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Cybersecurity · head to head

Sigstore vs Veriff

Sigstore logo

Sigstore

Cybersecurity

Free public signing and transparency infrastructure for open source artifacts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Veriff logo

Veriff

Cybersecurity

Document and biometric identity verification with published per-check pricing

From
$0.8/verification
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Sigstore has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Veriff you pay per verification attempt, not per verified customer, so a confusing capture flow or poor lighting on mobile makes you pay two or three times for one onboarding.
  • They diverge on capability: Sigstore covers Fulcio, Veriff covers Document verification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sigstore and Veriff actually diverge.

Attributes where Sigstore and Veriff differ
AttributeSigstoreVeriff
Starting priceFree$0.8/verification
Pricing modelOpen source, public instance free to usePer verification
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android, API

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 Sigstore

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

Only in Veriff

  • Document verification
  • Biometric liveness
  • Hybrid review
  • Screening add-ons
  • Ongoing monitoring
  • Age estimation

What people use each for

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

Sigstore

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

Veriff

  • A crypto exchange that needs a published rate to model unit economics before committing to a KYC vendornot Sigstore
  • A marketplace verifying sellers in dozens of countries where a single document library matters more than depth in one marketnot Sigstore
  • A mobility platform running age and licence checks at signup with volumes too small for an enterprise contractnot Sigstore
  • A regulated firm wanting automated decisions by default but human review on borderline cases, priced explicitlynot Sigstore

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Veriff

  • You pay per verification attempt, not per verified customer, so a confusing capture flow or poor lighting on mobile makes you pay two or three times for one onboarding.
  • The headline $0.80 covers the document and selfie check only; adding PEP and sanctions screening at $0.64 nearly doubles the per-check cost, which is the number regulated buyers actually need.
  • Monthly minimums of $49 and $99 are low but real, so a product with seasonal signup patterns pays in quiet months.
  • Automated decision quality varies sharply by document type and issuing country, so a strong global average conceals weak performance in specific markets you may depend on.
  • Standard data retention is short and extending it to two years is a $0.30 per verification add-on, which matters because most financial regulators require records for five years or more.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Veriff

$0.8/verification
  • Essential$0.8/verification
    • Fully automated decisions
    • $49 per month minimum
    • Documents from 230+ countries
  • Plus$1.39/verification
    • Hybrid automation with human review
    • $99 per month minimum
    • Enhanced fraud prevention for regulated industries
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Volume pricing negotiated
    • Dedicated support and custom SLAs
    • Custom data retention and residency terms

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Veriff if

  • You need document verification.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want biometric liveness.
Veriff review

Questions people ask

Is Sigstore or Veriff better?
Neither clearly leads. Sigstore starts at Free and Veriff at $0.8/verification, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sigstore or Veriff?
Sigstore has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Sigstore and $0.8/verification for Veriff.
Does Sigstore or Veriff run on more platforms?
Sigstore runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Veriff runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use Sigstore for free?
Yes. Sigstore has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Veriff starts at $0.8/verification.
What is Sigstore best used for?
Sigstore is most often used for open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authority, organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing product, publishing provenance that a consumer can verify independently of you, self-hosting the same components where a public log is unacceptable. Of those, open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authority and organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing product are not what Veriff is typically brought in for.
What can Sigstore do that Veriff cannot?
Sigstore covers Fulcio, Rekor, Keyless signing, Multi-language clients. Veriff covers Document verification, Biometric liveness, Hybrid review, Screening add-ons.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Veriff: What does a verification actually cost?

$0.80 on Essential or $1.39 on Plus, before add-ons. Sanctions and PEP screening adds $0.64 and ongoing monitoring $0.09 per verification.

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.

Veriff: Are failed attempts charged?

Sessions are charged, so retries by the same user generally cost you again. Ask for the exact billing definition of a session before signing.

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.

Veriff: How long is data retained?

The default retention period is short and two-year extended retention is a paid add-on at $0.30 per verification, which is worth checking against your regulatory record-keeping obligations.

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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