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ForgeRock vs Microsoft Entra External ID comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 27, 2025

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

ForgeRock
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (15th), Access Management (14th)
Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (9th), Microsoft Security Suite (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 7.8%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 5.8%, up from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra External ID5.8%
ForgeRock7.8%
Other86.4%
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmet Murat Ülker - PeerSpot reviewer
Devops Engineer and Trainer at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees
Easy to use, but customizations can be complicated to handle
I would suggest others use the product after asking them to consider their use cases. SSO may be a use case for some, and using the product as an IDM tool may be a use case. At the moment, my company is not deploying all the components of ForgeRock itself. My company uses ForgeRock for OAuth 2.0. For example, my company is not deploying the IDM and identity gateway components. You should consider your use case and select the required components for that use case. My company does not use the SSO features of the tool. My company uses SSO to access ForgeRock's AM Console for individual users. My company does not use single sign on features of the product and instead, we use Auth0. I rate the tool a seven or eight out of ten.
FS
Consultant at Artifield
Offers strong identity unification but needs better customization
Microsoft Entra External ID can be improved with additional features, specifically customizable flexibility and a customizable user interface for the login dialog. Currently, the login dialog has very limited customization options, which only include font styles, colors, text messages, or brand icons. Last month, Entra ID introduced some customizable features in their login dialog, but this does not apply to Microsoft Entra External ID, indicating a significant gap between the two. In theory, Entra External ID can support many external identity providers where custom login dialogs could be integrated, potentially via SSO feature coordination, although I have not yet confirmed this. Hence, enhanced customizable login options and the ability to use attribute password logins are critical features that are required for Microsoft Entra External ID to gain dominance in the authentication market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is easy to use in a development environment."
"Easy to customize and adaptable to any environment."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the authentication for the consumers. The integration with other third-party applications is excellent."
"The solution is very scalable. We have a lot of users that have been increasing over the years that we have been using it. We have approximately 20,000 users."
"I like the intelligent authentication feature."
"The most valuable features are that it is easy to manage and it's stable."
"Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users."
"We have found the identity and access management tools in the solution to be particularly useful for our organization."
"It's quite easy to manage and monitor."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"Microsoft Entra External ID is more secure, offering a secure environment."
"Microsoft Entra External ID offers numerous advantages; there's no need to maintain anything on-premises, which results in a significant IT infrastructure cost saving."
"The times that I have gone into it, I found it easy to use and I haven't had any issues with it."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"The best features of Microsoft Entra External ID include its unification of B2C functionality and B2E features."
"I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID."
 

Cons

"The solution's documentation is not very good, and they do not give more details."
"The user interface could be improved as it is cumbersome and outdated. It doesn't have a responsive UI."
"They should improve the solution by include reporting."
"In future releases, I would like to see easier integration with other solutions, like facial recognition and KYC solutions with biometric onboarding."
"The solution could improve by adding more advertising and marketing."
"I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Lacks simplified documentation within the tool that requires use of a separate portal."
"It should be a little bit easier to implement. It is user-friendly, but there is always scope for improvement."
"The training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"A common concern among the customers I visit is the unpredictability of Microsoft's costs at every renewal. This is really bothersome for the customer, and I would say it is the worst element I have seen in these years."
"The authentication methods available are very limited, and this presents a weak point."
"I would like to see faster synchronization."
"Technical support needs improvement."
"The cost is very high."
"Microsoft Entra External ID isn't a complete cloud-based account solution, as it must handle internal employees and collaborate with internal Active Directory."
"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."
"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ForgeRock?
The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?
Our company was considering switching back to Keycloak from ForgeRock, so as to not pay any license fees. ForgeRock also supports M-PIN and biometric features that Keycloak does not provide. My com...
What needs improvement with ForgeRock?
In the past, I saw that Splunk was integrated with a testing portal, and then it was integrated with Slack. I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area wher...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
The only problem that you might face with Microsoft now is their complex licensing model.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
For the last four or five years, I have been in an IT manager function, focusing on making things happen and having technical persons execute tasks. In the last three months, I have transitioned to...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
I am looking for a new solution and investigating existing products. We are already working with Microsoft Intune and SOTI. I have been working in the past with a Kaseya product, specifically Datto...
 

Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
Azure Active Directory External Identities
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra External ID and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.