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Google Cloud Identity and Access Management vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Google Cloud Identity and A...
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Entra ID
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
266
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Identity and Access Management is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 8.9%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra ID8.9%
Google Cloud Identity and Access Management0.5%
Other90.6%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

NB
Hybrid Cloud Engineer at RealPage
Seamless integration with cloud identity enhances access management and simplifies task management
The most valuable features in Google Cloud Identity and Access Management include Smart Access control, which automatically detects permissions, and rightsizing. Cloud Identity facilitates access to Google Cloud, and the governance policies are good. I also find the programmatic command line features, such as the G Cloud command-line tool, valuable as it simplifies tasks and makes them easy to manage.
JP
Senior Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Implementing seamless integration boosts secure access and supports Zero Trust
What I appreciate the most about Microsoft Entra ID is that it integrates seamlessly with all the Defender products and is easy to use. Microsoft Entra ID's integration capabilities influence our Zero Trust model by allowing us to enforce our Zero Trust model. Conditional access policies allow us to leverage Microsoft Entra ID to verify that devices signing in to our cloud services are coming from registered devices, and that people are passing all the other requirements we have in order to complete sign-on or conditional access policies. Since implementing Microsoft Entra ID, I've observed changes in the frequency and nature of identity-related security incidents. The organization already had it implemented when I arrived, and I've been working to enhance it. Better configuration of Microsoft Entra ID has allowed us to better protect our organization from threats. Having it alone isn't a solution, but ensuring proper configuration goes a long way in preventing future compromises. My company's approach to defending against token theft and nation-state attacks has evolved since implementing Microsoft Entra ID. We haven't experienced any known compromises from nation-state attacks, and implementing newer features gives me more confidence in our protection. Regarding device-bound passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator and our approach to phishing-resistant authentication, we are currently implementing Microsoft Entra ID certificate-based authentication. Adding a strong form of MFA is important as we found it to be the most cost-effective way. While other solutions might be equally or more secure, they are significantly more expensive. Having worked as an IT consultant mainly with the Microsoft stack across various industries, I have experience with different identity management solutions. Microsoft Entra ID remains the best option. The major advantages when comparing it to Okta include integration with Defender products, Defender for Identities' integration with conditional access policies, and insider threat management integration for blocking sign-ins based on risk factors. The enhancement of Microsoft Entra ID's implementation is relatively straightforward. My main concern is the occasional lack of documentation and the frequency of changes, which can make feature location challenging.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features in Google Cloud Identity and Access Management include Smart Access control, which automatically detects permissions, and rightsizing."
"Overall, I rate the solution at ten out of ten."
"Entra ID's anti-phishing measures have improved our phishing response."
"Using [Azure AD's] passwordless technology, you're not even using a password anymore. You're basically just creating a logon request without actually sending or typing or storing the password. This is awesome for any user, regardless of whether you're a factory worker or a CFO. It's secure and super-simple."
"The single sign-on across multiple platforms is really the true advantage here. That gives you one ID and password for access to all your systems. You don't need to manage a plethora of different user IDs and passwords to all the systems that you're going to access."
"The tool's most valuable feature is conditional access."
"This product is easy to use."
"The cloud security part is very valuable. Security is the most important thing in today's world. With Azure Active Directory, there are some features that tell you how you need to improve your security level. It informs you if you set up certain policies, e.g., this is where my users sign in. It tends to let you know if your organization has been breached with this security set up. Therefore, it is easier to know when you have been breached, especially if you set up a Conditional Access policy for your organization."
"The way the laptops are joined is valuable. We can take advantage of that in terms of being able to log in and do things. It is easier to change passwords or set things up."
"It is cloud based so it is always updated,"
 

Cons

"I find Google Cloud Identity and Access Management's pricing to be on the expensive side, rating it as seven out of ten. However, if the price could be made cheaper as more clients are included, it would be beneficial."
"I find Google Cloud Identity and Access Management's pricing to be on the expensive side"
"Microsoft Entra ID could be improved with more integration with third-party solutions like SAP or access management to third-party apps that are not capable of being registered within Azure itself."
"There should be a clearer separation between objects held in Entra and Azure, so we don't need to approach the Entra ID team to create rules, policies, and app registrations."
"The solution could be improved when it comes to monitoring and logging as these are the most critical areas in case something was to go wrong."
"It would be ideal if the solution moved to a passwordless type of environment. It's the future of authentification. It's also more secure and convenient."
"The dashboard and interface could be better. It would be ideal if it was easier to use."
"Sometimes I sense complications when moving from one tenant to another, which is simply because different enterprises have different security guidelines."
"The Azure AD Application Proxy, which helps you publish applications in a secure way, has room for improvement. We are moving from another solution into the Application Proxy and it's quite detailed. Depending on the role you're signing in as, you can end up at different websites, which wasn't an issue with our old solution."
"To improve Microsoft Entra ID, it should be made simpler because there is a lot of stuff to do in the platform, which could be reduced to fewer buttons."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We are a non-profit organization, so we get good prices from Microsoft for their products. It is working well, but it could be cheaper. For the type of organization we are, it would be good if they could give a little bit more and be more generous like Google, which has completely free services. Microsoft has free versions or web services called Office 365 E1, which is free for use, but we want to have it with more qualified clients."
"It is bundled with other services and the pricing is quite reasonable."
"From a pricing standpoint, with all the services that we get, we are okay. I do not see a problem with the pricing structure. We are getting our money's worth."
"The basic tier of Azure Active Directory is free, so many users use the service for free. For a small company having the security and compliance that Azure offers is a great benefit. For small companies that are using the basic services, not having to pay for Azure Active Directory is the main asset because they can manage their users and have authentications tools and security."
"It can be a bit expensive for organizations, but they do have different pricing models. Their free tier can be used on a personal level, but for an organization, the licenses might be a bit expensive. In general, the licenses can become cheaper, which will make it accessible for more people."
"We have a yearly license."
"The price of the solution's license is good."
"For you to make use of some of the security features, you need to upgrade your licenses. If it is possible, could they just make some features free? For instance, for the Condition Access policy, you need to set that up and be on Azure AD P2 licensing. So if they could make it free or reduce the licensing for small businesses, that would be cool, as I believe security is for everyone."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business85
Midsize Enterprise38
Large Enterprise155
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Identity and Access Management?
I find Google Cloud Identity and Access Management's pricing to be on the expensive side, rating it as seven out of ten. However, if the price could be made cheaper as more clients are included, it...
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Identity and Access Management?
As of now, I did not find anything that needs improvement. Google's solution started four years ago, and I've only been working more comprehensively with it for two years. It's not bad, it is actua...
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Identity and Access Management?
We have a tool called CyberArk. From CyberArk, I take the link and open it from this solution. It links to AD, the domain controller, enabling us to connect to Google Cloud Platform.
How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID is that it is decent.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. Atlassian2. Cisco3. Coca-Cola4. Dell5. Equinix6. GE7. Google8. IBM9. Intel10. JPMorgan Chase11. LinkedIn12. Microsoft13. Netflix14. Oracle15. PayPal16. SAP17. Siemens18. Spotify19. Tesla20. Toyota21. Twitter22. Visa23. Walt Disney24. WeWork25. World Bank26. Xerox27. Zynga
Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Identity and Access Management vs. Microsoft Entra ID and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.