Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Nest.js VS Amazon Cognito

Compare Nest.js VS Amazon Cognito and see what are their differences

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Nest.js logo Nest.js

A progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, reliable and scalable server-side applications.

Amazon Cognito logo Amazon Cognito

Amazon Cognito lets you add user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to your web and mobile apps quickly and easily. It scales to millions of users and supports sign-in with social identity providers and enterprise identity providers via SAML 2.0.
  • Nest.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-26
  • Amazon Cognito Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-13

Nest.js features and specs

  • Modular Architecture
    Nest.js uses a modular architecture which is highly organized and maintainable. This allows for better separation of concerns and makes it easier to manage large-scale applications by dividing them into smaller, reusable modules.
  • TypeScript Support
    Nest.js is built with TypeScript, providing strong typing and compile-time checks. This leads to fewer runtime errors and improved code readability and maintainability.
  • Dependency Injection
    The framework includes a powerful dependency injection system, which enables better testability and easier management of application components.
  • Built-in Middleware
    Nest.js supports middleware out of the box, allowing developers to easily add additional request-processing logic at different points in the request lifecycle.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Nest.js offers comprehensive and detailed documentation, which helps developers quickly get up to speed and resolve issues more efficiently.
  • Scalability
    The framework is designed to be scalable, making it suitable for projects of varying sizes—from small applications to large enterprise-level systems.
  • Integration with Modern Libraries
    Nest.js seamlessly integrates with modern libraries and frameworks such as GraphQL, WebSockets, and TypeORM, extending its capabilities and allowing for versatile development options.
  • Active Community
    An active and growing community around Nest.js means there are plenty of resources, tutorials, and third-party tools available to assist with development.

Possible disadvantages of Nest.js

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its rich feature set and use of TypeScript, Nest.js can have a steep learning curve for developers who are not familiar with these technologies.
  • Overhead
    The reliance on the decorators and classes can introduce additional overhead, potentially making simple projects more complex than necessary.
  • Limited Flexibility
    Nest.js follows an opinionated architecture pattern, which can be restrictive for developers who prefer a more flexible or unstructured approach.
  • Performance
    While Nest.js is generally performant, the abstraction layers and TypeScript compile steps can introduce slight performance overhead compared to more lightweight alternatives.
  • Dependency on TypeScript
    The heavy reliance on TypeScript can be a drawback for developers who prefer to use plain JavaScript, or who are not familiar with TypeScript.
  • Community Compared to Mainstream Frameworks
    Although the Nest.js community is active and growing, it is still smaller compared to more established frameworks like Express.js or Koa, potentially limiting the amount of shared knowledge and third-party packages available.

Amazon Cognito features and specs

  • Scalability
    Amazon Cognito can automatically scale to handle millions of users, making it suitable for both small and large applications.
  • Security
    It is integrated with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) and comes with built-in security features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and encryption.
  • Integrations
    Cognito seamlessly integrates with other AWS services and can be easily incorporated into your existing AWS infrastructure.
  • Federated Identities
    It supports federated identities, allowing users to sign in with different identity providers like Google, Facebook, and enterprise identity providers via SAML.
  • User Management
    Offers robust user management features such as user groups, roles, and fine-grained access permissions, which are essential for more complex applications.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon Cognito

  • Complexity
    Setting up and configuring Cognito can be complex, especially for developers who are not familiar with AWS services or identity management.
  • Cost
    While the initial tier is free, costs can add up quickly for applications with a large user base and high interaction volume.
  • Limited Customization
    Although you can customize some aspects of the authentication flow, there are limitations which can be restrictive if you need highly tailored authentication processes.
  • Regional Availability
    Cognito may not be available in all AWS regions, which can be a limitation if your application needs to comply with data residency requirements or leverage a specific AWS region.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with understanding how to effectively use and integrate Cognito within your application, which can take time and resources.

Nest.js videos

Why I chose Nest.js over Express.js in 2020

Amazon Cognito videos

Amazon Cognito Tutorial - Amazon Cognito User Pools & AWS Amplify Setup

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Nest.js and Amazon Cognito)
Web Frameworks
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0% 0
Identity Provider
0 0%
100% 100
JavaScript Framework
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0% 0
Identity And Access Management

