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Mitek vs Onfido: Which One is Better? [2025 Comparison]

VALID Systems Jul 2, 2025
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    As identity verification becomes more critical and more complex, Mitek and Onfido remain two of the most widely adopted solutions.

    Mitek is the established choice, trusted by major financial institutions for its document accuracy, regulatory alignment, and proven track record.

    Onfido, now part of Entrust, represents a newer model – AI-first, mobile-friendly, and built for speed, scale, and biometric security.

    This Mitek vs Onfido comparison will break down their core strengths, limitations, and ideal use cases so you can choose the one that best fits your identity verification strategy in 2025.

    Mitek vs Onfido: Which platform is right for you?

    Both tools bring unique strengths. This comparison table helps you quickly identify which one best fits your needs.

     

    Key Features Mitek Onfido

    Best for

    Traditional banks & financial institutions

    Fintechs, global platforms, mobile-first businesses

    Company Type

    Established (legacy) provider

    AI-first, modern provider (part of Entrust)

    Key Strengths

    Compliance-grade ID verification, deep fraud modules

    Speed, scalability, developer experience

    Fraud Prevention Tools

    Digital Fraud Defender, template fraud, deepfake detection

    Atlas AI, deepfake detection, behavioral analytics

    Biometrics & Liveness

    Passive liveness via ID R&D (iBeta Level 2)

    Passive + active liveness, fairness-tuned AI

    Integration & Deployment

    RESTful APIs, SDKs, cloud & hybrid/on-prem support

    Plug-and-play SDKs, no-code orchestration dashboard

    Compliance Support

    Detailed audit trails, high support rating

    KYC, GDPR, bias mitigation

    Geographic Coverage

    Primarily North America & Europe

    Global (195+ countries supported)

    Ideal Customers

    Top 25 U.S. banks, credit unions

    Revolut, Remitly, bunq, global apps

    AI/ML Capabilities

    Focused on document accuracy and forensic AI

    Proprietary Atlas AI engine trained on diverse data

    Manual Review Options

    Yes – strong manual review support

    Minimal – favors automation

    Orchestration Dashboard

    No

    Yes – no-code, flexible routing

    Speed of Verification

    Slower, high-assurance process

    90% verified instantly

    Mitek

    mitek

    Mitek Systems remains the go-to provider for identity verification in regulated financial environments.

    With a legacy rooted in mobile check deposits, Mitek has steadily built a reputation for compliance-grade identity solutions trusted by top-tier banks, credit unions, and financial institutions across North America and Europe.

    Innovation and fraud prevention

    Mitek has made several strategic acquisitions in recent years:

    • ID R&D: Expanded its capabilities in biometrics and liveness detection. This approach provides Mitek with strong defenses against deepfake and counterfeiting attacks.
    • HooYu (UK): Strengthened Mitek’s KYC, AML, and orchestration capabilities, especially for European banks and fintech.

    In late 2024, Mitek launched Digital Fraud Defender (DFD) – an AI-powered suite specifically designed to combat today’s most dangerous identity fraud threats. This system includes:

    • Deepfake detection, using forensic-level AI to spot synthetic faces and video artifacts.
    • Injection attack detection, where fraudsters try to spoof biometric systems by feeding fake images directly into the input stream.
    • Template fraud recognition to identify reused or manipulated ID layouts.

    With synthetic fraud expected to surpass $40B globally by 2027, Mitek’s proactive investment in these areas positions it ahead of many legacy vendors.

    Biometrics and liveness detection

    Mitek uses passive liveness detection via its ID R&D biometric engine – meaning users don’t need to blink, move, or follow prompts.

    This method reduces friction while still ensuring strong protection against spoofing and video replays.

    The system is iBeta Level 2 compliant, indicating top-tier presentation attack detection capability. This hands-off, frictionless model is beneficial for banks onboarding users who may not be tech-savvy or willing to perform extra verification steps.

    Integration, compliance, and deployment flexibility

    Mitek delivers its identity solutions through RESTful APIs and SDKs, supporting both cloud-based deployments and hybrid/on-premise infrastructure, a key advantage for banks that handle sensitive data and meet regional compliance requirements.

    Mitek also excels in compliance and auditability. Its admin console allows for the following:

    • Detailed audit trails, critical for KYC/AML audits and regulatory reporting.
    • Granular control over verification thresholds, allowing teams to tune risk models in line with internal policies.

    Perfect for traditional financial institutions

    In 2025, Mitek solutions power identity verification for multiple top 25 U.S. financial institutions, often layered into larger fraud prevention workflows alongside mobile deposit and check image analysis.

    Are you looking for more Mitek alternatives? Explore this in-depth article on top options.

    Onfido

    onfido-homepage

    Onfido, now operating under Entrust, represents a new generation of identity verification – one built around AI automation, speed, and global reach.

    Since its acquisition in 2024, Onfido has aligned itself with Entrust’s broader security portfolio, creating a formidable player in the digital ID verification space.

    AI-driven verification and fraud detection

    Atlas, Onfido’s proprietary AI engine, powers the platform and is trained on massive, demographically diverse datasets. Users upload an image of a government-issued ID and a selfie (or selfie video), and the platform handles:

    • ID authenticity checks, including document tampering, forgeries, and expired credentials.
    • Biometric face matching with an evolving blend of passive and active liveness detection.
    • Spoof and deepfake detection, supported by visual and behavioral analytics.

    In response to a 3,000% surge in deepfake attacks in 2023, Onfido significantly upgraded its biometric fraud detection models.

