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Cybersecurity · head to head

Sigstore vs Weka

Sigstore logo

Sigstore

Cybersecurity

Free public signing and transparency infrastructure for open source artifacts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weka logo

Weka

Machine Learning

Collection of machine learning algorithms

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Weka the package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
  • They diverge on capability: Sigstore covers Fulcio, Weka covers Classification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sigstore and Weka actually diverge.

Attributes where Sigstore and Weka differ
AttributeSigstoreWeka
Pricing modelOpen source, public instance free to useopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown1993

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 Sigstore

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

Only in Weka

  • Classification
  • Regression
  • Clustering
  • Association rules
  • Feature selection
  • Java
  • R
  • Python

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 Weka
  • Organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing productnot Weka
  • Publishing provenance that a consumer can verify independently of younot Weka
  • Self-hosting the same components where a public log is unacceptablenot Weka

Weka

  • Teaching and exploring classic machine learning algorithms through a GUInot Sigstore
  • Running data mining experiments and preprocessing without writing codenot 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.

Weka

  • The package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
  • Weka is split into a stable 3.8 branch that receives only bug fixes and compatibility-safe upgrades and a 3.9 development branch that may receive features that break compatibility
  • Weka requires a 64-bit Java VM; the bundled installers ship Bellsoft OpenJDK 25 per platform and architecture

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

Weka

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • All ML algorithms
    • GUI and CLI
    • Java API

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 Weka if

  • You need classification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want regression.
Weka review

Questions people ask

Is Sigstore or Weka better?
Neither clearly leads. Sigstore starts at Free and Weka at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sigstore or Weka?
Sigstore starts at Free and Weka at Free.
Does Sigstore or Weka run on more platforms?
Sigstore runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Weka runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Sigstore for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Weka is typically brought in for.
What can Sigstore do that Weka cannot?
Sigstore covers Fulcio, Rekor, Keyless signing, Multi-language clients. Weka covers Classification, Regression, Clustering, Association rules.

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.

Weka: What is the cost of Weka software?

Weka is provided at no cost as open-source software released under the GNU General Public License, making it freely available for download and use.

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.

Weka: Are there commercial licensing options available?

Yes, the project offers information about commercial licenses for organizations requiring non-GPL terms, which can be found in their commercial applications documentation.

Source
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.

Weka: What support resources are available to users?

Multiple support avenues exist including comprehensive documentation, frequently asked questions, dedicated help resources, and access to courses for learning the platform.

Source
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.

Weka: Is source code access provided?

Yes, developers have full access to source code through the Git repository, along with development documentation and code credits for contributors.

Source
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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