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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs Hasura

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hasura logo

Hasura

APIs

GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases

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.; Hasura active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, Hasura covers GraphQL API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and Hasura actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and Hasura differ
AttributeCosignHasura
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerWeb
CategoryCybersecurityAPIs
FoundedUnknown2017

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 Hasura

  • GraphQL API
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Access control
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Webhooks
  • REST APIs
  • 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 Hasura
  • Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot Hasura
  • Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot Hasura
  • Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot Hasura

Hasura

  • Automatic GraphQL API generation from existing databasesnot Cosign
  • Real-time data subscriptions for modern applicationsnot Cosign
  • Backend infrastructure for web and mobile applicationsnot Cosign
  • Event-triggered webhooks for database changesnot 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.

Hasura

  • Active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
  • Private DDN requires Base or Advanced plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

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

Hasura

Free
  • DDN FreeFree
    • Unlimited models
    • 1 supergraph developer
    • 15-minute observability retention
  • DDN Base$5/month
    • Per active model billing
    • Unlimited developers
    • 30-day observability retention
  • DDN Advanced$30/month
    • Per active model billing
    • Federated collaboration
    • Multi-repo CI/CD

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 Hasura if

  • You need graphql api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time subscriptions.
Hasura review

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or Hasura better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and Hasura at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or Hasura?
Cosign starts at Free and Hasura at Free.
Does Cosign or Hasura run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. Hasura runs on Web.
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 Hasura is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that Hasura cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL.

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.

Hasura: How much does Hasura cost?

Hasura DDN Free is free. DDN Base starts at $5/active model/month, and DDN Advanced starts at $30/active model/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.

Hasura: What is an active model in Hasura pricing?

An active model is defined as any model or command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly.

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.

Hasura: Is there a free version of Hasura?

Yes, Hasura DDN Free is always free and includes unlimited models, 1 supergraph developer, and 15-minute observability retention.

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.

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