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APIs · head to head

PocketBase vs Sigstore

PocketBase logo

PocketBase

APIs

Open-source backend with REST API, real-time subscriptions and Admin UI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sigstore logo

Sigstore

Cybersecurity

Free public signing and transparency infrastructure for open source artifacts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: PocketBase requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain; Sigstore the security model depends on somebody watching the log. The documentation states that compromise of an identity provider or of Fulcio itself is detectable only if third parties monitor the transparency log, the monitoring tool is a community-tier rather than core project, and almost no consumer runs one.
  • They diverge on capability: PocketBase covers REST API, Sigstore covers Fulcio.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PocketBase and Sigstore actually diverge.

Attributes where PocketBase and Sigstore differ
AttributePocketBaseSigstore
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, public instance free to use
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSDWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded2021Unknown

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 PocketBase

  • REST API
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Admin UI
  • SQLite
  • Webhooks
  • File storage
  • Go support
  • Docker support

Only in Sigstore

  • Fulcio
  • Rekor
  • Keyless signing
  • Multi-language clients
  • Timestamp authority
  • Neutral governance

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PocketBase

  • Embedded realtime database with REST APInot Sigstore
  • Backend-as-a-service for single-file deploymentsnot Sigstore
  • Rapid application development with email/OAuth2 authenticationnot Sigstore
  • File storage and media attachment managementnot Sigstore
  • Lightweight alternative to Firebase or traditional backend infrastructurenot Sigstore
  • Go and JavaScript customisable application frameworknot Sigstore

Sigstore

  • Open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authoritynot PocketBase
  • Organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing productnot PocketBase
  • Publishing provenance that a consumer can verify independently of younot PocketBase
  • Self-hosting the same components where a public log is unacceptablenot PocketBase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

PocketBase

  • Requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain
  • No built-in hosting provided
  • Community support only

Sigstore

  • The security model depends on somebody watching the log. The documentation states that compromise of an identity provider or of Fulcio itself is detectable only if third parties monitor the transparency log, the monitoring tool is a community-tier rather than core project, and almost no consumer runs one.
  • It is a 99.5 percent objective with no service level agreement, which permits several hours of downtime a month and offers no remedy. A pipeline that signs on every build has taken a hard dependency on a free service with no contract behind it.
  • Log scale is a live engineering problem rather than a theoretical one. The active shard holds billions of entries, the log has already been sharded twice, and sharding version 1 requires stopping traffic, which is why a replacement was built.
  • Ten-minute certificates make trust depend on log availability. Verifying an older signature relies on the log entry proving it was made inside that window, so a lost or unreachable entry can render a valid artifact unverifiable.
  • Migration debt is substantial and ongoing. Version 2 of the log is generally available but not the public default, the signing client has an announced breaking release ahead, some official clients lag the new log format, and a post-quantum migration is named as the next break after that.

Pricing, plan by plan

PocketBase

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PocketBase review.

Sigstore

Free
  • Public good instanceFree
    • Free to everyone with no contract
    • 99.5 percent availability objective, not an agreement
    • 100KB cap per attestation upload
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • Run your own Fulcio and Rekor
    • Rekor v2 available for self-hosters

Which should you pick?

Choose PocketBase if

  • You need rest api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
  • You also want real-time subscriptions.
PocketBase review

Choose Sigstore if

  • You need fulcio.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
  • You also want rekor.
Sigstore review

Questions people ask

Is PocketBase or Sigstore better?
Neither clearly leads. PocketBase starts at Free and Sigstore at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PocketBase or Sigstore?
PocketBase starts at Free and Sigstore at Free.
Does PocketBase or Sigstore run on more platforms?
PocketBase runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD. Sigstore runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
Can I use PocketBase for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PocketBase best used for?
PocketBase is most often used for embedded realtime database with rest api, backend-as-a-service for single-file deployments, rapid application development with email/oauth2 authentication, file storage and media attachment management. Of those, embedded realtime database with rest api and backend-as-a-service for single-file deployments are not what Sigstore is typically brought in for.
What can PocketBase do that Sigstore cannot?
PocketBase covers REST API, Real-time subscriptions, Admin UI, SQLite. Sigstore covers Fulcio, Rekor, Keyless signing, Multi-language clients.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PocketBase: How much does PocketBase cost?

PocketBase is completely free and open-source. It is a self-hosted backend solution with database, authentication, and file storage capabilities at no cost.

Source
Sigstore: Is the public instance really free?

Yes, with no contract and no paid tier. That is also the weakness: a 99.5 percent objective with no agreement, no remedy and support through Slack.

PocketBase: Is PocketBase open-source?

Yes, PocketBase is open-source software. You can download, modify, and deploy it yourself at no cost with no licensing restrictions.

Source
Sigstore: Has the public log moved to Rekor v2?

No. Version 2 reached general availability in October 2025 and self-hosters can use it, but the public instance still defaults to version 1 and the project has said it will for the foreseeable future.

Sigstore: Does Sigstore make my dependencies safe?

No, and this is a category error worth avoiding. It tells you who published something. It has no knowledge of what the artifact contains or whether it is vulnerable.

Sigstore: What are the rate limits?

Not published. Only the 100KB cap per attestation upload is documented, so do not design a high-volume pipeline around assumed throughput.

Sigstore: Should we self-host it?

If a public record of every signature is unacceptable, or if a free service with no agreement cannot sit in your build path, then yes. Otherwise the public instance is what most projects use.

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