AWS Directory Service vs Google Cloud Identity comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google are both solutions in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.3, while Google is ranked #7 with an average rating of 7.8. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.0% mindshare in IAMS, compared to Google’s 10.6% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Google users who would recommend it.

AWS Directory Service

Read 16 AWS Directory Service reviews

1,627 Views
1,546 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Google Cloud Identity

Read 26 Google Cloud Identity reviews

10,489 Views
9,335 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

AWS Directory Service

Google Cloud Identity

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 2024

Google Cloud Identity and AWS Directory Service compete in identity management solutions. Google Cloud Identity holds an advantage with its seamless integration with Google's ecosystem, especially for users already utilizing Google services. AWS Directory Service stands out for its comprehensive features, appealing to businesses deeply integrated with AWS.

Features: Google Cloud Identity excels in integrating with Google Workspace, offering effective management of users, devices, and applications. Security features like multi-factor authentication and identity protection are prominent. AWS Directory Service integrates seamlessly with AWS services, supports Windows workloads, and offers diverse directory types for complex use cases.

Room for Improvement: Google Cloud Identity could enhance its security features to match rivals and develop its integration capabilities beyond Google's ecosystem. Providing more customization options for different business needs would be beneficial. AWS Directory Service could simplify its setup process and extend its customer support options to include more detailed guides for complex scenarios.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud Identity is easy to deploy, aligning with businesses already using Google tools. Its responsive customer service ensures smooth operations. In contrast, AWS Directory Service provides complex deployment tailored for specific needs, which can be time-intensive. However, AWS offers comprehensive support with extensive troubleshooting resources.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud Identity presents a competitive pricing model, recognized for being cost-effective, especially within the Google ecosystem, and offering quick ROI. AWS Directory Service, though considered more expensive, justifies its cost with its extensive directory capabilities, offering substantial returns for businesses with demanding directory needs.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Directory Service vs. Google Cloud Identity Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Directory Service vs. Google Cloud Identity

September 2026

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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

AWS Directory Service

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

17th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Google Cloud Identity

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

7th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (12th), Cloud Resource Access Management (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 1.0%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Identity is 10.6%, up from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Google Cloud Identity	10.6%
AWS Directory Service	1.0%
Other	88.4%

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

Featured Reviews

Akram Zaki

IT Specialist at FlairsTech

Hybrid directory service has streamlined global server access and supported reliable daily operations

Some features in AWS Directory Service are not automated and are not scriptable, so they require manual work. In today's world where everything is pretty much automated and scriptable using AI, this is a downside. The price is another concern. AWS is really expensive. They provide an awesome service in general, but it's still expensive, very expensive. AD Connector is an application which connects my own Active Directory to AWS Directory Service or AWS infrastructure. There is a bit of latency which is bound by the AD Connector availability. If the AD Connector is having issues, there is a bit of latency, but in general, it's way better than Microsoft Azure. Still, it could be better. The migration was a bit challenging and required intensive planning and migration time. That is always a hassle. No matter which cloud environment you're moving into, the migration is sensitive because you're generally moving from on-premise to a cloud environment, so there is downtime and there are unexpected issues and errors. It needs very careful planning before doing the migration itself. AWS Directory Service is lacking a few things which could be better. Single sign-on federation is missing. SCIM provisioning is not available. In my company, we use other services for SSO federation, SCIM provisioning, and authentication because of these gaps. I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in to each application. Single sign-on would log in the user to their account and from there they can open all their applications without requiring a login each time. One of the other cons in AWS is that directories cannot span multiple regions because it's a region-bound architecture. This requires several directories for multi-region deployment. This is the case on my end because my company has several branches all over the world, so it requires several deployments.

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Sony Kurian

Director at GNX Solutions

Cloud automation has improved development efficiency and supports secure MFA and SSO

The best features in Google Cloud Identity are their cloud, their VMs, and their cloud VMs, which are too good compared to OCI. Using Google Cloud Identity is beneficial in terms of finance as we are always doing automation and AI, and it is definitely the best. I use multi-factor authentication with Google Cloud Identity. Regarding how Google Cloud Identity helps to improve security, I can say that security is something everyone is using. I do not feel any different. After this, everything will be JWT token and all things we are using. I do not feel any difference in there. I have used the SSO feature, single sign-on, with Google Cloud Identity. In a few words, how Google Cloud Identity affected user management within my organization is that it is not done for my organization but for one of my clients only. I already have the ADs there, but still, it is the best. I think the reporting tools of Google Cloud Identity are good. I cannot comment on these kinds of things for this particular product.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AWS has eliminated the downtime we waste when our on-premises resources go down."