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Nest.js and Amazon Cognito

Nest.js Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
Nest (NestJS) is a framework for building efficient and scalable server-side backend applications using Node.Js. Internally, it actually makes use of JavaScript Back-end frameworks like Express (which is the default, and optionally Fastify can be configured to use as well!
Source: solguruz.com
10 Best Next.js Alternatives to Consider Today
For TypeScript aficionados seeking a framework with a modular, scalable architecture, NestJS stands out. Built on top of Node.js, NestJS offers a powerful set of abstractions for building server-side applications. Its modular structure facilitates the creation of scalable and maintainable codebases, making it a preferred choice for enterprise-level applications where a...
The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
NestJS is a Node.js framework that’s inspired by Angular, and guess what? It’s written in TypeScript. Building with Typescript is like you’re navigating with the stars. It’s all about sturdy architecture, a server-side framework that enjoys the scripting superness while piling on extra sturdiness.
Top 10 Best Node. Js Frameworks to Improve Web Development
It is a structure, which is used for making expert, versatile Node.js applications on the server-side. It employs powerful JavaScript plus designed with TypeScript. Working with TypeScript indicates Nest brings uninterrupted writing and incorporates elements like the following
Top 14 Node.JS Frameworks: Which Will Rule in 2020?
Nest utilizes Express.JS and provides an unusual app architecture that allows for the easy development of easily maintainable, loosely paired and highly scalable and testable apps. Developers can use Nest CLI for developing NestJS apps with different features.

Amazon Cognito Reviews

12 User Authentication Platforms [Auth0, Firebase Alternatives]
Cognito is Amazon’s cloud application authentication solution for the masses. It’s a low code deployment that can be used with conventional passwords or 3rd party logins like Google or Facebook.
Source: geekflare.com
Auth0 Vs cognito
Auth0 is far, far easier to implement. But… it is way more expensive. We started on Auth0 and then switched to Cognito. Cognito has cost us a lot of development time. On the other hand all of our data is collected in a single place, AWS, making it easier to analyze (Cloudwatch alerts).

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Nest.js should be more popular than Amazon Cognito. It has been mentiond 217 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Nest.js mentions (217)

  • Next.js vs Nest.js: Understanding the Difference
    Read more about Next.js here and Nest.js here. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Secure Your REST API Using Keycloak Role-Based Access Control
    In this article, we will walk through a step-by-step process to secure a Nest.js RESTful API using Keycloak. This includes setting up an application client and configuring authentication and RBAC for your API endpoints. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Next.js vs Nest.js: What to Choose in 2025?
    The rapid evolution of web development in 2025 makes it imperative to choose a framework that truly fits your project. Whether this involves a dynamic web application, scalable API, or high-performance SaaS product, the decision to select Next.js or Nest.js becomes all the more key. While both do their thing really well, in this sense, they don't do the same thing. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Why Ruby on Rails still matters
    Ok, you're right. I was referring to the usual ones (Next, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Remix, etc). Joytick looks cool. Besides this there's also NestJS https://nestjs.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Secure Your NestJS App: Implementing Authentication with Auth0
    Basic knowledge of NestJS and Javascript/Typescript. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

Amazon Cognito mentions (69)

  • Securing Your Spring Boot Fortress: Best Practices for Robust Applications
    AWS Cognito: Offers user management, authentication, and authorization services. Provides pre-built UI components for user registration and login. AWS Cognito Documentation. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Make Tekton Dashboard user authenticated at EKS using AWS Cognito
    -- There will be a oauth2-proxy service deployed -- This service will be exposed via the loadbalancer and the loadbalancer will be mapped against the your domain eg tekton-dashboard.myeks.com -- The upstream of the oauth-proxy service is the tekton-dashboard service. -- We will use AWS Cognito as the OIDC provider for oauth2-proxy service ie user will be authenticated via AWS Cognito. -- With the above setup,... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Serverless Security - Cognito Misconfigurations
    Below I look into two possible misconfigurations for the Amazon Cognito service. This is a service from AWS that let's you add sign-up and authentication capabilities to your application quickly and easily. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • AWS Cognito - IAM in the Cloud
    AWS Cognito is a service that simplifies identity management for apps built in the AWS ecosystem. It facilitates the authentication of users and the authorization of those users to access resources in your application. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Friday Thoughts on email validation
    The authentication system is web based and thus uses HTML1. There is a backend written in JavaScript (actually TypeScript), which in turn - for some operations - talks to a service written in .NET that stores data in AWS Cognito. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Nest.js and Amazon Cognito, you can also consider the following products

ExpressJS - Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple

Auth0 - Auth0 is a program for people to get authentication and authorization services for their own business use.

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

Okta - Enterprise-grade identity management for all your apps, users & devices

Adonis JS - AdonisJs is a Node.js web framework with breath of fresh air and drizzle of elegant syntax on top of it

OneLogin - On-demand SSO, directory integration, user provisioning and more