Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Microsoft Azure Active Directory or Azure AD) is a cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) solution supporting restricted access to applications with Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) built-in, single sign-on (SSO), B2B collaboration controls, self-service password, and integration with Microsoft productivity and cloud storage (Office 365, OneDrive, etc) as well as 3rd party services.
$6
per user/per month
Okta
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Okta is an enterprise grade identity management service, built in the cloud. IT can manage access across any application, person or device. Whether the people are employees, partners or customers or whether the applications are in the cloud, on premises or on a mobile device, Okta helps IT become more secure and maintain compliance. The Okta service provides directory services, single sign-on, authentication, provisioning, workflow, and built in reporting. ment systems.
$2
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Microsoft Entra ID
Okta
Editions & Modules
Premium P1
$6.00
per user/per month
Premium P2
$9.00
per user/per month
Single Sign on
$2.00
Per User Per Month
Multi Factor Authentication
$3.00
Per User Per Month
Single Sign on Adaptive
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Multi Factor Authentication Adaptive
$6.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Entra ID
Okta
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Entra ID
Okta
Features
Microsoft Entra ID
Okta
Identity Management
Comparison of Identity Management features of Product A and Product B
For one, a significant factor for us is that it is integrated with HelloID, which gives us, as the IT department, a lot of time back because we don’t need to create user accounts manually. It is great for the roles we have defined, as they can be used repeatedly. A great feature is that guest accounts can be created for external users; we only need to be in a closed area of your domain.
It has extensive compatibility and rich feature set of integrating with a wide array of core systems and SaaS platforms. Daily I utilize Okta's user-friendly central hub to simplify access the numerous applications we utilize within my company (Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, among many others.)
It addresses the issue of identity management very well with respect to putting in that multi authentication.
It can also support with respect to we can push these policies into another product that is not Microsoft, but it needs that SSO so we can have one account going into multi different accounts. I think that's the biggest pros and the easy use of Microsoft 365 also is one of those pros also in terms of administration.
Okta handles lockouts and password changes very seamlessly. Most end users no longer have to contact our IT department to reset their password or unlock their account.
Okta does MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) very well with the use of their own app, Okta Verify. We utilize this for VPN connections and having MFA or 2FA has strengthened the security of our internal network.
Okta's administration GUI is easy to use, and easy to set up. Adding applications to the organization is easy and requires very little work to deploy.
Users can utilize Okta to store passwords securely and safe on their own account. They also can one click login to personal sites if they use Okta to store their password.
Okta's support system is very knowledgeable and quick to respond to issues. We've had a few cases that were resolved within hours and that helps immensely when working with end users.
Well, I'm an active ad admin, so there's a lot of features in active directory that Entra ID seems to be just adding now. We're kind of figuring out that the policies are different than Entra ID that they were in active directory and we're finding other products to do that, like Azure policy. Some things I'm used to seeing in identity products or like active directory aren't in Entra iID, but are doing good job of managing stuff that it does so far.
Entra ID is a vital part of our Identity management/administration. With the integrations it has to other Microsoft products, setup and configuration is a breeze. Additionally, Microsoft has been around a long time and have the resources to ensure this product is stable and secure for many years to come. We know it will evolve with time to provide us what we need as technology changes.
Okta has a passion to provide secure and scalable identity solution. Their passion has come across as advocacy in a way that has deepened my knowledge of the field of authentication. I took identity for granted before but after seeing features such as external authentication I know that Okta can enable my business to reach new heights
Very easily usable. It could be easier to use. Implementation was kind of tricky. We do run a hybrid environment, so we're syncing a local active directory instance with Entra ID, so that could be a little tricky. But outside of that, if you're not running a hybrid deployment or a version of Entra ID usually, it's pretty straightforward.
The Okta Identity Cloud advertises 4 9's of reliability and I would go as far to say that it may even do better than that. As a true Global organization that operates in just about every region of the world, we have yet to have an issue with The Okta Identity Cloud that has impacted our business operations.
From my perspective, for the things that my group uses it for, Okta is very fast. It is as least as fast as the local password database methods that it replaces on our campus enterprise services. I do not believe that it slows anything down at all. In fact, not having to think too much about the login, because they all look the same, probably speeds things up somewhat.
Microsoft has offered Azure Active Directory as a solution for a couple of decades now, so they have seen and anticipated almost any issue that an organization may face and can therefore help. The cloud offering of Azure Active Directory offers some additional "self healing" or monitoring services that can minimize the need for a service call. However, as with most large companies supporting a fast growing market, there may be some gaps in service knowledge (and particularly processing) from the front line / tier one staff as they follow a corporate script at first contact.
Their support team has always been extremely responsive and more than willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. They've done screen shares between our help desk staff and end users to work through issues. They are quick to respond and genuinely care about getting issues resolved. Couldn't be happier.
Make sure you use a good partner. Our implementation was a bit longer and more problematic than we expected. Our partner got it done, but, in my opinion, some of their inexperience and staffing issues were evident.
Microsoft Entra ID is not as stand-alone product as competitors like Okta. It may lack some of the features that competing products have but on the other hand it integrates both technically and license wise with other Microsoft cloud services and is easy to deploy. It is also the easiest way to extend identity management to the cloud if you already have Microsoft Active Directory in use.
Previous to Okta, we did not have a central cloud IdP system, each app had it's own authentication and authorization internally. That led to a fairly messy and divergent situation where every system had a different method and look for authentication and authorization. Cross-remembering what password went with what was a constant problem for the Service Desk, who had to know how to manipulate all of the various local password systems.
Being a cloud native application, The Okta Identity Cloud is extremely scalable and easy to setup. By integrating into existing directories and applications via standard techniques and protocols, it is very easy to both initially setup and add additional users as required. Once all the necessary integrations are setup, it's a simple rinse and repeat process to onboard additional users (which can be automated with imports as well)
I don't know if I can really quantify that. It's one of those products that just exists and so there's not a whole lot of changes that we need to make with the product. And so I guess in terms of value, what we get is we don't have to worry about the identity management piece. We know that that's taken care of.
The initial investment (CapX) on Okta seemed like a lot for our organization (with a limited IT budget), but the investment was 100% worthwhile. We were impressed with how easily/quickly it was up and running in our environment.
Implementing Okta into our environment has greatly increased our security posture by granting us MFA and SSO. Having MFA helps to lower our Cyber Security Insurance premiums greatly as well.
As with most IT Security tools, the costs of prevention far outweigh the costs of a compromise. Calculate the costs of a breach and then compare it to the costs of Okta, you will find Okta is an exceptional value for what it offers. Additionally, the ability to automate tasks saves a ton of time/money for us. For example, the integration with our HRIS system means that when HR terminates an employee, we can have Okta automatically disable their accounts and all SSO applications assigned to them. Previously this was a slow and manual process performed by our Service Desk technicians (at an hourly rate).
