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ForgeRock vs Microsoft Identity Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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 Identity Management (IM)
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (15th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (7th)
Microsoft Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 3.7%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 2.1%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Identity Manager2.1%
ForgeRock3.7%
Other94.2%
Identity Management (IM)
 

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.
RameshKumar9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at IOM - UN Migration
Supports reliable identity management and custom policy design
Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combination of both would be a great solution compared to competitors such as SailPoint or One Identity Manager. While the initial setup of Microsoft Identity Manager is not completely complex, migrating or upgrading to a new version can be complex and requires multiple backups to ensure it goes smoothly.

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."
"ForgeRock is an extensive product with many functionalities and capabilities, much more than many other tools combined."
"The support is good and prompt."
"This is a stable solution. When you do experience any issues, you will see it in your DB logs or audit logs so you can easily reach a conclusion of might be causing it."
"The product is easy to set up."
"Installation and configuration are pretty easy for ForgeRock OpenIDM."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the authentication for the consumers. The integration with other third-party applications is excellent."
"Easy to navigate, handle and manage the applications."
"The best features of Microsoft Identity Manager are its 100% compatibility with Active Directory, the ability to customize IAM policies as required, and its simplicity in design."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides protection for our company documents."
"It is one of the easiest products to implement, which is one of the main advantages. The integration is easy. Unlike other products, it is not complicated to integrate."
"The product’s simplicity and integration are valuable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the fact that I can use it to track who is sending which email, who is accessing which documents or which files, etc. These tools help me improve security within the enterprise environment."
"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."
"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."
"The features that we find most valuable are security, mobility, and Single Sign-On."
 

Cons

"The solution's deployment should be made easier."
"The identity management model needs a bit of improvement."
"It should be a little bit easier to implement. It is user-friendly, but there is always scope for improvement."
"I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area where improvements are required."
"They should improve the solution by include reporting."
"I find that it's quite expensive for just an open-source system. Support is quite expensive."
"Lacks simplified documentation within the tool that requires use of a separate portal."
"I think the upgrade process is sometimes a little complicated and there are failures that occur."
"In terms of the identity and access management solution for on-premises environment, I think Microsoft needs to eliminate or minimize the number of workloads for the solution to run in on-premises environment."
"All actions require logging in to the server."
"Microsoft Identity Manager has shown a strong focus on cloud solutions, but it could improve its support for legacy products and on-premise infrastructure. Legacy applications or solutions are often not fully supported, which can be a limitation for customers with existing on-premise setups. The emphasis on cloud-based solutions is beneficial for modernization as it is crucial to address customers' needs relying on legacy systems. Microsoft should address the gap in support for legacy products to ensure a more comprehensive and inclusive approach."
"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved."
"Microsoft Identity Manager could be improved in several areas."
"It would be good if Microsoft Identity Manager Maybe could be integrated with Azure Active Directory directly and made as a cloud platform."
"The product's setup phase was difficult."
"I haven't explored it deeply enough to identify any areas for enhancement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"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 is an expensive solution."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"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 pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"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 prices can always be improved. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10 in terms of pricing."
"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."
"It is an expensive tool."
"The solution is expensive."
"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."
"Microsoft Identity Manager comes with the premium or community license. If the customer doesn't have a premium license, the reseller who sells the licenses of Microsoft to the enterprise can extend the license for the client."
"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Educational Organization
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 Business13
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise11
 

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 Identity Manager?
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Identity Manager, it has a couple of cloud connectors that can sync directly with the O365 admin center, which is good enough, but Entra I...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?
Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combina...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Identity Manager?
The typical use case for Microsoft Identity Manager is to automate Active Directory, where it is responsible for onboarding new employees to on-premises AD or to the cloud based on certain criteria.
 

Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market
Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.