Cybersecurity · head to head
Cosign vs Laserfiche
Cosign
Cybersecurity
Signs and verifies container images and artifacts, with or without managing keys
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
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.; Laserfiche self-hosted deployment requires dedicated IT resources and infrastructure management
- They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, Laserfiche covers Document Capture.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cosign and Laserfiche actually diverge.
| Attribute | Cosign | Laserfiche |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $50/month |
| Pricing model | Open source, no licence fee | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker | Web, Mobile, Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Category | Cybersecurity | Government |
| Founded | Unknown | 1976 |
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 Cosign
- Keyless signing
- Key and KMS signing
- Registry-native storage
- In-toto attestations
- Offline verification
- Trusted root and signing config
Only in Laserfiche
- Document Capture
- Workflow Automation
- Records Management
- Electronic Forms
- Process Automation
- Microsoft Office
- SharePoint
- Salesforce
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 Laserfiche
- Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot Laserfiche
- Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot Laserfiche
- Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot Laserfiche
Laserfiche
- Citizen Servicesnot Cosign
- Records Managementnot Cosign
- Public Safetynot Cosign
- Civic Engagementnot 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.
Laserfiche
- Self-hosted deployment requires dedicated IT resources and infrastructure management
- Complex implementation often requires significant upfront customization
- High total cost of ownership for on-premises deployments due to infrastructure needs
Pricing, plan by plan
Cosign
Free- CosignFree
- Apache-2.0
- Public Sigstore infrastructure free to use
- No usage limits published
Laserfiche
$50/month- Cloud$50/month
- Document Management
- Workflow Automation
- Records Management
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 Laserfiche if
- You need document capture.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Windows, macOS, Linux.
- You also want workflow automation.
Questions people ask
- Is Cosign or Laserfiche better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and Laserfiche at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cosign or Laserfiche?
- Cosign has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cosign and $50/month for Laserfiche.
- Does Cosign or Laserfiche run on more platforms?
- Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. Laserfiche runs on Web, Mobile, Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Can I use Cosign for free?
- Yes. Cosign has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Laserfiche starts at $50/month.
- 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 Laserfiche is typically brought in for.
- What can Cosign do that Laserfiche cannot?
- Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. Laserfiche covers Document Capture, Workflow Automation, Records Management, Electronic Forms.
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.
Laserfiche: Does Laserfiche offer both cloud and self-hosted options?
Yes. Laserfiche Cloud offers three tiers (Starter $53/user/month, Professional $73, Business $93). Laserfiche 12 provides self-hosted deployment for organizations requiring on-premise infrastructure or with strict security and regulatory constraints.
SourceCosign: Is signing alone enough?
No. Verification is a command somebody runs. Without an admission controller enforcing it, an unsigned image still runs.
Laserfiche: What does Laserfiche capture from documents?
Laserfiche provides document capture, electronic forms, workflow automation, case management, mobile access, and government-certified records management with automatic filing and retention schedules.
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.
Laserfiche: Can Laserfiche track document workflows automatically?
Yes. Laserfiche includes workflow automation that tracks and fulfills processes like FOIA requests, with access controls, audit trails, and automated recordkeeping for compliance.
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.
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