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Microsoft Active Directory vs SolarWinds Access Rights Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 9, 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

Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Active Directory Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (8th)
SolarWinds Access Rights Ma...
Ranking in Active Directory Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 6.2%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Access Rights Manager is 4.8%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Active Directory6.2%
SolarWinds Access Rights Manager4.8%
Other89.0%
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

Eko Kurniawan - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Operations & Security at veris
Has simplified credential management and improved secure access control across departments
The features I find most useful in Microsoft Active Directory are especially for the Single Sign-On. This is very useful for users, particularly if they have plenty of applications, such as tablet applications. When they log in to their computer, the application will automatically log in with their credentials. They don't need to remember another user and password to log in to the application because it's already maintained with Microsoft Active Directory using Single Sign-On. To assess the impact of Microsoft Active Directory's centralized domain management on security protocols and access permissions, Microsoft Active Directory itself has constraints with security because when we have a solution such as SSO or Single Sign-On, which makes it easier for users to log in, some parts have security openings. When their computer is compromised with a threat, malware, or other cyber threats, it becomes easier to enter the application without login permission.
Rafal-Stas - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Greeneris Sp. z o.o.
Has good pricing options and is easy to manage and deploy
It's pretty easy to manage, and quite easy to deploy. It's easy to understand to work, and customers also tell us that there are a lot of options even too many sometimes for them. Sometimes the product is even too big for them at the beginning. The product also has a good payload with pricing. That's why the customers choose this solution. The price and the quality and options have a good ratio.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is very user-friendly."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Active Directory is the group policies."
"These Group Policies provide enhancement, helping to reduce administrative overhead and enhance productivity."
"The ability for a single sign-on for applications."
"It is an all-in-one solution for cybersecurity and is available at a very low price."
"I advise consideration of this solution. The overall product rating is ten out of ten."
"It's pretty easy to manage, and quite easy to deploy."
"The solution can be used to audit the whole on-premises environment, including Active Directory, file servers, and other Microsoft services."
 

Cons

"Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months."
"In my experience, it's difficult to manage Microsoft Active Directory when the server is attacked by a threat or malware."
"The technical support team does not give prompt responses."
"In the solution, assigning permissions is complex, making it difficult to grant them at a granular level or to multiple users without templates or alternative tools."
"We may occasionally experience difficulty integrating some solutions with Microsoft Active Directory, but I am unsure whether the issue lies with Microsoft Active Directory or the other solution."
"The solution should maintain the infrastructure according to the period you are in and the security changes."
"Even better group management would be beneficial."
"Active Directory's user experience is a little dated. Group policy management should be more customizable."
"Configuring the solution with online services, like Microsoft Exchange Online, is difficult."
"The GUI could be improved because this GUI was invented ten years ago, and now we have a modern user interface. This GUI is a bit older than expected in this market."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Microsoft Active Directory could improve. We pay annually for the solution."
"We have to purchase a license for the solution."
"We purchase the license for the solution on a yearly basis."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
"Active Directory is built-in into Microsoft Windows 10. I'm not an administrator and would not be involved in purchasing decisions for new versions of the software. I have only used the client portion of it, I do not know if there is a cost to using the solution."
"The license per user can probably be reduced."
"Its price is reasonable."
"The pricing of the solution is fine. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The pricing of the solution is fine. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
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893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Performing Arts
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise20
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
The best way to protect this is to use Microsoft Defender. For Microsoft support for Microsoft Active Directory, I would rate it as eight. If I give it 10, it would be too perfect. Eight is fair. M...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
My main use cases for Microsoft Active Directory are to manage user access and credentials.
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Active Directory?
Regarding Microsoft Active Directory's integration with third-party applications, it depends on the requirements. It's not always linked or combined with Microsoft Active Directory. In my experienc...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Access Rights Manager?
First configuration may be difficult if you didn't deep dive into documentation. I recommend contacting some partners to help you deploy it in your environment.
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Access Rights Manager?
As an certified expert I'm deploying this solution on my test environment and provide live demo's for our clients. Mainly Solarwinds ARM is used to simplify work for administration by introducing m...
What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Access Rights Manager?
Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten. Nothing is perfect :D
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds ARM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Accenture, Emerson, Lockheed Martin, Nielsen, NTT
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Active Directory vs. SolarWinds Access Rights Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.