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Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra External ID comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 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

Google Cloud Identity
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (14th), Cloud Resource Access Management (7th)
Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Identity is 10.8%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 1.6%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra External ID1.6%
Google Cloud Identity10.8%
Other87.6%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

SK
Director at GNX Solutions
Cloud automation has improved development efficiency and supports secure MFA and SSO
The best features in Google Cloud Identity are their cloud, their VMs, and their cloud VMs, which are too good compared to OCI. Using Google Cloud Identity is beneficial in terms of finance as we are always doing automation and AI, and it is definitely the best. I use multi-factor authentication with Google Cloud Identity. Regarding how Google Cloud Identity helps to improve security, I can say that security is something everyone is using. I do not feel any different. After this, everything will be JWT token and all things we are using. I do not feel any difference in there. I have used the SSO feature, single sign-on, with Google Cloud Identity. In a few words, how Google Cloud Identity affected user management within my organization is that it is not done for my organization but for one of my clients only. I already have the ADs there, but still, it is the best. I think the reporting tools of Google Cloud Identity are good. I cannot comment on these kinds of things for this particular product.
Sameh Andrawes - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Alex Apparels
Identity platform has strengthened policy control, security monitoring, and user management
Not really at the moment, but perhaps when we go deeper into using Microsoft Entra External ID, we may experience some things we may not prefer. However, up to now, we have not encountered anything that I consider a problem or disadvantage. If we apply more features, let's say we applied mobile device management for a few machines, a few mobiles, and some computers, and it worked, but I do not know what will happen when we apply this to the rest of the network, which is 1,500 computers and more than 2,000 mobiles. I do not know what to say regarding new features that could be added to Microsoft Entra External ID. Perhaps we can integrate this with our ERP systems for the HR systems that we are going to have. Perhaps with this integration, we can find this application more practical.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google is always on its own, and Google Cloud Identity is pretty good on every point."
"The Cloud Identity is well advanced in terms of features, applications, and the components that it is offering."
"One of the most useful features was the single sign-on. You can use it as an identity provider or service provider. And you can use their organization unit feature to enable or disable some of the features for a specific group of users."
"The solution is user-friendly."
"I think the first thing that is great is that it gives you a lot of features, like login, and then vaulted passwords and secure LDAP, and it becomes easier for the end customer to leverage all those features without going to a higher SKU of G Suite."
"Although we have not looked at the whole product and explored it completely, we find that all the authentication features that we are using now are valuable."
"The main control page and the ability to manage all our users from a web-based portal are the most valuable aspects of the solution. That's particularly useful because we're a heterogeneous network."
"The solution is moderate to difficult to use. I found the approach was practical. Following the steps made it very easy to use."
"The impact of having multiple authentication types available significantly helps with security practices using Microsoft Entra External ID."
"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."
"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 experience has been rather good; there are other possibilities, but we made the choice to go with Microsoft, and we have a good experience with that."
"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."
"For policy management in my organization, I would say it is perfect."
"It's quite easy to manage and monitor."
 

Cons

"When referring to the help articles I found them not helpful. Support themselves understood my query but the resolution was not satisfactory."
"The integration should be made easier."
"Mobile device management could be improved. Through Google Cloud Identity, we can manage Android applications and have control over iOS devices, but container functionality is missing."
"If I were to suggest enhancements, it would mainly revolve around ensuring compatibility and maximizing integration options with various services."
"They are going ahead and adding a few more things to the Google Cloud premium edition. Their stock management and remote computer management can be improved."
"The solution's storage capacity could be increased."
"In Google, if we want support they are very slow to respond."
"Overall, I would give a zero out of 10 for Google's support. There is no easy way to navigate issues without paid consultation, making it quite frustrating."
"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."
"Technical support needs improvement."
"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 training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"There is room for improvement in AI technology for Microsoft Entra External ID, particularly in providing detailed alerts."
"The only problem that you might face with Microsoft now is their complex licensing model."
"The authentication methods available are very limited, and this presents a weak point."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is billed on a monthly basis depending on the number of users."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."
"We probably spend about $50,000 a year on licensing."
"The solution is not expensive."
"The licensing cost depends on the partners and the relationship between the company and the partners."
"When I worked on Cloud Identity, they offered a free or enterprise version. You can synchronize and create up to 100 user identities in the free version. After that, you have to purchase a business or enterprise license. In that model, you'll be charged based on the number of users."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"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
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also access to both Microsoft’s user community as well as around-the-clock customer s...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Identity?
It's crucial to monitor costs carefully, as there can be unexpected charges. I have been charged even when there was supposed to be free credit.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Identity?
If you are asking about room for improvement with Google Cloud Identity, whatever is there already, cost is the only problem. If you are comparing with GCP, OCI, the cost will be a little bit highe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
Microsoft is flexible in the pricing for the product, so I cannot say that it is expensive, but definitely they are flexible in the price lists and their ways of doing payments.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
Not really at the moment, but perhaps when we go deeper into using Microsoft Entra External ID, we may experience some things we may not prefer. However, up to now, we have not encountered anything...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
When I say identity, I mean Microsoft Entra External ID. We have been using Microsoft Entra External ID since the beginning of 2022. I am using it as a client. The purposes for using Microsoft Entr...
 

Also Known As

Cloud Identity, Cloud Identity Premium
Azure Active Directory External Identities
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ExtraHop Networks, HealthChannels
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Identity vs. Microsoft Entra External ID and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.