Decentralised Identity evaluated across who holds the credential and who can revoke it, verification without the vendor, how biometric and personal data are handled and whether that is documented, and the enforcement record and product continuity.
Ranked here: decentralised identity products that you use to issue or accept credentials. Not ranked here: identity products that you cannot use to issue or accept credentials.
#1 of 8 · published ranking
ENS (as identity layer)
81ChainChoice Score
4199
Why it leads
ENS (as identity layer) scores higher than everything else in this ranking on its custody and revocation and its enforcement and continuity risk.
Show the arithmetic
Best in this ranking on custody and revocation and enforcement and continuity risk
Cost
Not priced· Only 2 of 8 publish a comparable price
ReviewedNext review by Published Methodology v2026.11.1
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means every product ranked on this page was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
No provider can pay for a position in this table. The code that computes this order cannot read which links carry a referral code, and every build proves it. Every score below rebuilds from the published criteria.Ranking v2026.11.1 · 4 criteria · 8 products · same inputs, same order
How we review · 8 ranked of 8 assessed · 4 criteria · 0 sponsor weight
How we review
8ranked
8assessed
4criteria
0sponsor weight
Recommendation first, comparison only if needed.
Reviewed and rechecked on the current cycle.
Commercial relationships disclosed before clickout.
Personal comparison
Decentralised Identity ranked comparison
Only 2 of 8 providers publish a comparable price; ranking still uses verified product evidence.
RankProviderBest fitScore
1
ENS (as identity layer)Onchain name and text records; proves k...Top ranked
Credential custody & revocation power — 9/10Trade-off: ENS is a name, not a credential — it proves control of a private key and nothing else...
81score
Check availability for your country
ENS (as identity layer) · ens.domains. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
2
Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID)Open-source ZK credential stack; wallet...
Verification without the vendor — 8/10Trade-off: This is a build-it-yourself stack, not a turnkey product: the open-source components...
72score
Check availability for your country
Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) · privado.id. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
Tied for #2 · ordered by name, A to Z
3
Proof of Humanity (v2)Public onchain registry of humans, vide...
Verification without the vendor — 10/10Trade-off: Only deploy where publishing your users' faces publicly and permanently is acceptable...
72score
Check availability for your country
Proof of Humanity (v2) · proofofhumanity.id. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
4
HUHuman Passport (formerly Gitcoin Passport)Aggregated stamp scoring for Sybil resi...
Biometric & PII handling (documented) — 7/10Trade-off: The core Stamps product is Sybil resistance, not identity — it returns a probabilisti...
60score
Check availability for your country
Human Passport (formerly Gitcoin Passport) · passport.human.tech. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
5
GAGalxe PassportSumsub KYC check wrapped in a five-doll...
Enforcement record & product continuity — 6/10Trade-off: Be honest about what you are buying: an outsourced KYC check with an onchain receipt,...
59score
Check availability for your country
Galxe Passport · galxe.com. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
6
Billions NetworkConsumer proof-of-human network from th...
Credential custody & revocation power — 5/10Trade-off: The public site sells a token, a user count and an agent-commerce waitlist rather tha...
58score
Check availability for your country
Billions Network · billions.network. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
2 more assessed and ranked below — none of them hidden for commercial reasons.
Ranked on 4 published criteria weighted 30/25/25/20, which set goal alignment — 30 of the 86 points. The rest: regional access 20 (constant here), evidence depth 18 (constant here), ease of use 10 (constant here), institutional trust 8 (constant here). Profile match is shown in breakdowns but carries no weight.
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Custody failure: whoever holds the assets loses or withholds them.
Scored by Credential custody & revocation power · 30% (ENS (as identity layer) 9/10, Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) 6/10, Proof of Humanity (v2) 8/10)
Regulatory failure: no licence where you are, or a forced market exit.
Scored by Enforcement record & product continuity · 20% (ENS (as identity layer) 9/10, Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) 5/10, Proof of Humanity (v2) 7/10)
Exit failure: you cannot get out at par, on time, or with what is yours.
Scored by Verification without the vendor · 25% (ENS (as identity layer) 8/10, Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) 8/10, Proof of Humanity (v2) 10/10)
Information failure: the number is wrong or bought, or your data leaks.
