Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs Gravitee

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Gravitee logo

Gravitee

APIs

Open source API management platform for event-native APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Gravitee the entry paid API management tier is $2,500 a month and includes a single production gateway
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, Gravitee covers API Gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and Gravitee actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and Gravitee differ
AttributeCosignGravitee
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerCloud, On-premise, Kubernetes
CategoryCybersecurityAPIs
FoundedUnknown2015

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 Gravitee

  • API Gateway
  • Developer Portal
  • Analytics Dashboard
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Kafka
  • LDAP
  • Cloud 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 Gravitee
  • Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot Gravitee
  • Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot Gravitee
  • Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot Gravitee

Gravitee

  • API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Cosign
  • Exposing Kafka event streams as managed APIsnot Cosign
  • Protocol mediation between event brokers and clientsnot Cosign
  • Self-hosting an open source API gatewaynot Cosign
  • Access control and authentication in front of internal APIsnot 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.

Gravitee

  • The entry paid API management tier is $2,500 a month and includes a single production gateway
  • Event management is priced separately, starting at $1,250 a month for the Comet tier
  • Tiers are gated on gateway and broker counts, so scaling horizontally means moving tier rather than paying incrementally
  • Data logging masking and other enterprise features are withheld from the lowest paid tier
  • 24/7 support requires the top Universe tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

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

Gravitee

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • API Gateway
    • Basic analytics
    • Community support
  • Enterprise$1500/monthly
    • Advanced features
    • SLA support
    • SSO integration
  • Custom$undefined/monthly
    • Custom deployment
    • Dedicated support
    • Premium 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.
Cosign review

Choose Gravitee if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Kubernetes.
  • You also want developer portal.
Gravitee review

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or Gravitee better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and Gravitee at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or Gravitee?
Cosign starts at Free and Gravitee at Free.
Does Cosign or Gravitee run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. Gravitee runs on Cloud, On-premise, Kubernetes.
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 Gravitee is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that Gravitee cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. Gravitee covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, Analytics Dashboard, Kubernetes.

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.

Gravitee: What is Gravitee's pricing model?

Gravitee uses a tiered subscription model with monthly flat pricing. The Planet tier for API Management starts at $2,500/month with one production gateway, while the Comet tier for Event Management starts at $1,250/month.

Source
Cosign: Is signing alone enough?

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

Gravitee: Are there hidden fees with Gravitee?

No. Gravitee explicitly states there are no hidden fees, and all tiers include unlimited users and unlimited APIs under management.

Source
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.

Gravitee: What does higher tier pricing include in Gravitee?

Higher tiers add more production gateways, enterprise plugins, and enhanced support levels ranging from Gold to Platinum/Diamond support.

Source
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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Cosign

More on Gravitee

Keep looking

Other head to heads