Cybersecurity · head to head
Authy vs Cortex
Authy
Cybersecurity
Twilio's free authenticator app with encrypted cloud backup, mobile only since the desktop clients were withdrawn in 2024.
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
Cortex
Developer Tools
Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
The short version
- Only Authy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Authy there is no export function for stored TOTP secrets, so moving to a different authenticator means disabling and re-enrolling two-factor authentication on every account individually, which is the reason most users stay rather than a reason anyone should choose it.; Cortex pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
- They diverge on capability: Authy covers Encrypted cloud backup, Cortex covers Service catalogue.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Authy and Cortex actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Authy
- Encrypted cloud backup
- Multi-device sync
- Standard TOTP
- Offline code generation
- App lock
- Multi-device toggle
- Token organisation
- Free with no account tier
Only in Cortex
- Service catalogue
- Scorecards
- Initiatives
- Self-service templates
- Query language
- Eng intelligence
- Integrations layer
- On-call and ownership mapping
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Authy
- An individual who wants two-factor authentication on personal accounts and needs it to survive losing or replacing a phonenot Cortex
- A small team sharing access to a service account where the same tokens must be available on more than one handsetnot Cortex
- Replacing SMS-based codes with TOTP for someone who would abandon two-factor entirely if recovery were difficultnot Cortex
- Consolidating tokens scattered across several apps onto one device list with recognisable names and iconsnot Cortex
Cortex
- A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Authy
- An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Authy
- Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Authy
- Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Authy
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Authy
- There is no export function for stored TOTP secrets, so moving to a different authenticator means disabling and re-enrolling two-factor authentication on every account individually, which is the reason most users stay rather than a reason anyone should choose it.
- The Windows, macOS and Linux desktop applications were discontinued in 2024 and stopped working, so any workflow that depended on copying codes on a computer now requires a phone in hand, and users who held tokens only on a desktop client had to restore from backup or re-enrol.
- The account is keyed to a phone number, so an attacker who takes over that number through a SIM swap can begin the device registration flow, and the only remaining control is the backup password that most users set once and cannot recall.
- In 2024 an unauthenticated Twilio endpoint allowed attackers to confirm which numbers from a supplied list were registered Authy accounts, exposing around 33 million phone numbers, which disclosed no codes but handed phishers a validated list of people known to use two-factor authentication.
- It is a free consumer application inside a company that has already retired the paid Authy developer API it once supported, so it carries no revenue of its own, and users should treat its continued existence as a business decision rather than a roadmap commitment.
Cortex
- Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
- The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything.
- Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue.
- It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves.
- Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract.
Pricing, plan by plan
Authy
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Authy review.
Cortex
On request- Cortex$undefined/year
- Service catalogue and ownership mapping
- Scorecards and initiatives
- Self-service templates
Which should you pick?
Choose Authy if
- You need encrypted cloud backup.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want multi-device sync.
Choose Cortex if
- You need service catalogue.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want scorecards.
Questions people ask
- Is Authy or Cortex better?
- Neither clearly leads. Authy starts at Free and Cortex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Authy or Cortex?
- Authy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Authy and On request for Cortex.
- Does Authy or Cortex run on more platforms?
- Authy runs on Web. Cortex runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Authy for free?
- Yes. Authy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
- What is Authy best used for?
- Authy is most often used for an individual who wants two-factor authentication on personal accounts and needs it to survive losing or replacing a phone, a small team sharing access to a service account where the same tokens must be available on more than one handset, replacing sms-based codes with totp for someone who would abandon two-factor entirely if recovery were difficult, consolidating tokens scattered across several apps onto one device list with recognisable names and icons. Of those, an individual who wants two-factor authentication on personal accounts and needs it to survive losing or replacing a phone and a small team sharing access to a service account where the same tokens must be available on more than one handset are not what Cortex is typically brought in for.
- What can Authy do that Cortex cannot?
- Authy covers Encrypted cloud backup, Multi-device sync, Standard TOTP, Offline code generation. Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Authy: Is Authy still supported?
The mobile apps for iOS and Android are still available and functional. The desktop applications were withdrawn in 2024 and the Authy developer API has been retired in favour of Twilio Verify, so the surrounding product has been shrinking.
Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?
Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.
Authy: Can I export my tokens?
No. There is no export of the underlying secrets, by design. Migrating to another authenticator means going to each service, disabling two-factor authentication and setting it up again with the new app.
Cortex: Is pricing published?
No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.
Authy: What happened to the desktop app?
Twilio announced its discontinuation in March 2024 and the applications stopped working later that year. There is no replacement desktop client; the mobile apps are the product now.
Cortex: Can it self-host?
It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.
Authy: Is multi-device sync safe to leave on?
It is the feature most worth understanding. Leaving new device registration enabled means anyone who controls your phone number can attempt to add a device. The usual advice is to turn the multi-device setting off once your devices are registered and turn it on only when you need to add one.
Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?
Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.
Authy: What if I lose my phone and forget the backup password?
The secrets are encrypted with that password and Twilio does not hold it, so they cannot be recovered. You would fall back to each individual service's account recovery process, which is exactly the situation the backup was meant to avoid.
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