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Microsoft Active Directory vs Ping Identity Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.8
Microsoft Active Directory offers high ROI, efficient user access control, and centralized management, enhancing organizational productivity and cost-effectiveness.
Sentiment score
7.4
Ping Identity Platform simplifies identity management, lowers IT overhead, enhances security, improves efficiency, boosts satisfaction, and offers scalability.
The solution is really time-saving since I don't need to create users in each server or system manually, and user access control is streamlined.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Microsoft Active Directory support varies, with slow responses, costly premium help, mixed experiences, and reliance on external resources.
Sentiment score
6.6
Ping Identity Platform's customer service is timely and knowledgeable, though occasionally slow for complex issues; self-help resources are commended.
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
I have reached out to technical support for troubleshooting SAML certificate mismatches and federated errors between Ping and enterprise apps.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Active Directory scales well for small and large businesses, with Azure suggested for extreme scalability and integration ease.
Sentiment score
7.5
Ping Identity Platform offers adaptable scalability and performance, varying by configuration, environment, and server setup for different user needs.
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Active Directory is stable and reliable, with high satisfaction despite minor bugs and occasional patch issues.
Sentiment score
7.9
Ping Identity Platform is stable and reliable, with minor integration challenges and manageable issues, rated 8-10 for stability.
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
 

Room For Improvement

Active Directory needs a user-friendly interface, better integration, security upgrades, and improved cloud synchronization for enhanced usability.
Ping Identity Platform needs enhanced authentication, integration, and user interface improvements for better security and user adoption.
Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't.
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates.
I would like to enable ServiceNow Generative AI for auto-diagnosing PingFederate SSO failures and suggest remediation steps.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Active Directory offers affordable licensing, often bundled, with Azure cloud reducing costs by eliminating server fees.
Ping Identity Platform offers flexible annual pricing, appealing for large enterprises, valued for security and efficiency over competitors.
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing with Microsoft Active Directory is straightforward; you just buy the server and then have to buy the user CALs.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Active Directory offers seamless Azure integration, user-friendly management, and scalability, enhancing network efficiency and usability for large organizations.
Ping Identity Platform offers robust security with multi-factor authentication, seamless integrations, and customizable single sign-on for enhanced connectivity.
Having active deployment and well-configured systems helps me manage tasks and easily oversee thousands of users.
I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place.
One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs.
The platform enhances security measures by analyzing multi-factor authentication attempts, highlighting suspicious patterns, and generating compliance reports.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (5th)
Ping Identity Platform
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (7th), Data Governance (8th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (5th), Access Management (3rd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (2nd), Directory Servers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 3.2%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ping Identity Platform is 7.8%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

Featured Reviews

Roberta Politano - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good authentication features
The solution's group policy is a normal way to deploy configuration and helps deploy to a wider environment. The solution is deployed both on-premises and on the cloud. I would recommend the solution to other users based on their infrastructure. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
MAHESHKUMAR7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers multi-factor authentication and application support side of PingFederate but application only supports specific protocols
A lot of teams work with technical support, but I work with it for user issues only. You might need support with things like application swaps, application names, and application URLs. I didn't know where to find those in Ping Identity, so I contacted technical support for those issues. The support team is very clever and active. They provide end-to-end support once an issue is created. I have worked with most of the support team. I also work with the support team because I work with the operations team. I provide 24/7 support to production and non-production environments. I coordinate with application and network teams to troubleshoot critical tickets and issues related to Ping Identity solutions.
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860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
Technology is evolving. AI is offering solutions. However, short-term fixes are like band-aids.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
I utilize it in almost every scenario. I use the Hazer database and meet daily needs across every industry, every time.
What do you like most about PingID?
The mobile biometric authentication option improved user experience. It's always about security because, with two-factor authentication, it's always a separate device verifying the actual user logg...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PingID?
The pricing is neither too expensive nor too cheap.
What needs improvement with PingID?
The management console needs to be improved. PingID should revise it.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Ping Identity (ID), PingFederate, PingAccess, PingOne, PingDataGovernance, PingDirectory, OpenDJ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Equinix, Land O'Lakes, CDPHP, Box, International SOS, Opower, VSP, Chevron, Truist, Academy of Art University, Northern Air Cargo, Repsol
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Active Directory vs. Ping Identity Platform and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.