"AWS handles everything on the backend requiring minimal legwork from our team. We only require a dedicated database administrator while depending on Amazon for RDS."

"This is a managed directory service (by AWS) that offers a hands-free solution for our team as we are not required to hire or train people to manage Active Directory features and high availability backups, there is no security patching required on an operating system level or Active Directory malware attack, and we are able to easily integrate other AWS services."

"Two-step authentication is very useful and important."

"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."

"The most valuable feature is ease of use."

"AWS is very helpful and very useful for the infrastructure because that's how you can manage your Microsoft Office 365 user accounts with AWS-managed Microsoft Active Directory Services."

"I like the manageability, as Activate Connect makes it easier to assign information and to manage the resources in the network."

More AWS Directory Service pros

"The Cloud Identity is well advanced in terms of features, applications, and the components that it is offering."

"Everything is relatively good and overall, the product itself is good."

"The main control page and the ability to manage all our users from a web-based portal are the most valuable aspects of the solution. That's particularly useful because we're a heterogeneous network."

"The solution has a good amount of features, integrates well with Azure products, is easy to set up, has good stability, and can scale."

"Although we have not looked at the whole product and explored it completely, we find that all the authentication features that we are using now are valuable."

"Google is always on its own, and Google Cloud Identity is pretty good on every point."

"It is a very stable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten."

"The best features of Google Cloud Identity are that it's free and works with modern applications, meaning if it's OAuth or using the OAuth protocol, it's very easy to integrate with those applications."

More Google Cloud Identity pros

Cons

"Currently, there is no option to integrate our on-premises Cisco AWS Directory Service, requiring some manual configuration. If AWS Active Directory Service provided additional domain controller functionalities, like other on-premises Active Directory, it would be very helpful."

"I'd like to see some additional features, similar to what Azure has."

"Can be improved by including on-premises access for services through Identity Access Management."

"Some of the security protocols are difficult to understand."

"I've encountered challenges, particularly with Amazon WorkDocs, which is being deprecated. This has made it necessary to find an alternative document management solution that can handle editing, sharing, and workflow management for documents like Word files and PDFs."

"The group policy can be improved."

"The solution lacks certain features."

"I would like to grant partial access to a table contained in a database without having to provide full access to the whole database."

More AWS Directory Service cons

"There is room for improvement in the configuration of their security policies. It seems quite basic."

"We cannot manage the attributes of SSPR."

"In Google, if we want support they are very slow to respond."

"Overall, I would give a zero out of 10 for Google's support. There is no easy way to navigate issues without paid consultation, making it quite frustrating."

"If you want to set up some alerts, you don't have much control over the configuration. You have to use their default alerts. And they only provide alerts for certain activities, so you cannot customize those. Monitoring isn't very helpful either."

"The solution needs to better integrate with Mac's OS."

"To improve the product, the integration with third-party products could always be smoother."

"The customer service and support team is not so good."

More Google Cloud Identity cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable."

"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."

"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."

"We pay an annual subscription fee."

"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

"When I worked on Cloud Identity, they offered a free or enterprise version. You can synchronize and create up to 100 user identities in the free version. After that, you have to purchase a business or enterprise license. In that model, you'll be charged based on the number of users."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"The solution is not expensive."

"The product is billed on a monthly basis depending on the number of users."

"The fees are paid monthly and there are no additional costs other than the licensing fees."

"The licensing cost depends on the partners and the relationship between the company and the partners."

"We probably spend about $50,000 a year on licensing."

More Google Cloud Identity pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Performing Arts

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?

The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering AWS Directory Service?

I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in...

See all answers

How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also access to both Microsoft’s user community as well as around-the-clock customer s...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Identity?

It's crucial to monitor costs carefully, as there can be unexpected charges. I have been charged even when there was supposed to be free credit.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Cloud Identity?

