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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs PostHog

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
PostHog logo

PostHog

Technology

The single platform to analyze, test, observe, and deploy new features

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.; PostHog the free tier covers 1M events, 5K web session recordings and 2.5K mobile recordings per month before usage-based billing starts
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, PostHog covers Product analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and PostHog actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and PostHog differ
AttributeCosignPostHog
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryCybersecurityTechnology
FoundedUnknown2020

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 PostHog

  • Product analytics
  • Session recording
  • Feature flags
  • A/B testing
  • Heatmaps
  • SQL access
  • Data warehouse
  • Apps platform

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

PostHog

  • Product analyticsnot Cosign
  • Feature experimentationnot Cosign
  • User behavior trackingnot Cosign
  • A/B testingnot Cosign
  • Debug production issuesnot 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.

PostHog

  • The free tier covers 1M events, 5K web session recordings and 2.5K mobile recordings per month before usage-based billing starts
  • Accounts without a card on file are limited to 1 project; adding one raises it to 6
  • Data retention is 1 year until a card is added, which extends it to 7 years
  • Support is community-only until the account is on a paid plan
  • Error tracking is capped at 100K exceptions and surveys at 1500 responses per month on the free tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

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

PostHog

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1M events/month
    • 5K sessions/month
    • Unlimited users
  • Paid$undefined/month
    • $0.00031/event
    • $0.005/session
    • Advanced permissions
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • SAML SSO
    • Advanced security
    • Dedicated support

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 PostHog if

  • You need product analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want session recording.

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or PostHog better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and PostHog at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or PostHog?
Cosign starts at Free and PostHog at Free.
Does Cosign or PostHog run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. PostHog runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
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 PostHog is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that PostHog cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. PostHog covers Product analytics, Session recording, Feature flags, A/B testing.

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.

PostHog: What does PostHog's free tier include per month?

PostHog free tier includes: 1M analytics events, 5K session replays, 1M feature flag requests, 100K error tracking exceptions, 1,500 survey responses, 1M data warehouse rows, 10K data pipeline events, 100K AI observability events, 500 PostHog AI credits, 10K workflow messages, and 10GB log ingestion. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

Source
Cosign: Is signing alone enough?

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

PostHog: How much data retention does PostHog provide on paid plans?

PostHog free tier provides 1-year data retention. Pay-as-you-go plans offer 7-year data retention across all projects, enabling longer historical analysis. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

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.

PostHog: What percentage of PostHog users stay on the free tier?

PostHog states that 97% of companies use PostHog for free, indicating extensive free tier adoption. However, specific per-unit pricing rates for overages on paid plans are not published. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

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.

PostHog: When does PostHog provide priority support on paid plans?

PostHog provides email or Slack support for accounts exceeding $2,000/month on pay-as-you-go plans. Specific response times and support SLAs are not detailed on their pricing page. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

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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