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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs DTiQ

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

Signs and verifies container images and artifacts, with or without managing keys

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DTiQ logo

DTiQ

Cybersecurity

Managed video loss prevention with human auditors for restaurants, convenience stores and retail

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cosign has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cosign keyless signing inherits every weakness of the identity provider behind it. Sigstore’s own threat model states that if an identity provider is compromised, Sigstore will issue certificates to those identities, so a compromised account produces perfectly valid signatures.; DTiQ you are buying labour, so the cost per site is far higher than a self-service video licence and it does not fall as camera prices do.
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, DTiQ covers SmartAudit.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and DTiQ actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and DTiQ differ
AttributeCosignDTiQ
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Cosign

  • Keyless signing
  • Key and KMS signing
  • Registry-native storage
  • In-toto attestations
  • Offline verification
  • Trusted root and signing config

Only in DTiQ

  • SmartAudit
  • POS transaction linking
  • 360iQ platform
  • Exception alerting
  • Drive-through timing
  • Food safety and compliance checks
  • Managed installation

What people use each for

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

Cosign

  • Signing container images in a build pipeline without managing long-lived private keysnot DTiQ
  • Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot DTiQ
  • Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot DTiQ
  • Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot DTiQ

DTiQ

  • A multi-unit quick service franchisee who has no one available to review video across fifteen storesnot Cosign
  • A convenience store chain investigating till fraud by matching voids to what actually happened at the counternot Cosign
  • An operator enforcing drive-through service time standards across locations from evidence rather than anecdotenot Cosign
  • A brand auditing food safety and cleanliness compliance at franchise sites without sending a field managernot Cosign

Where each one falls short

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

Cosign

  • Keyless signing inherits every weakness of the identity provider behind it. Sigstore’s own threat model states that if an identity provider is compromised, Sigstore will issue certificates to those identities, so a compromised account produces perfectly valid signatures.
  • A signature proves who signed, never whether they should have. The documentation is explicit that Sigstore cannot determine authorisation, so every consumer must write and maintain their own identity and issuer policy or verification means nothing.
  • Nothing is enforced without an admission controller. Signing changes what you can prove, not what runs, and the official policy controller has a small maintainer base for a component sitting in a cluster admission path.
  • Upgrades break pipelines. Version 3 changed defaults, version 4 is announced as removing legacy functionality and roughly half the command line flags, and two official client libraries still lacked support for the new log format as of mid 2026.
  • Signatures do not expire. An artifact signed before a maintainer account was compromised and one signed after are indistinguishable unless somebody is actively monitoring the transparency log, and almost nobody is.

DTiQ

  • You are buying labour, so the cost per site is far higher than a self-service video licence and it does not fall as camera prices do.
  • Audits are sampled, not continuous, so a problem outside the reviewed window is invisible and the score is a statistical impression rather than a complete record.
  • Nothing is published on price and the commercial shape is a multi-year managed service agreement, which is harder to exit than a software subscription and typically involves bundled hardware you do not own.
  • Ownership changed in a $200 million Digital Alpha led investment tied to a Cisco Meraki partnership, so the hardware and network roadmap may shift under an existing estate.
  • It is built around restaurant, convenience and retail operating models, so an organisation outside those verticals gets a generic video product and pays for an audit methodology that does not fit its work.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

Free
  • CosignFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • Public Sigstore infrastructure free to use
    • No usage limits published

DTiQ

On request
  • DTiQ managed service$undefined/month
    • Priced per location as a managed service, not per camera
    • Audit frequency and scope determine the rate
    • Hardware and installation bundled into the service agreement

Which should you pick?

Choose Cosign if

  • You need keyless signing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want key and kms signing.
Cosign review

Choose DTiQ if

  • You need smartaudit.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pos transaction linking.
DTiQ review

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or DTiQ better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and DTiQ at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or DTiQ?
Cosign has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cosign and On request for DTiQ.
Does Cosign or DTiQ run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. DTiQ runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Cosign for free?
Yes. Cosign has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. DTiQ starts at On request.
What is Cosign best used for?
Cosign is most often used for signing container images in a build pipeline without managing long-lived private keys, attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenance, meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifacts, verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registry. Of those, signing container images in a build pipeline without managing long-lived private keys and attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenance are not what DTiQ is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that DTiQ cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. DTiQ covers SmartAudit, POS transaction linking, 360iQ platform, Exception alerting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cosign: Does Cosign tell me if an image is vulnerable?

No. It has no vulnerability knowledge whatsoever. It can carry an SBOM as a signed attestation but never reads it. Pair it with a scanner.

DTiQ: Is DTiQ a video management system?

Not primarily. It is a managed service where human auditors review your footage and deliver scored reports. The platform exists to support that service.

Cosign: Is signing alone enough?

No. Verification is a command somebody runs. Without an admission controller enforcing it, an unsigned image still runs.

DTiQ: How is it priced?

Per location as a managed service, based on audit scope and frequency, with hardware and installation bundled. Nothing is published.

Cosign: What does a bare cosign verify actually prove?

Very little. Without a pinned certificate identity and OIDC issuer, it accepts a valid signature from any identity at all.

DTiQ: Who owns DTiQ?

Digital Alpha holds a majority stake following a $200 million investment that bought out Bain Capital, BV Investment Partners and others, alongside a Cisco Meraki partnership.

Cosign: What is the risk of keyless signing?

Your OIDC provider becomes the root of trust. Compromise of that account yields genuine, verifiable signatures, so account security is the control that matters.

DTiQ: Does it integrate with my POS?

Yes, with major restaurant and convenience store point of sale systems, which is what allows transaction exceptions to be replayed on video.

Cosign: Should we expect breaking changes?

Yes. Version 4 is announced to remove roughly half the flags, and a post-quantum migration is named as a further breaking change after that.

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