If you are asking about room for improvement with Google Cloud Identity, whatever is there already, cost is the only problem. If you are comparing with GCP, OCI, the cost will be a little bit highe...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 19% of the time

Okta Platform vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 17% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 6% of the time

Omada Identity vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 5% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 5% of the time

More AWS Directory Service Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs Google Cloud Identity

Compared 76% of the time

Okta Platform vs Google Cloud Identity

Compared 4% of the time

JumpCloud vs Google Cloud Identity

Compared 2% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Google Cloud Identity

Compared 2% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Google Cloud Identity

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Cloud Identity Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Directory Service

September 2026

Download AWS Directory Service product report

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Identity

September 2026

Download Google Cloud Identity product report

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD

Cloud Identity, Cloud Identity Premium

Overview

AWS Directory Service offers a cloud-based infrastructure for managing secure access, allowing seamless integration with other services and reducing hardware costs. It enhances reliability and access management for enterprises.

AWS Directory Service is integrated with Amazon services such as EC2 and RDS, providing high availability, quick replication, and seamless disaster recovery. Its cloud-based nature eliminates the need for hardware management, delivering cost efficiency and robust secure access management. Users benefit from its role-based mechanisms, redundancy, scalability, and low downtime, addressing diverse access and management needs. Despite its strengths, difficulties with integration, automation, and user interface have been noted. The lack of single sign-on and multi-factor authentication, along with challenges in migration and configuration, highlight areas for improvement. Users also desire expanded regional coverage and better integration with CloudWatch.

What are the key features of AWS Directory Service?

Cloud Infrastructure: Provides a cloud-based directory eliminating the need for physical hardware.
Secure Access Management: Ensures managed access and hybrid operations across networks.
Integration with EC2 and RDS: Supports seamless integration with Amazon EC2 and RDS.
High Availability: Offers robust and reliable directory service with minimal downtime.
Role-Based Mechanisms: Allows precise control over permissions and access levels.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Cost Efficiency: Saves expenses related to hardware and its maintenance.
Scalability: Adapts to increasing company needs effortlessly.
Performance: Delivers consistent directory performance without disruptions.
Redundancy: Provides exceptional backup solutions to prevent data loss.

AWS Directory Service is predominantly leveraged in industries requiring secure data management and integration with Microsoft Active Directory. It's widely used for domain authentication and policy implementation in sectors such as banking, where centralized data processing and enhanced security layers are crucial. Its role in managing ACL permissions and IAM for special access is critical, especially in environments handling sensitive information.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Google Cloud Identity provides a robust platform for managing user and group access across cloud resources, enhancing security with multi-factor authentication and unifying identities with seamless single sign-on.

Offering a comprehensive range of features, Google Cloud Identity presents a web-based user management portal, group access control, and context-aware access, which significantly improves security and simplifies application-level policies. Seamless integration with Google Workspace and straightforward setup processes enhance usability, while organizational unit management supports efficient policy handling. This makes cloud-based user management both straightforward and impactful. Areas for enhancement include password management and integration with third-party applications and systems like Mac and Active Directory. The interface could also be more user-friendly, while pricing adjustments could improve competitiveness. Monitoring capabilities require better customization, and mobile device management needs refinement for wider compatibility. Strengthening customer support access and robustness would encourage smoother user experiences.

What are the key features of Google Cloud Identity?

Group Access Control: Enables management of access to resources by defining groups.
Single Sign-On: Streamlines access across applications through single sign-on.
Unified Identity Access: Provides a single view for identity management.
Endpoint Management: Manages devices accessing cloud resources efficiently.
Multi-Factor Authentication: Enhances security with additional authentication steps.

What benefits should users look for when evaluating Google Cloud Identity?

Enhanced Security: Robust security is provided through multi-factor authentication and context-aware access.
Streamlined Access Management: Simplified user and access management cuts down administrative tasks.
Integration Capabilities: Ease of integration with tools like Google Workspace enhances functionality.
Simplified Policy Management: Intuitive organizational unit management makes handling policies efficient.

Numerous industries implement Google Cloud Identity for its single sign-on and access management capabilities, which enable fine-tuned cloud resource control, multi-device authentication, and effective user administration. By integrating with systems for user authentication and identity synchronization from Active Directory, companies utilize it for enhanced collaboration and mobile device management. A unified account experience augments security with multi-factor authentication, applicable across platforms without necessitating Google Workspace.

Google

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

ExtraHop Networks, HealthChannels

Buyer's Guide

AWS Directory Service vs. Google Cloud Identity

September 2026

Free Report: AWS Directory Service vs. Google Cloud Identity

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