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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)
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)
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (9th), Microsoft Security Suite (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 11.2%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 7.9%, up from 3.4% 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 ID7.9%
ForgeRock11.2%
Other80.9%
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

"Easy to navigate, handle and manage the applications."
"The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection."
"Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users."
"Installation and configuration are pretty easy for ForgeRock OpenIDM."
"The product is easy to use in a development environment."
"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."
"ForgeRock products are customizable, and the out-of-the-box features are solid, too. I primarily use the OIDC compliance features. It's just a configuration. it's easy to set up and customize trees. We can add our own features if necessary. Banks and corporations have different standards and specific validations."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"The single sign-on access is the most useful feature we use."
"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."
"Primarily Microsoft Entra External ID SSO is valuable as it works with everything when it comes to integration."
"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."
"It's quite easy to manage and monitor."
"Microsoft Entra External ID is more secure, offering a secure environment."
 

Cons

"The solution's deployment should be made easier."
"We're worried about the scaling. We're told it will be okay and there won't be issues, however, I'm not 100% convinced."
"The user interface could be improved as it is cumbersome and outdated. It doesn't have a responsive UI."
"As with any complex software platform, there is a learning curve to using ForgeRock, and it may require specialized expertise to implement and manage effectively."
"In an upcoming release, the solution could improve by limiting the need to do customizations."
"The solution's documentation is not very good, and they do not give more details."
"We would like this solution to be developed for use with mobile applications."
"It should have a better user interface. Its flexibility should also be improved. It is not about simplifying; it is more about flexibility. Each company has its own requirements, and ForgeRock can provide more flexibility in terms of the use of existing modules to implement features for the customers."
"The training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"The cost is very high."
"I would like to see faster synchronization."
"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."
"There have been a couple of times when it was unavailable because of Microsoft issues, but other than that, I don't remember any problems."
"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"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."
"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."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"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."
"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."
"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
23%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

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 Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
 

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?
I haven't utilized the adaptive authentication feature. We haven't used the customization capability for user journeys within the Microsoft Entra External ID. I don't have experience trying to crea...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
I'm more familiar with the Microsoft Entra External ID, the Active Directory external identities, because we have a hybrid environment. For the parts that I handle, the on-premise part is easier fo...
 

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: July 2025.
866,218 professionals have used our research since 2012.