct pricing tiers and free allowances. This allows developers to manage authentication and user directory services with a clear understanding of usage-based expenditures.

The pricing model includes a free tier that aims to support initial development and small-scale applications, followed by tiered pricing with volume discounts as usage scales. Beyond MAUs, additional costs can accrue for services such as sending SMS messages for multi-factor authentication (MFA) or enabling advanced security features like adaptive authentication and compromised credential detection. Understanding these components is essential for forecasting the total cost of ownership for applications utilizing AWS Cognito for identity management. For specific rates, the AWS Cognito official pricing page details all charges.

Plans and tiers

AWS Cognito does not offer traditional 'plans' in the sense of predefined packages. Instead, its pricing is entirely usage-based, with costs varying depending on the specific service (User Pools vs. Identity Pools) and the volume of MAUs. Both services benefit from a generous free tier before per-MAU charges apply. As the number of MAUs increases, the per-user cost decreases through a series of volume-based tiers.

User Pools pricing

User Pools manage user directories, sign-up, sign-in, and account recovery. After the free tier, pricing begins at a set rate per MAU and decreases incrementally. For example, the initial paid tier for User Pools is $0.00550 per MAU for the first 100,000 MAUs beyond the free limit. Subsequent tiers offer lower per-MAU rates for higher user volumes, making it more cost-effective for large-scale applications. Additional charges for User Pools include:

  • SMS messages: Used for MFA or phone number verification. Costs are based on the destination country and carrier rates.
  • Email verification: While basic email verification is free, exceeding certain thresholds for unverified email sends can incur costs.
  • Advanced Security Features: These features, such as adaptive authentication and compromised credential detection, are priced per MAU, separate from the core User Pools MAU cost.

Identity Pools (Federated Identities) pricing

Identity Pools enable access to other AWS services for users authenticated by social identity providers (like Google, Facebook, Apple) or custom identity providers. Similar to User Pools, Identity Pools have their own free tier, followed by a tiered MAU-based pricing model. The initial paid tier for Identity Pools is $0.00300 per MAU for the first 100,000 MAUs beyond its free limit. As with User Pools, higher MAU volumes attract lower per-user rates.

It's important to note that if an application uses both User Pools for managing its user directory and Identity Pools for federated access to AWS resources, MAU charges for each service are calculated independently. This granularity allows for precise cost attribution based on the specific identity services consumed.

Free tier and limits

AWS Cognito provides a substantial free tier designed to accommodate development, testing, and small production workloads. This free tier is applied monthly and automatically renews. The free tier limits are:

  • Cognito User Pools: 50,000 Monthly Active Users (MAUs) per month.
  • Cognito Identity Pools (Federated Identities): 50,000 Monthly Active Users (MAUs) per month.

These free limits apply independently to each service. For example, an application could have 40,000 MAUs in a User Pool and 30,000 MAUs in an Identity Pool in the same month without incurring any MAU charges. The free tier significantly reduces the barrier to entry for new applications and allows for considerable growth before paid tiers are activated. However, it's crucial to monitor MAU counts, especially for applications experiencing rapid user growth, to anticipate when paid tiers will begin applying. While the MAU limits are generous, other services like SMS messages for MFA are typically not included in the free tier and incur charges from the first use.

Real-world cost examples

To illustrate AWS Cognito pricing, consider several scenarios based on different user scales and feature usage. These examples use the pricing available in the AWS Cognito official pricing documentation for the US East (N. Virginia) region as of late 2024, excluding potential changes over time or region-specific variations.

Scenario 1: Small Application (75,000 MAUs, User Pools only)

  • User Pools MAUs: 75,000
  • Identity Pools MAUs: 0
  • Advanced Security: Disabled
  • SMS MFA: Disabled

Calculation:

  • Free Tier MAUs for User Pools: 50,000
  • Paid MAUs for User Pools: 75,000 - 50,000 = 25,000 MAUs
  • Cost for User Pools: 25,000 MAUs * $0.00550/MAU = $137.50
  • Total Estimated Monthly Cost: $137.50

This scenario demonstrates a small application exceeding the free tier, incurring minimal costs for its user management needs.

