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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs OnBase

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
OnBase logo

OnBase

Government

Enterprise Information Platform

From
$400/month
Free plan
No
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.; OnBase pricing starts at 2,000 USD per month, making it expensive for small agencies
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, OnBase covers Content Management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and OnBase actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and OnBase differ
AttributeCosignOnBase
Starting priceFree$400/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerWeb, Mobile
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
FoundedUnknown1991

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 OnBase

  • Content Management
  • Workflow Automation
  • Case Management
  • Records Management
  • Intelligent Capture
  • Microsoft 365
  • Salesforce
  • Epic

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 OnBase
  • Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot OnBase
  • Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot OnBase
  • Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot OnBase

OnBase

  • 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.

OnBase

  • Pricing starts at 2,000 USD per month, making it expensive for small agencies
  • Complex implementation and configuration required for government-specific workflows
  • Requires significant IT resources for deployment and ongoing management

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

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

OnBase

$400/month
  • Government$400/month
    • Content Management
    • Process Automation
    • Case 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.
Cosign review

Choose OnBase if

  • You need content management.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want workflow automation.
OnBase review

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or OnBase better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and OnBase at $400/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or OnBase?
Cosign has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cosign and $400/month for OnBase.
Does Cosign or OnBase run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. OnBase runs on Web, Mobile.
Can I use Cosign for free?
Yes. Cosign has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OnBase starts at $400/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 OnBase is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that OnBase cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. OnBase covers Content Management, Workflow Automation, Case Management, Records Management.

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.

OnBase: What is OnBase used for in government?

OnBase is used for digital permitting, inspections, and plan review processes. Government agencies use it to streamline workflows, enable online forms, automate approvals, and provide citizen access to application status.

Source
Cosign: Is signing alone enough?

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

OnBase: Does OnBase support mobile access?

Yes. Mobile access is a key feature of OnBase, allowing users to manage documents and cases on the go.

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.

OnBase: What document management capabilities does OnBase provide?

OnBase provides centralized document storage with version control, search and retrieval tools, records management across physical and electronic lifecycles, and compliance with policies and regulations.

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.

OnBase: Can OnBase workflows be customized?

Yes. OnBase is flexible and configurable with user-defined workflows for case management, streamlining processes like accounts payable, employee onboarding, and contract management.

Source
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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