Didit vs Aware: hosted KYC API vs a biometrics platform

Last reviewed: 27 October 2026 · Sourced from public documentation, official reports, and customer case studies

Choosing between Didit and Aware depends on whether your organization needs an end-to-end hosted compliance flow or low-level biometric capture and orchestration. Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWRE) provides biometric software and multi-vendor decision orchestration (Aware Decision Orchestration, checked 25 October 2026). Full compliance solutions such as AML screening, transaction monitoring, and business verification (KYB) are not documented on the Aware pages reviewed (Aware Platform, checked 25 October 2026).

Didit provides ready-to-run infrastructure for identity and fraud behind a single API and console. This guide examines how the two approaches compare on commercial predictability, technical scope, evidence handling, and migration.

Price comparison at scale

Budget predictability is often the deciding factor between hosted KYC services and proprietary biometric platforms. Didit publishes standard per-check list prices for every module, billing only for successful completed checks.

The standard Didit KYC bundle combines document verification ($0.15), passive liveness detection ($0.10), 1:1 face match ($0.05), and session-level device and IP analysis ($0.03), totaling $0.33 per completed verification. Additional modules—such as AML watchlist screening ($0.20), government database validation, national digital identity schemes, or transaction monitoring ($0.02)—are billed separately per use.

Aware states in its biometrics-as-a-service documentation that pricing may follow consumption-based or subscription models, but does not publish specific rates or tier schedules (Aware BaaS, checked 25 October 2026). aware.com (checked 25 October 2026) lists no prices and routes pricing questions to a demo request.

Budgets in USD based on published list prices for completed KYC bundles (document verification, passive liveness, face match, device & IP analysis). Taxes, credits, volume discounts, and add-on modules (such as AML screening or database checks) excluded. Aware status verified on aware.com, 25 October 2026.

Direct feature comparison

The table below compares capabilities where both platforms provide public, documented features. Where Aware does not document a capability on its public website, that row is omitted from the direct table and addressed in Didit's platform scope below.

Didit platform breadth: beyond biometric matching

Biometric matching answers whether a presenter matches a reference image. Regulated compliance and fraud defense require corroborating identity data against authoritative ledgers, monitoring watchlists, and checking device reputation. Didit integrates these layers directly on the same record:

• Authoritative government database validation: Didit links directly to official registry databases across 45 countries plus a Global group (Database Validation). Teams can validate citizen ID numbers against official sources as a standalone check or as an extra layer over document verification.
• Six live national digital identity schemes: Users can verify via sovereign digital identity methods: MitID (Denmark), BankID Sweden (Sweden), iDIN (Netherlands), Finnish Trust Network (Finland), Smart-ID (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium), and Mobile-ID (Estonia, Lithuania). (Digital Identity Methods)
• NFC chip verification: Direct cryptographic reading of biometric chips in e-passports and identity cards ($0.15) validates the chip's cryptographic signature, adding strong evidence against physical document forgery.
• Device, IP, and contact risk signals: Session-level device fingerprinting, proxy/VPN/Tor detection, and geolocation consistency ($0.03 unit, included in the $0.33 bundle), combined with standalone email risk ($0.03) and phone verification ($0.04 + carrier).
• Continuous compliance & KYT: AML screening against 1,300+ sanctions, PEP, and adverse media sources ($0.20), ongoing monitoring ($0.07/user/year), and real-time transaction monitoring with 150+ rules ($0.02/transaction). (Transaction Monitoring)
• Crypto wallet screening & Travel Rule: On-chain risk screening at $0.15 per check in Didit, paired with IVMS 101 messaging, VASP directory lookups, and counterparty verification. (Wallet Screening)
• Corporate verification (KYB): Automated company registry lookups starting from $2.00 per business, with free company search and linked owner KYC workflows. (KYB Docs)

Addressing buyer trade-offs: data storage and biometric breadth

For regulated onboarding and online platforms, compliance teams require structured evidence and review tooling alongside automated biometric scoring. Didit captures complete session evidence—liveness confidence scores, captured selfies, inspection video frames, extracted identity fields, and device signals—accessible via API or the Business Console.

Watch: How to Read a Verification Result (Didit Academy)

Aware provides stateless REST biometric services that return computational match and liveness scores without data storage (Aware BaaS, checked 25 October 2026). However, end-to-end compliance management, transaction monitoring, and case review tooling are not documented on the Aware pages reviewed (Aware Platform, checked 25 October 2026).

Furthermore, Didit runs 1:N face search across your user base inside every liveness check without added integration. If an applicant attempts to open multiple accounts or reappears on your internal blocklist, the engine flags the duplicate in the same flow.

Watch: Duplicate Account Detection (Didit Academy)

Verified compliance and enterprise proof

Didit provides enterprise-grade regulatory attestations and operational security:

• EU member-state supervisory assessment: Spain's Treasury published the Didit sandbox conclusions (Informe de Conclusiones, accessed 27 October 2026); the supervisor records that SEPBLAC positively assessed the added safeguards for remote identification.
• Security certifications: Audited under SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 standards, and certified under ISO/IEC 27001 (Certifications).
• Global scale: Trusted by 3,000+ companies; covers more than 220 countries and territories across 14,000+ document types.
• Measured operational impact: In its published customer case study, digital asset platform AhoraCrypto reported achieving more than 20% savings per user compared with its previous verification provider, alongside a reduction of over 50% in time spent on manual user reviews.

Technical migration from Aware

Transitioning from an Aware integration to Didit does not require a risky cutover. Engineering teams can run a staged migration while reconciling historic records.

1. Step 1Concept mappingMap Aware biometric workflows and decision logic to Didit workflows, automated rules, and webhook subscriptions.
2. Step 2Parallel traffic splitDeploy Didit SDKs or hosted redirect links across a pilot percentage of onboarding sessions to validate completion rates.
3. Step 3Historical verification importMigrate historic user verification records via the import API to maintain identity continuity.
4. Step 4Full cutoverRoute all traffic to Didit once verification metrics and reconciliation counts align.

Concept mapping reference

Migrating historic verifications via API

Teams holding historic verification records can migrate them using the import verifications API (POST /v3/session/imports/). Historical verification records are imported with workflow_id and status_mapping after a dry run.

Setting dry_run: true validates file formatting and schema matching before writing data. The endpoint returns a PENDING response indicating acceptance; your backend then polls the import job until it reaches a terminal state. Reconcile the returned created, updated, skipped, and failed record counters before switching traffic. Workflows, business rules, and cases are configured directly within Didit.

Unified operations with AI agents

Didit eliminates fragmented vendor stacks by linking the complete customer lifecycle from onboarding to ongoing monitoring on one account. When edge cases arise, compliance operations scale without headcount bottlenecks:

• Investigator AI agent: For $0.20 per reviewed item, the Investigator agent evaluates complex flags across documents, biometric checks, and watchlist alerts, compiling a cited audit narrative with a recommendation based on your risk policies (Investigator Docs).
• Console Copilot: An AI assistant embedded in the Business Console to help risk teams construct custom verification workflows, configure questionnaires, and deploy database rules.
• Hosted MCP server: A Model Context Protocol server secured via OAuth 2.1 that connects external autonomous agents to Didit's identity and monitoring data.
• Self-serve activation: Teams can configure workflows and begin testing immediately in the Business Console with transparent pay-per-check pricing. As announced in Didit's public pricing update, from 1 November 2026 the Free plan includes $10 of credit each month (pricing details).