Cybersecurity · head to head
Cosign vs GraphQL Apollo
Cosign
Cybersecurity
Signs and verifies container images and artifacts, with or without managing keys
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- 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.; GraphQL Apollo standard and Enterprise plans require sales contact for custom pricing
- They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, GraphQL Apollo covers Apollo Server.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cosign and GraphQL Apollo actually diverge.
| Attribute | Cosign | GraphQL Apollo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Open source, no licence fee | freemium |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker | JavaScript, Node.js, Web, Mobile |
| Category | Cybersecurity | APIs |
| Founded | Unknown | 2016 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Cosign
- Keyless signing
- Key and KMS signing
- Registry-native storage
- In-toto attestations
- Offline verification
- Trusted root and signing config
Only in GraphQL Apollo
- Apollo Server
- Apollo Client
- GraphQL Federation
- REST APIs
- Microservices
- Databases
- JavaScript support
- Node.js support
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 GraphQL Apollo
- Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot GraphQL Apollo
- Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot GraphQL Apollo
- Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot GraphQL Apollo
GraphQL Apollo
- GraphQL API managementnot Cosign
- Schema federationnot Cosign
- API analytics and monitoringnot Cosign
- Developer-focused infrastructurenot 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.
GraphQL Apollo
- Standard and Enterprise plans require sales contact for custom pricing
- Free plan limited to 3 developers and 1-day retention
- Self-hosted router on free tier heavily rate-limited to 60 requests/minute
Pricing, plan by plan
Cosign
Free- CosignFree
- Apache-2.0
- Public Sigstore infrastructure free to use
- No usage limits published
GraphQL Apollo
Free- FreeFree
- 3 developers
- 1-day data retention
- Community support only
- Developer$5/per million requests
- $50 usage credit for new signups
- Up to 10 developers
- 7-day data retention
- Standard$null/custom
- Up to 30 developers
- 90-day data retention
- Standard support with SLA (8x5)
- Enterprise$null/custom
- Unlimited developers
- 18-month data retention
- Business support 24x7x365 with SLA
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.
Choose GraphQL Apollo if
- You need apollo server.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on JavaScript, Node.js, Web, Mobile.
- You also want apollo client.
Questions people ask
- Is Cosign or GraphQL Apollo better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and GraphQL Apollo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cosign or GraphQL Apollo?
- Cosign starts at Free and GraphQL Apollo at Free.
- Does Cosign or GraphQL Apollo run on more platforms?
- Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. GraphQL Apollo runs on JavaScript, Node.js, Web, Mobile.
- Can I use Cosign for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- 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 GraphQL Apollo is typically brought in for.
- What can Cosign do that GraphQL Apollo cannot?
- Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. GraphQL Apollo covers Apollo Server, Apollo Client, GraphQL Federation, REST APIs.
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.
GraphQL Apollo: How much does Apollo GraphQL cost?
Apollo GraphQL is free for up to 3 developers. Paid plans start at $5 per million GraphQL requests on the Developer plan, which includes $50 usage credit for new signups. Standard and Enterprise plans require custom pricing via sales contact.
SourceCosign: Is signing alone enough?
No. Verification is a command somebody runs. Without an admission controller enforcing it, an unsigned image still runs.
GraphQL Apollo: Is there a free version of Apollo GraphQL?
Yes, Apollo GraphQL offers a forever-free plan with no credit card required for up to 3 developers, including 1-day data retention, community support, and self-hosted GraphOS Router rate-limited to 60 requests per minute.
SourceCosign: 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.
GraphQL Apollo: What does Apollo's Enterprise plan include that Standard does not?
The Enterprise plan offers unlimited developers versus 30 on Standard, 18-month data retention versus 90 days, and 24x7x365 business support with SLA instead of 8x5 support. It also includes premium and professional services add-ons and custom MSA agreements. Both require custom pricing.
SourceCosign: 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.
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.
Related pages
More on GraphQL Apollo
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- GraphQL Apollo vs Swagger/OpenAPI
- GraphQL Apollo vs Thredd
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