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Cybersecurity · head to head

Beyond Identity vs Cloud Native Buildpacks

Beyond Identity logo

Beyond Identity

Cybersecurity

Phishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Cloud Native Buildpacks logo

Cloud Native Buildpacks

Developer Tools

Specification and tooling that turns source code into OCI images without Dockerfiles

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cloud Native Buildpacks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Beyond Identity it is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.; Cloud Native Buildpacks the operational cost is real: you own builder images, base image refresh cadence and migrations between specification versions, which currently sit at Buildpack API 0.10 and Platform API 0.12 with published migration guides, so breaking changes are a recurring chore.
  • They diverge on capability: Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Cloud Native Buildpacks covers Detect and build lifecycle.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beyond Identity and Cloud Native Buildpacks actually diverge.

Attributes where Beyond Identity and Cloud Native Buildpacks differ
AttributeBeyond IdentityCloud Native Buildpacks
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidLinux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Docker, Kubernetes
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 Beyond Identity

  • Device-bound credentials
  • Continuous device posture
  • No shared secrets
  • Identity provider integration
  • Secure developer signing
  • Administrator policy engine

Only in Cloud Native Buildpacks

  • Detect and build lifecycle
  • Image rebasing
  • Reproducible layers
  • Builder images
  • Automatic SBOM output
  • pack CLI

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Beyond Identity

  • An organisation that suffered a breach through MFA push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineerednot Cloud Native Buildpacks
  • A software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patchesnot Cloud Native Buildpacks
  • A firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systemsnot Cloud Native Buildpacks
  • A security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on topnot Cloud Native Buildpacks

Cloud Native Buildpacks

  • Patching a base image once and rebasing hundreds of application images rather than rebuilding and redeploying eachnot Beyond Identity
  • Removing per-team Dockerfiles at an organisation where inconsistent base images have become an audit findingnot Beyond Identity
  • Giving application teams a supported path to a hardened image without teaching every team container securitynot Beyond Identity
  • Choosing a build system that a risk committee will accept because governance is vendor neutral rather than single vendornot Beyond Identity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Beyond Identity

  • It is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • Every device that authenticates needs the platform authenticator installed, which makes onboarding contractors, third parties and shared kiosks awkward and sometimes impossible.
  • Pricing is quoted per user with no published rates, so buyers cannot benchmark it against the increasingly capable passkey support now included in identity provider base licences.
  • Losing all enrolled devices requires an administrative recovery path, and organisations that design that path poorly reintroduce a social-engineering target at the helpdesk.
  • Legacy applications that only speak passwords or older protocols need a federation shim or stay outside the policy, so coverage is rarely complete in an estate with old systems.

Cloud Native Buildpacks

  • The operational cost is real: you own builder images, base image refresh cadence and migrations between specification versions, which currently sit at Buildpack API 0.10 and Platform API 0.12 with published migration guides, so breaking changes are a recurring chore.
  • A cold build with no warm cache is noticeably slower than a well layered Dockerfile, and because the cache lives in a cache image or volume, ephemeral continuous integration runners pay full price on every run unless you deliberately warm them.
  • Reproducibility depends on discipline rather than defaults, because buildpacks resolve runtime patch versions at build time unless you pin them and stability is only as good as the builder image tag you point at.
  • The specification is neutral but the buildpacks are not, and in practice you depend on Paketo, Heroku or Google, whose roadmaps, support levels and update cadences differ; CNCF also records contributing organisations down 12 per cent year on year.
  • Native dependencies, unusual monorepo layouts and non-standard project structures push you into writing custom buildpacks or extensions, which is a genuine engineering investment and not a configuration change.

Pricing, plan by plan

Beyond Identity

On request
  • Secure Access Platform$undefined/year
    • Per-user annual subscription quoted by seat count
    • Deployed alongside an existing identity provider rather than replacing it
    • Device posture integrations with major EDR and MDM vendors included

Cloud Native Buildpacks

Free
  • Cloud Native BuildpacksFree
    • Apache-2.0, hosted by the CNCF
    • No commercial edition from the project itself
    • Commercial support only from vendors of specific buildpack distributions

Which should you pick?

Choose Beyond Identity if

  • You need device-bound credentials.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want continuous device posture.
Beyond Identity review

Choose Cloud Native Buildpacks if

  • You need detect and build lifecycle.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want image rebasing.
Cloud Native Buildpacks review

Questions people ask

Is Beyond Identity or Cloud Native Buildpacks better?
Neither clearly leads. Beyond Identity starts at On request and Cloud Native Buildpacks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beyond Identity or Cloud Native Buildpacks?
Cloud Native Buildpacks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Beyond Identity and Free for Cloud Native Buildpacks.
Does Beyond Identity or Cloud Native Buildpacks run on more platforms?
Beyond Identity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Cloud Native Buildpacks runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Cloud Native Buildpacks for free?
Yes. Cloud Native Buildpacks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Beyond Identity starts at On request.
What is Beyond Identity best used for?
Beyond Identity is most often used for an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered, a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches, a firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systems, a security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on top. Of those, an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered and a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches are not what Cloud Native Buildpacks is typically brought in for.
What can Beyond Identity do that Cloud Native Buildpacks cannot?
Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Continuous device posture, No shared secrets, Identity provider integration. Cloud Native Buildpacks covers Detect and build lifecycle, Image rebasing, Reproducible layers, Builder images.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beyond Identity: Does it replace Okta or Entra ID?

No. It sits in front of them as the authentication method. Budget for both.

Cloud Native Buildpacks: What does CNCF graduation actually change?

Nothing technically, but it signals audited governance, security review and multi-vendor maintenance, which is usually what a procurement or risk team needs before approving a build system.

Beyond Identity: What happens when a user loses their laptop?

They authenticate from another enrolled device, or go through an administrative recovery flow. Designing that recovery well matters, because it is the weakest point.

Cloud Native Buildpacks: How is this different from writing a Dockerfile?

Container build knowledge lives with the platform team in a builder image rather than in every repository, and rebasing lets you patch the runtime base of many images without rebuilding them.

Beyond Identity: Is it different from passkeys?

The credential mechanism is similar in spirit. The difference is enforcing device security posture at every authentication, which standard passkeys do not do.

Cloud Native Buildpacks: Does it cost anything?

No. The specification and tooling are Apache-2.0 and free. You pay only if you buy commercial support for a specific buildpack distribution from Broadcom, Heroku or Google.

Cloud Native Buildpacks: Is it slower than a Dockerfile?

On a cold build with no cache, yes. Warm builds are competitive, but continuous integration runners that start empty every time will feel the difference.

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