Security Auth Services - Provider Comparison

Quick Comparison

AWS: IAM / Cognito / Secrets Manager

• Fine-grained IAM policies

• Multi-tenant Cognito

• Hardware security module

• Secrets rotation

• $0.00005 per token

Pricing: Varies by service

GCP: IAM / Identity Platform / Secret Manager

• Unified IAM

• Service accounts

• Cloud Identity

• Managed private keys

• Free tier included

Pricing: Varies by service

Azure: Azure AD / Key Vault / Managed Identity

• Azure AD (Enterprise)

• Managed identities

• Key Vault HSM

• Conditional access

• Compliance included

Pricing: Varies by service

Firebase: Firebase Authentication

• Integrated with Firebase ecosystem

• Limited features vs full services

• Lowest cost for small projects

Pricing: Included or minimal

Use Case Matrix

Cost Comparison (Monthly)

Key Features

AWS

• Mature ecosystem

• Widest range of options

• Best integration with other AWS services

GCP

• Simplest to use

• Best pricing/performance

• Great for startups

Azure

• Best Microsoft integration

• Enterprise features

• Good compliance support

When to Choose Each

AWS: Existing AWS infrastructure, need advanced features

GCP: Cost-sensitive, want simplicity, Google integration

Azure: Microsoft ecosystem, enterprise compliance needs

Key Takeaways

• All three providers are production-ready

• Pricing similar within 10-20%

• Choose based on ecosystem fit

• Test before committing at scale

• Avoid vendor lock-in through abstractions

Next Steps

1. Review detailed documentation

2. Test with free tier

3. Benchmark for your workload

4. Plan cost management