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Active Roles by One Identity vs EmpowerID comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 20, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Active Roles by One Identity
Ranking in User Provisioning Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (1st), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (1st)
EmpowerID
Ranking in User Provisioning Software
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the User Provisioning Software category, the mindshare of Active Roles by One Identity is 4.9%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of EmpowerID is 2.4%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
User Provisioning Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Active Roles by One Identity4.9%
EmpowerID2.4%
Other92.7%
User Provisioning Software
 

Featured Reviews

Puru Solanki ( ITIL. CISM , CCSP ) - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Head at Citadel Global
Automation has streamlined onboarding and governance and delivers faster, more secure access
Overall, we are very satisfied with Active Roles by One Identity, but there are a few areas that could be improved. The user interface could be more modern and intuitive, especially for new administrators. Some advanced configuration and policy settings have a steep learning curve and could be simplified. We would also like to see more built-in integrations with cloud platforms and SaaS applications, along with additional out-of-the-box reporting templates. These improvements would make the product even easier and more flexible for organizations managing hybrid environments. One thing that would make our daily work even smoother is having more ready-to-use templates for common administrative tasks and reports. This would reduce the need for customization and help teams get up and running more quickly. Additionally, faster and simpler synchronization for hybrid and cloud environments would be beneficial, especially for organizations managing both on-premises and cloud identities. More detailed documentation and guided setup for advanced features would help new administrators learn the platform faster and more easily. One additional improvement I would like to see for Active Roles by One Identity is a better built-in dashboard with more real-time insights into identity and access activities. It would be helpful if upgrades and migrations were simpler and required less planning. Finally, expanding native integrations with more cloud services and third-party applications would make the platform even more versatile and reliable. These enhancements would improve the overall user experience while keeping the product's strong security and automation capabilities.
Varun Khandavalli - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Specialist Engineering Dev. & Integration at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
An excellent application with a strong use case
It is very intuitive and has improved significantly over the last seven years. Its deployment is very enterprise-focused, and I hope it will eventually become cloud-based for easier connection through AWS or similar services. Currently, it's an It is very intuitive and has improved significantly over the last seven years. Its deployment is very enterprise-focused, and I hope it will eventually become cloud-based for easier connection through AWS or similar services. Currently, it's an excellent application with a strong use case.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Active Roles by One Identity has resulted in a noticeable improvement in the efficiency of Active Directory administration, with routine user provisioning and de-provisioning tasks now completed 30 to 50% faster by using automated standardized workflows, along with a reduction in manual configuration errors and fewer access-related requests."
"Active Roles by One Identity has significantly reduced the complexity and workload of Active Directory administration by automating many tasks that previously required manual effort, allowing our IT team to spend much less time on routine requests and focus on higher-value projects."
"After implementing One Identity Active Roles, clear operational improvements are evident, including user provisioning time reduction from hours to minutes, a 40 to 50% drop in service desk workload, faster resolution of password reset and account-related requests through delegated administration, and fewer manual errors in group assignment and permission management."
"One Identity Active Roles has a positive impact on our organization by improving the efficiency and consistency of our Active Directory operations."
"One Identity Active Roles has positively impacted our organization by improving AD administration efficiency, reducing manual errors, strengthening access governance, and helping to standardize user provisioning and compliance processes across the team."
"It provides automatic provisioning/update/deprovisioning workflows from a source system to a target system."
"One Identity Active Roles takes us less time, probably half the time, to complete delegations that are very granular and complex, compared to having to use native tools and scripts."
"One of the biggest positive impacts of One Identity Active Roles was bringing more control and consistency to Active Directory."
"It is very intuitive and has improved significantly over the last seven years. Its deployment is very enterprise-focused, and I hope it will eventually become cloud-based for easier connection through AWS or similar services. Currently, it's an excellent application with a strong use case."
"It allows for self-service which means quicker turnaround for end-user support."
 

Cons

"The third area for improvement, which is the weakest portion of ARS, is the workflow engine, which was introduced a few years ago. It's slow and not very intuitive to use, so I would like to see improvement there."
"Pricing for One Identity Active Roles is a bit on the higher side compared to other options in the market."
"A few improvements I would like to see in One Identity Active Roles are mainly around usability, reporting, and modern integration."
"The possibility to request group membership, similar to the past, was disabled and moved to Identity Manager."
"It's a fairly stable product but not perfectly reliable."
"The initial setup and configuration can be complex, especially when designing workflows, policies, and delegation models."
"One area for improvement would be troubleshooting and reporting."
"One Identity Active Roles could be improved by speeding up the approval process, especially for urgent access requests."
"I would like to see EmpowerID move to the cloud to facilitate easier deployment and connectivity through AWS or similar services."
"Perhaps it is the way my organization has it set up but I would like to add people to more than one group at a time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing model is a simple user-based model, not that much complicated."
"The pricing is on the higher end."
"The pricing is high. I have not been involved with the renewal or cost aspect, but I know it is not cheap by any means. However, it is very useful for our environment."
"It's fairly priced."
"It's expensive."
"The price is reasonable. It costs us about 1 million Danish kroner annually, and we also spend about half as much on consultants."
"The pricing for Active Roles is expensive but not as expensive as other solutions like Okta."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
28%
Healthcare Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Construction Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business100
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise45
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for One Identity Active Roles?
Our experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Active Roles by One Identity has been very positive. Although Active Roles by One Identity is not the lowest-priced solution, we believ...
What needs improvement with One Identity Active Roles?
Overall, we are very satisfied with Active Roles by One Identity, but there are a few areas that could be improved. The user interface could be more modern and intuitive, especially for new adminis...
What is your primary use case for One Identity Active Roles?
Active Roles by One Identity is our main solution for simplifying and automating user account management in our Active Directory environment. We use it for tasks like user provisioning, deprovision...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for EmpowerID?
The cost is fairly moderate, although I can't recall the exact amount, it's around twenty five.
What needs improvement with EmpowerID?
I would like to see EmpowerID move to the cloud to facilitate easier deployment and connectivity through AWS or similar services.
What is your primary use case for EmpowerID?
EmpowerID is an application that helps move LC-MS and HPLC data from instruments to systems of record to be able to get that data and manage it. It is used for a lot of small molecule research and ...
 

Also Known As

Quest Active Roles
The Dot Net Factory EmpowerID
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of Frankfurt, Moore Public Schools, George Washington University, Transavia Airlines, Howard County, MD. See all stories at OneIdentity.com/casestudies
Glencoe Specialty Services, GoDaddy, GTSI Corp., Alere Inc., Anadarko Petroleum, Bank of America, Bank of New York, Caterpillar, Coldwell Banker
Find out what your peers are saying about Active Roles by One Identity vs. EmpowerID and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,076 professionals have used our research since 2012.