Scenario 2: Medium Application (150,000 MAUs, User Pools and Identity Pools, SMS MFA)

  • User Pools MAUs: 150,000
  • Identity Pools MAUs: 100,000
  • Advanced Security: Disabled
  • SMS MFA: 20,000 messages (e.g., to US numbers at ~$0.01/message)

Calculation:

  • User Pools Cost:
    • Free Tier MAUs: 50,000
    • Paid MAUs: 150,000 - 50,000 = 100,000 MAUs
    • Cost: 100,000 MAUs * $0.00550/MAU = $550.00
  • Identity Pools Cost:
    • Free Tier MAUs: 50,000
    • Paid MAUs: 100,000 - 50,000 = 50,000 MAUs
    • Cost: 50,000 MAUs * $0.00300/MAU = $150.00
  • SMS MFA Cost: 20,000 messages * $0.01/message = $200.00
  • Total Estimated Monthly Cost: $550.00 + $150.00 + $200.00 = $900.00

This scenario highlights the separate billing for User Pools and Identity Pools, plus the impact of additional services like SMS. The volume discounts for MAU are not yet significant enough to move into lower tiers beyond the initial paid block.

Scenario 3: Large Application (500,000 MAUs, User Pools with Advanced Security)

  • User Pools MAUs: 500,000
  • Identity Pools MAUs: 0
  • Advanced Security: Enabled for 500,000 MAUs
  • SMS MFA: Disabled

Calculation (illustrative, tier rates beyond first 100k vary):

  • User Pools Cost (using illustrative tiered rates beyond first 100k):
    • Free Tier MAUs: 50,000
    • Paid MAUs: 450,000
    • Approximate Cost for 450,000 paid MAUs (first 100k at $0.00550, next 400k at $0.00450): (100,000 * $0.00550) + (350,000 * $0.00450) = $550 + $1575 = $2125.00 (Note: actual tiers and rates are more granular and can be found on the AWS site)
  • Advanced Security Cost: 500,000 MAUs * $0.00200/MAU (illustrative rate) = $1,000.00
  • Total Estimated Monthly Cost: $2125.00 + $1000.00 = $3,125.00

This example demonstrates how volume discounts for core MAU usage and the cost of advanced features can significantly impact the overall bill for larger deployments. It emphasizes the need to consult the detailed AWS Cognito pricing information for precise tier breakdowns.

How the pricing compares

AWS Cognito competes with various identity and access management (IAM) solutions, both cloud-based and self-hosted. When comparing pricing, key factors include MAU-based costs, free tier generosity, features included versus add-ons, and integration with broader cloud ecosystems. Alternatives like Auth0, Okta, and Firebase Authentication each present different pricing models and value propositions.

Provider Pricing Model Free Tier / Entry Point Key Differentiator / Best For
AWS Cognito MAU-based (User Pools & Identity Pools), pay-as-you-go with volume discounts. 50,000 MAUs for User Pools, 50,000 MAUs for Identity Pools per month. Deep integration with the AWS ecosystem, highly scalable for AWS-native applications, cost-effective at various scales due to MAU-based pricing.
Auth0 MAU-based, tiered plans (Free, Essentials, Professional, Enterprise). Feature-rich, often perceived as higher cost at scale. 7,000 MAUs (Free Developer Plan) with limited features. Developer-centric, extensive SDKs and integrations, strong focus on extensibility and customization, good for complex authentication flows across diverse tech stacks.
Okta Per-user, per-app, or MAU-based depending on product (Workforce Identity vs. Customer Identity). Often enterprise-focused. Trial periods, no substantial free tier for ongoing production. Enterprise-grade security and compliance, broad integrations for workforce and customer identity, strong administrative controls, often chosen for large organizations with complex identity needs.
Firebase Authentication Number of authenticated accounts, with some free limits. Costs for phone authentication and advanced features. 10,000 phone authentications per month. Email/password, Google, etc., free up to 50,000 authentications/month. Integrated with Google's Firebase platform, suitable for mobile/web apps built on Firebase, simpler setup for common social logins, often easier for smaller projects to start.

Comparing AWS Cognito against these alternatives involves considering not just the per-user cost but also the ecosystem lock-in, feature set, and operational overhead. For applications deeply embedded within the AWS cloud, Cognito often presents a compelling value due to its native integrations and consistent billing model. Auth0 and Okta frequently appeal to organizations prioritizing a broader range of identity features, developer experience, or stringent enterprise security requirements, often at a higher price point for comparable scale. Firebase Authentication offers a very accessible entry point for Google Cloud users, particularly for mobile-first applications, as described in Google's Firebase Authentication overview. The choice often depends on existing cloud infrastructure, specific feature requirements, and the scale of user base anticipated.