Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (13th), Access Management (11th)
Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (10th), Microsoft Security Suite (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 11.0%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 7.7%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmet Murat Ülker - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Corrado Vigano - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution integrates well with existing systems while being easy to use
The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use. Furthermore, Microsoft's reliability in providing a clear roadmap for the solution is very important, especially at a time when cybersecurity is a risk in every company. The solution is easy to reuse and not difficult to find expertise for in the market because it is widespread. It is gaining attention even from partners and from the market on the offering side. This serves as a good starting point for customers who can develop internal competence on the solution. Additionally, the presence of reliable partners who know the solution and can provide internal knowledge is the best aspect for them.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Even though we have very small business interests with them today, they see that we plan on growing drastically over the next two years. Therefore, we have excellent support and we are now at a point where we are not calling tech support. We pick up a phone and call the Account Manager and they'll get everything resolved for us. We don't have to queue along with everybody else and go through a long process."
"The most valuable features are that it is easy to manage and it's stable."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the authentication for the consumers. The integration with other third-party applications is excellent."
"Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users."
"The product is easy to use in a development environment."
"ForgeRock has CIAM, which other products didn't have, and they have DevOps ready."
"Easy to customize and adaptable to any environment."
"In terms of the tool's operational efficiency, ForgeRock Access Management is used in a lot of environments, different regions, and in different stages of production environments."
"The most beneficial feature for us is the ease of setup. With about five clicks, we can generate unique IDs and keys and set up in less than 30 minutes. We can also generate these for multiple years simultaneously, which is convenient."
"It's similar to using a Microsoft account to create accounts on other websites. We are also using Microsoft Entra to monitor which applications our guests are using. This allows us to filter, block, or adjust permissions for these applications as needed for our collaborators."
"The single sign-on access is the most useful feature we use."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"The best features of Microsoft Entra External ID include its unification of B2C functionality and B2E features."
"When it comes to Microsoft Entra External ID, Microsoft itself is the best distributor."
"The positive impact of Microsoft Entra External ID on my organization is that it enhances ease of use for the administrative side."
 

Cons

"We raised tickets asking for improvements, but sometimes we don't get the proper solution. They are responding, but the ticket is open for weeks and weeks. For some issues, we don't get a satisfactory solution or the solution doesn't work."
"In future releases, I would like to see easier integration with other solutions, like facial recognition and KYC solutions with biometric onboarding."
"It should be a little bit easier to implement. It is user-friendly, but there is always scope for improvement."
"The solution requires more simplified customization. However, part of the problem is my clients determining their own preferences. Technology can help and do many things, but you have to define your own policies to ensure that the solution or service works within those parameters. Helping customers understand their business and different processes is another issue not relating to the functionality of this solution."
"They should improve the solution by include reporting."
"ForgeRock is an open source solution and is available to everyone but it is not freeware. If you need support, you need a subscription for ForgeRock. Many of its functionalities need to be built up with the help of a consultant."
"I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The product's support services in the French language are not free."
"I would like to see faster synchronization."
"The quality of Microsoft customer support varies. With an enterprise contract, good resources are usually provided, especially in regions like Saudi Arabia or UAE. However, we have faced challenges with support quality, especially in some subcontinent areas where the resources might not be as experienced."
"The problem with Microsoft products is that they often cater to enterprise-level needs, which can be too costly for medium-sized businesses."
"I generally find Microsoft solutions expensive, especially in specific offerings."
"The support engineers are not as skilled as our engineers. When they say something would not work, or there is no solution, we usually hear that Microsoft would not support this."
"The cost is very high."
"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"The authentication methods available are very limited, and this presents a weak point."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"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."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) solutions are best for your needs.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
Concerning the pricing or setup costs for Microsoft Entra External ID, based on my experience with Entra and 365 in general, it shouldn't require a whole education on their software. That's been a ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
Where it could be improved beyond the previous pain points is that every software vendor should have SAML or SCIM integration, and if they don't, I believe they are doing a disservice. On the Micro...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
As an end user, I use both Linux and Windows products. Our organization is mostly Windows, but we have various Linux servers. My experience with Linux includes primarily Ubuntu and Debian. We use U...
 

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: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.