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Microsoft Entra External ID vs Microsoft Entra Workload 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

Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
10th
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (5th)
Microsoft Entra Workload ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
20th
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
30th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra Workload ID is 0.8%, up from 0.2% 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 ID1.8%
Microsoft Entra Workload ID0.8%
Other97.4%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

FS
Consultant at Artifield
Offers strong identity unification but needs better customization
Microsoft Entra External ID can be improved with additional features, specifically customizable flexibility and a customizable user interface for the login dialog. Currently, the login dialog has very limited customization options, which only include font styles, colors, text messages, or brand icons. Last month, Entra ID introduced some customizable features in their login dialog, but this does not apply to Microsoft Entra External ID, indicating a significant gap between the two. In theory, Entra External ID can support many external identity providers where custom login dialogs could be integrated, potentially via SSO feature coordination, although I have not yet confirmed this. Hence, enhanced customizable login options and the ability to use attribute password logins are critical features that are required for Microsoft Entra External ID to gain dominance in the authentication market.
reviewer2772159 - PeerSpot reviewer
Postdoctoral Researcher at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Have experienced ongoing challenges integrating with existing workflows despite strong foundational capabilities
I don't know how I would assess the impact of AI-powered threat detection for us. It has helped with security operations in general; I'm being very cagey here, Damian. You can understand why. Where I work, there is a directory services team. There is a security team. The security team may have several different departments in there. I think they are behind the times. That's about as far as what I would say. We may have the modern firewalls and detections and all the rest of it, but I think from a modern way of working, which the identity is a user which is any device, any place, anywhere, from anything, okay, securely, they're not quite up with that concept, in my opinion. The review rating is 8.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Entra External ID is more secure, offering a secure environment."
"The most beneficial feature for us is the ease of setup. With about five clicks, we can generate unique IDs and keys and set up in less than 30 minutes. We can also generate these for multiple years simultaneously, which is convenient."
"I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID."
"The positive impact of Microsoft Entra External ID on my organization is that it enhances ease of use for the administrative side."
"Primarily Microsoft Entra External ID SSO is valuable as it works with everything when it comes to integration."
"For policy management in my organization, I would say it is perfect."
"It's quite easy to manage and monitor."
"The times that I have gone into it, I found it easy to use and I haven't had any issues with it."
"The product enables organizations to synchronize users to Microsoft 365 products."
"I would evaluate the customer service or technical support with Microsoft for Entra products as well; we are a strategic partner, so we're one of 500 companies that can talk to them directly."
"We have various options available with Microsoft Entra, such as B2B cross-tenant guest member accesses, and we can invite users and perform activities from that area, while we are also dealing with Azure IaaS, infrastructure as a service, which has different IAM platforms existing with resources or subscriptions."
 

Cons

"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
"I would like to see faster synchronization."
"The support engineers are not as skilled as our engineers. When they say something would not work, or there is no solution, we usually hear that Microsoft would not support this."
"The problem with Microsoft products is that they often cater to enterprise-level needs, which can be too costly for medium-sized businesses."
"Technical support needs improvement."
"There is room for improvement in AI technology for Microsoft Entra External ID, particularly in providing detailed alerts."
"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"Microsoft Entra External ID isn't a complete cloud-based account solution, as it must handle internal employees and collaborate with internal Active Directory."
"In my opinion, Microsoft Entra Workload ID can be improved in several ways."
"Integration with existing IAM solutions has not helped our identity management processes; it's all of the things that are in front of Directory and Entra, such as SalePoint and other toolsets, give us one of the worst identity experiences I think I've ever come across, which is why I'm trying to change it."
"Integration with other products must be made easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
In my opinion, Microsoft Entra Workload ID can be improved in several ways.Particularly about Microsoft Entra Workload ID, I think they still could improve categorization, which still has some room...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
I'm a consultant and not using the products myself, but rather in a capacity more as a consultant or reseller.I am not familiar with remote access products by ManageEngine. I do not use ManageEngin...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
I'm working on that area while still looking for a new solution or already using ManageEngine Password Manager or Microsoft Entra ID.I've been dealing both with ManageEngine and Microsoft. I am mos...
 

Also Known As

Azure Active Directory External Identities
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra External ID vs. Microsoft Entra Workload ID and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.