Scored by Biometric & PII handling (documented) · 25% (ENS (as identity layer) 7/10, Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) 8/10, Proof of Humanity (v2) 2/10)
What matters most before choosing in this category
Weighted on credential custody & revocation power (30), verification without the vendor (25), biometric & PII handling (documented) (25), and enforcement record & product continuity (20). The heaviest is credential custody & revocation power: Where the credential physically lives — user-held wallet, vendor database, or public chain — and who retains the switch to invalidate it.
Who holds the credential, and can the issuer revoke it without you?
Does verification still work if the vendor's servers go down?
Is biometric enrolment acceptable to your users and lawful in your markets?
Default starting point
The #1 overall and the scoring weights
ENS (as identity layer)Data checked Oct 2026
Onchain name and text records; proves key control, not human uniqueness
Onchain name and text records; proves key control, not human uniqueness. Strongest on credential custody & revocation power (9/10): A .eth name is an ERC-721 token in the holder's own wallet on Ethereum, transferable like any NFT; no issuer holds a switch to revoke it, and the only loss path is non-renewal after a 90-day grace period. Weakest on biometric & PII handling (documented) (7/10): ENS collects no biometric or ID data, but text records attached to a name are world-readable key-value pairs on a persistent public handle, so anything a holder publishes stays linked to that name and wallet. Published price: ENS support "Pricing & Fees" page (support.ens.domains, read 22 October 2026): "Annual .eth pricing by name length: $5, $160, or $640.
Best forCredential custody & revocation power — 9/10
Main tradeoffENS is a name, not a credential — it proves control of a private key and nothing else. It cannot tell you a user is a unique human, is over 18, or is not sanctioned, so it does not substitute for anything else in this category; it complements them. Treat it as the durable identifier your other credentials attach to, and remember that an unrenewed name hands the whole identity to a stranger.
Verify before signupENS support "Pricing & Fees" page (support.ens.domains, read 22 October 2026): "Annual .eth pricing by name length: $5, $160, or $640. Paid in ETH on Ethereum Mainnet, plus gas — no other cost." (5+ characters $5 a year, 4 characters $160, 3 characters $640.) "Renewals use the same fee table as registration — $5, $160, or $640 a year, depending on the name length." "Gas is on top of the registration or renewal fee and changes with network demand." After expiry: "Grace period (90 days after expiry). Anyone can extend at the standard renewal price — extending only keeps the name with its previous owner. Nobody can register it." Then a temporary premium that "starts at $100 million and falls to $0 over 21 days." ENS docs (docs.ens.domains/registry/eth, read 22 October 2026): "At the time of writing, a 5+ letter .eth will cost you 5 USD per year. A 4 letter 160 USD per year, and a 3 letter 640 USD per year." "The minimum length of a name is 3 characters." "Because the rent price is paid in ETH but denominated in USD", callers should overpay slightly.
Weighted criteria
Credential custody & revocation power30%
Verification without the vendor25%
Biometric & PII handling (documented)25%
Enforcement record & product continuity20%
Methodology
How this category is reviewed
Reviewed on credential custody & revocation power, verification without the vendor, biometric & PII handling (documented), and enforcement record & product continuity.
The order on this page is the published ranking for this category. Every criterion, weight and source behind it is on the methodology page.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask before choosing decentralised identity
What makes an identity actually self-sovereign?
That you can present it and a verifier can check it without the issuer being involved or online, and that nobody can revoke it unilaterally. Those two properties are what the word means; everything else is a company database with a wallet login.
Is 'decentralised' a claim I can check?
Only against the architecture. One provider here describes its protocol as open, decentralised and owned by no one, on a site that also records six-plus national regulators ordering it to suspend operations — an order nobody could serve on something genuinely ownerless.
What matters most when picking a identity provider?
Who can revoke the credential and whether it verifies without the vendor — 55% of the weight. Documented biometric handling follows, scored on architecture rather than on the phrase 'zero-knowledge' appearing anywhere.
Reviewed22 October 2026Method4 criteriaCategorydecentralised_id
Not financial advice · For informational purposes only · Always do your own research
