Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Smallstep SSH VS cotunnel

Compare Smallstep SSH VS cotunnel and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Smallstep SSH logo Smallstep SSH

Single Sign-on SSH

cotunnel logo cotunnel

Remote access and tunnels to your local device.
  • Smallstep SSH Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-04
  • cotunnel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-10

Smallstep SSH features and specs

  • Enhanced Security
    Smallstep SSH enables strong authentication practices by integrating with identity providers, reducing the chances of compromised passwords and ensuring secure connections.
  • Centralized Access Management
    The platform centralizes user access management, allowing admins to easily manage and revoke user access across multiple servers and services from a single point of control.
  • Ease of Integration
    Smallstep SSH integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and identity providers like Okta and Google Workspace, simplifying the onboarding process for enterprises.
  • Improved Compliance
    With detailed logging and custom policies, Smallstep SSH helps organizations meet various compliance requirements by offering traceability and accountability for user actions.
  • Scalability
    Designed with scalability in mind, Smallstep SSH can efficiently handle growing organizational needs without sacrificing performance or security.

Possible disadvantages of Smallstep SSH

  • Complexity of Setup
    For organizations unfamiliar with identity provider integrations or certificate-based authentication, the initial setup can be complex and may require specialized knowledge.
  • Dependence on External Identity Providers
    Reliance on external identity providers for authentication means that downtime or disruptions with these services can impact Smallstep SSH functionality.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Because the solution is designed to work with identity providers, offline mode functionality is limited, which might be a concern for systems that require constant availability.
  • Cost Considerations
    For small organizations or startups, the cost of implementing and maintaining an enterprise-level authentication system like Smallstep SSH might be prohibitive.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with transitioning from traditional SSH management to Smallstep SSH's certificate-based approach, which might necessitate training for IT staff.

cotunnel features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Cotunnel offers a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and access features without a steep learning curve.
  • Security
    The platform emphasizes robust security measures to protect user data and ensure safe transactions.
  • Customization
    Cotunnel provides a flexible environment where users can customize settings and preferences to tailor the service to their specific needs.
  • Collaboration Features
    The platform supports seamless collaboration, allowing multiple users to work together efficiently in real-time.
  • Reliable Customer Support
    Cotunnel offers responsive and helpful customer support to assist users with any issues or questions they may have.

Possible disadvantages of cotunnel

  • Pricing
    Some users find the pricing structure to be on the higher side, which might not be suitable for smaller teams or individual users.
  • Limited Integrations
    Cotunnel may not have as many third-party integrations as competitors, potentially limiting its functionality for users who rely on specific tools.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic features are easy to use, accessing advanced functionality might require additional learning and adaptation.
  • Performance Issues
    A few users have reported occasional performance issues, such as lag or slow loading times during peak usage hours.
  • Feature Limitations
    Certain features that some users expect from a platform like Cotunnel may be either limited or missing, affecting overall user experience.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Smallstep SSH and cotunnel)
Identity And Access Management
Localhost Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
Testing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Smallstep SSH and cotunnel. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Smallstep SSH seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time 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.

Smallstep SSH mentions (1)

  • SSH With SSO
    Through a combination of the properties that are in an SSH certificate and configuration on the hosts, you'll be able to realize RBAC. If you're using the open source step-ca, this will require you to configure things yourself on the hosts. We also have an offering where this capability and management/auditing of the rules is hosted for you, which makes that specific part easier: https://smallstep.com/sso-ssh/. Source: almost 2 years ago

cotunnel mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of cotunnel yet. Tracking of cotunnel recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Smallstep SSH and cotunnel, you can also consider the following products

Keystash.io - Centralized Linux user and SSH key management software

tunnelto.dev - Expose localhost to the internet with a public URL

strongDM - Trust strongDM to manage an engineers access to everything

Expose - A beautiful, open-source, tunneling service - written in PHP

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

Twingate - Simply Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)