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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs Sumsub

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sumsub logo

Sumsub

Cybersecurity

Identity verification and AML screening priced per verification

From
$1.35/verification
Rated
-
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.; Sumsub the published per-verification rate is undercut by a monthly minimum of 149 or 299 dollars, so low volume businesses pay a much higher effective rate than the headline suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, Sumsub covers Document verification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and Sumsub actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and Sumsub differ
AttributeCosignSumsub
Starting priceFree$1.35/verification
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer verification
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Sumsub

  • Document verification
  • AML screening
  • KYB verification
  • No-code flow builder
  • Transaction monitoring
  • Travel Rule
  • Fraud and duplicate detection

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

Sumsub

  • A crypto exchange needing KYC plus Travel Rule handling under one contractnot Cosign
  • A gambling operator entering several European markets and needing document coverage without a separate vendor per countrynot Cosign
  • A fintech that wants a published price it can model in a business case before speaking to a salespersonnot Cosign
  • A marketplace verifying both individual sellers and the companies behind them without buying two productsnot 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.

Sumsub

  • The published per-verification rate is undercut by a monthly minimum of 149 or 299 dollars, so low volume businesses pay a much higher effective rate than the headline suggests.
  • You are billed per verification attempt in most configurations, meaning applicant drop-off and resubmissions cost money without producing a customer.
  • Pass rates and document support vary noticeably by country, and a market that works well in Europe can produce materially worse rejection rates in parts of Africa and South East Asia.
  • The AML screening tier bundles list coverage that large institutions would normally buy separately and tune, giving less control over match thresholds than a dedicated screening vendor.
  • The company originated in Russia before restructuring to a UK entity, and some financial institutions still raise that history in vendor risk review, which can slow or block procurement at conservative banks.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

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

Sumsub

$1.35/verification
  • Basic$1.35/verification
    • 149 USD minimum monthly spend
    • Document verification and liveness
    • No-code flow builder
  • Compliance$1.85/verification
    • 299 USD minimum monthly spend
    • Everything in Basic
    • AML sanctions and PEP screening
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Negotiated volume rate
    • Custom jurisdictions and languages
    • 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.
Cosign review

Choose Sumsub if

  • You need document verification.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want aml screening.
Sumsub review

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or Sumsub better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and Sumsub at $1.35/verification, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or Sumsub?
Cosign has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cosign and $1.35/verification for Sumsub.
Does Cosign or Sumsub run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. Sumsub runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Cosign for free?
Yes. Cosign has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sumsub starts at $1.35/verification.
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 Sumsub is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that Sumsub cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. Sumsub covers Document verification, AML screening, KYB verification, No-code flow builder.

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.

Sumsub: What does a verification actually cost?

1.35 USD on Basic and 1.85 USD on Compliance, but with 149 and 299 USD monthly minimums respectively. Below roughly 110 or 160 checks a month you are paying the minimum, not the rate.

Cosign: Is signing alone enough?

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

Sumsub: Do failed verifications get charged?

Attempts are generally billable, so a poor onboarding funnel raises your bill. Confirm the exact resubmission policy in your contract.

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.

Sumsub: Does it cover business verification?

Yes, KYB with company registry lookups and beneficial owner resolution is part of the platform rather than a separate product.

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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