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Auth0 vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
Auth0 delivers 300% ROI, reducing password issues and development costs while enhancing security and efficiency for enterprises.
Sentiment score
8.8
Microsoft Active Directory offers high ROI, efficient user access control, and centralized management, enhancing organizational productivity and cost-effectiveness.
The solution is really time-saving since I don't need to create users in each server or system manually, and user access control is streamlined.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Auth0's customer service is praised for rapid responses and assistance, though smaller accounts face challenges in accessing support.
Sentiment score
5.9
Microsoft Active Directory support varies, with slow responses, costly premium help, mixed experiences, and reliance on external resources.
The support staff are engineers, not just frontline personnel, ensuring expert assistance.
Their support is excellent.
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Auth0 offers strong scalability with mostly positive user feedback, though some faced issues resolved by a MongoDB structural update.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Active Directory scales well for small and large businesses, with Azure suggested for extreme scalability and integration ease.
The tool is very scalable and meets our customers' needs.
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Auth0 is praised by users for its stability, high availability, reliable performance, and excellent documentation with high ratings.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Active Directory is stable and reliable, with high satisfaction despite minor bugs and occasional patch issues.
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
 

Room For Improvement

Auth0 users seek improved authorization, pricing, customization, administration flexibility, IoT integration, and enhanced Management API for user data.
Active Directory needs a user-friendly interface, better integration, security upgrades, and improved cloud synchronization for enhanced usability.
By default, the user profile does not contain the name, first name, or address, which I would expect.
A reduction of 20-25% would be great.
There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates.
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise users have mixed opinions on Auth0 pricing; some find it clear and valuable, others see it as costly.
Microsoft Active Directory offers affordable licensing, often bundled, with Azure cloud reducing costs by eliminating server fees.
The cost of the solution itself was cost-effective enough that I didn't even need to compare it with EntraID.
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing with Microsoft Active Directory is straightforward; you just buy the server and then have to buy the user CALs.
 

Valuable Features

Auth0 excels in security, scalability, and integration, offering seamless authentication with extensive customization and compliance with major standards.
Microsoft Active Directory offers seamless Azure integration, user-friendly management, and scalability, enhancing network efficiency and usability for large organizations.
The most important feature for me was the ease of use, as it needed to be easy to integrate into my platform.
The most valuable feature of Auth0 is its customizability.
Having active deployment and well-configured systems helps me manage tasks and easily oversee thousands of users.
I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place.
Permissions can be granted to a group or specific folder with one or two clicks in Active Directory.
 

Categories and Ranking

Auth0
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (2nd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (1st)
Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of Auth0 is 9.2%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 3.2%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

Featured Reviews

Serge Wautier - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplified integration with helpful support and decent pricing
Auth0 is used as an identity provider for our new SaaS platform to manage the identity of users Auth0 is cost-effective because it provides all the features we need, and it was very easy to integrate into our platform. The documentation is comprehensive, and their support team is highly helpful.…
Roberta Politano - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good authentication features
The solution's group policy is a normal way to deploy configuration and helps deploy to a wider environment. The solution is deployed both on-premises and on the cloud. I would recommend the solution to other users based on their infrastructure. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Single Sign-On (SSO) solutions are best for your needs.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Auth0?
It is very scalable because it provides a new environment for companies based on their number of users and other factors. The tool can take a lot of users.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Auth0?
The cost of the solution itself was cost-effective enough that I didn't even need to compare it with EntraID.
What needs improvement with Auth0?
The pricing should be lower. A reduction of 20-25% would be great.
What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
Technology is evolving. AI is offering solutions. However, short-term fixes are like band-aids.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
I utilize it in almost every scenario. I use the Hazer database and meet daily needs across every industry, every time.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. Airbnb 2. Accenture 3. Adidas 4. Atlassian 5. Audi 6. Baidu 7. BlackRock 8. Cisco 9. CocaCola 10. Dell 11. eBay 12. FedEx 13. Fiat Chrysler 14. Ford 15. Google 16. Groupon 17. Hewlett Packard Enterprise 18. IBM 19. Intel 20. LinkedIn 21. Mastercard 22. Mercedes Benz23. Microsoft 24. Nike 25. Oracle 26. PayPal 27. Pinterest 28. Qualcomm 29. SAP 30. Spotify 31. Tesla 32. Toyota
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Find out what your peers are saying about Auth0 vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.