Identity verification and KYC
Tessio vs Onfido
Onfido, now part of Entrust, is an enterprise identity verification suite built on document and biometric checks. Tessio is a focused age verification API that stores no documents or dates of birth and proves someone is over 18 with the EU age verification app (the EU Digital Identity Wallet follows once our access certificate is issued).
Onfido verifies identity with document capture and facial biometrics, wrapped in an orchestration layer that mixes methods and data sources per market. Since Entrust completed the acquisition in 2024, it sits inside a broader identity and credential portfolio. For enterprises that want full IDV plus fraud plus orchestration, that breadth is the point.
Tessio is deliberately small. It confirms one claim, over 18, from a wallet credential and returns a signed yes or no with no document or date of birth kept. There is no selfie and no document scan. When your job is an age gate rather than full identity proofing, that is far less data to hold.
Tessio and Onfido, side by side
| Tessio | Onfido | |
|---|---|---|
| Core approach | OpenID4VP presentations from the EU age verification app (EU Digital Identity Wallet to follow) | Document verification plus facial biometrics and liveness, with method orchestration |
| What you get back | A signed over 18 yes or no | A full identity verification result |
| Personal data stored | The yes or no and your reference. No date of birth, no document image, no selfie | Processes ID documents and biometric data |
| EU Digital Identity Wallet | The EU age verification app works today. The EU Digital Identity Wallet follows once our access certificate is issued. | No EUDI native age product we could find. Entrust is active in digital identity, so verify |
| Self hosting | Yes. Open source .NET core under Apache-2.0 | No. Hosted service |
| Full KYC and AML | No. Age assurance only | Yes |
| Built on | Open source ASP.NET Core (OpenID4VP, SD-JWT VC, mdoc) | Proprietary |
| Primary market | EU age assurance for regulated platforms | Enterprise KYC and identity, now inside Entrust |
We try to keep this fair and current from public sources. If something about Onfido is out of date, tell us at hello@tessio.eu and we'll fix it.
Where Onfido is strong
- A mature, well benchmarked document and biometric stack covering thousands of document types.
- Backed by Entrust, so it comes with a wider identity, PKI and credential portfolio to cross sell into.
- An orchestration layer that lets large teams mix verification methods per market and risk level.
When to choose Onfido over us
If you need full identity verification, with document capture, fraud signals and the wider Entrust identity stack around it, Onfido is built for that and Tessio is not. When the obligation is know your customer and you want one vendor for IDV, fraud and credentials, the Entrust suite is the stronger fit.
When teams pick Tessio
Pick Tessio when you only need to prove age and want no documents or dates of birth stored. You get a signed over 18 boolean and nothing else, which keeps your GDPR footprint small. If check data can't go to a hosted service, you can run the open source .NET verifier inside your own boundary.
Frequently asked
Is Tessio an Onfido alternative?
For age verification, yes. Tessio confirms someone is over 18 with the EU age verification app without collecting a document or selfie. Onfido, now part of Entrust, does full identity verification, so it does much more than Tessio when you need to prove identity.
Does Onfido support the EU Digital Identity Wallet?
We could not find a native EUDI Wallet age product from Onfido or Entrust, though Entrust is broadly active in digital identity and credentials. If native EUDI support matters to your project, confirm the current state with Entrust directly.
Can I use both?
Yes. One split is Onfido or Entrust for full identity onboarding and Tessio for the age gate, where you only need a yes or no and would rather not store documents or dates of birth.
Compare and explore
Age verification API
See if Tessio fits
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