    It now employs real-time decisions across fraud layers – including biometrics, device fingerprinting, behavioral data, and cross-checks against global fraud databases.

    Global reach and identity coverage

    One of Onfido’s biggest strengths is its ability to verify users in 195+ countries, with support for a wide range of passport, ID card, and driver’s license formats.

    This makes it uniquely suited for fintechs, cryptocurrency platforms, and international apps that require consistent verification across multiple regions.

    Additionally, Onfido continues to invest in AI fairness and bias mitigation. Its liveness models are specifically tuned to perform equally well across gender, ethnicity, and lighting conditions, something few vendors tackle with this level of precision.

    Integration and orchestration

    Where Mitek focuses on deep integration and control, Onfido prioritizes speed and flexibility:

    • Plug-and-play SDKs enable fast integration, even for small teams.
    • A no-code orchestration dashboard allows operations or compliance teams to adjust onboarding rules, set fallback flows, and experiment with decision trees, without engineering help.
    • Built-in integrations with tools like Salesforce, Mambu, nCino, Okta, and Feedzai streamline deployment across fintech stacks.

    Bottom line: Is Mitek or Onfido the better choice in 2025?

    In the Mitek vs Onfido comparison, both platforms are highly capable, but optimized for different goals:

    • Choose Mitek if you need a compliance-focused, high-assurance solution with strong manual review options, deep banking integrations, and unmatched fraud detection for regulated environments.
    • Choose Onfido if your priorities are speed, global scale, developer agility, and instant KYC with built-in orchestration for rapidly evolving digital user flows.

    How VALID Systems compare to Mitek and Onfido

    valid-homepage

    While Mitek and Onfido are effective solutions for identity verification, they focus on one specific (though critical) question:

    “Is this person who they claim to be – right now?”

    But as any fraud or risk professional knows, identity verification is just one layer of a much broader security strategy. That’s where VALID Systems enters the picture.

    VALID Systems specializes in real-time fraud detection and behavioral risk analytics.

     

    While Mitek and Onfido confirm identity at a single point in time (typically during account opening or login), VALID answers a more profound and more dynamic question:

    “Is this customer’s behavior consistent and trustworthy over time?”

    For example:

    • A fraudster may pass an ID check using a synthetic identity but then attempt a high-risk transaction minutes later.
    • A legitimate customer might exhibit behavior patterns, such as sudden large withdrawals or high-velocity deposits, that indicate account takeover or mule activity.

    VALID’s AI-driven platform detects these scenarios using:

    • Contextual risk scoring: Evaluates login data, device fingerprinting, transaction amounts, and behavioral patterns.
    • Transaction monitoring: Observes events like mobile deposits, wires, ACH, and bill pay in real-time.
    • Cross-institutional intelligence: Leverages data from its network of top 25 U.S. banks to detect fraud trends that single institutions might miss.

    Close the gaps in identity verification with VALID

    When paired with Mitek or Onfido, VALID adds substantial depth to the institution’s fraud defense stack. Here’s how:

    Holistic fraud coverage

    Mitek or Onfido verify identity at onboarding; VALID watches what happens next.

    If a fraudster uses a stolen or synthetic identity to pass KYC, VALID can still detect and block high-risk activity before any funds leave the account.

    Adaptive authentication

    VALID’s system can trigger real-time re-verification (e.g., a biometric prompt via Mitek or Onfido) when risk signals are triggered.

    This dynamic escalation enables proper zero-trust security – prompting users only when risk justifies it.

    Regulatory coverage beyond KYC

    Mitek and Onfido help satisfy identity compliance requirements (KYC, GDPR, etc.).

    VALID goes further, offering real-time AML surveillance, transaction risk modeling, and SAR-ready alerting to help institutions stay ahead of evolving regulatory demands.

    Fewer false positives

    By combining VALID’s real-time scoring with Mitek/Onfido’s front-end verification, institutions can minimize friction for good users and filter out fraud with precision.

    The result: higher conversion rates, fewer manual reviews, and reduced reputational and financial risk.

    Core VALID Solutions that complement identity verification

    VALID builds its protection framework around several targeted solutions:

    • InstantFUNDS© and InteliFUNDS©: Enable near-instant access to funds for trusted deposits while shielding against fraud losses. These tools evaluate each check-in in real-time using dynamic risk models, authorizing safe transactions while holding or declining suspicious ones.

    • Real-Time Loss Alerts (RTLA©): Instantly flags up to 95% of check fraud at the point of presentment, before funds are credited, allowing institutions to intervene before losses occur.

    • INclearing Loss Alerts: Detects fraudulent items during the clearing cycle by analyzing fraud patterns across a massive behavioral dataset.

    • Check Cashing Defense: Provides AI-based decisioning at ATMs and teller lines to prevent check cashing fraud in real-time environments.
    • VALID Edge Consortium: Combines insights from 450+ million monitored accounts to expose fraud patterns invisible to individual institutions – critical when synthetic identities hop across banks.
    • Measure Predict Impact (MPI) Score: Helps forecast the quality and risk of new accounts within the first 24 hours of activity – ideal for distinguishing legitimate users from sleeper fraud.
    • Credit+ and ReadyCash©: Add intelligent small-dollar lending capabilities by using behavioral signals to predict repayment likelihood and financial health far beyond traditional credit scores.

    Go beyond identity checks – start catching real fraud!

    Book a demo today to see why top financial institutions use VALID to outpace evolving fraud and cut false positives, without compromising user experience.