Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Entra ID Governance comparison

Microsoft Entra ID vs. Microsoft Entra ID Governance

April 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 851,604 peers since 2012

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 ID

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

234

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)

Microsoft Entra ID Governance

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

15th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 28.1%, down from 28.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID Governance is 1.5%, 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)

Featured Reviews

Bahram Piri

Chief Executive Officer & Founder at IDmelon Technologies

Security focus and seamless implementation increase platform productivity

Microsoft Entra ID can be improved in many ways, and there's a big wish list.If we're focusing on security, something that I definitely expect is improvement in the UI and UX for frontline workers. This is important, especially for non-tech savvy individuals. It is something Microsoft Entra ID could do to improve for a wider audience. It's important to focus on the frontline workers since they are non-tech savvy individuals. They are not like those back-office engineering C-level employees who are constantly dealing with computers, and we need to build a specific user experience and user interface for them to handle this stuff. That's something I expect Microsoft to focus on more for Microsoft Entra ID.

Read full review

William Kox

Azure Architect at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees

Great policies and timelines for streamlined compliance

There are some areas where improvements are necessary. Even though we have almost the full package, there are some bugs. I cannot directly perform some tasks from the portal. First, I have to go to the policy, change it, and then return to the package to add it. I cannot do it directly from the package. Workarounds are needed, so that can be improved. At the moment, that is the only issue we are facing that needs enhancement.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration with all Microsoft services and external applications is crucial. Microsoft Entra ID has helped the company with user identities, user device management, and endpoint management. Integration capabilities are significant."

"It also has features that help improve security posture. The most important of these features include multifactor authentication, which is very useful for connecting to the organization, especially from outside the boundaries of the organization. That is very helpful when it comes to user security."

"It has given us the ability to be able to establish single sign-on identities in which we can establish credentials no matter where we are, whether it is on-premises or in the cloud, in a hybrid cloud, or in an additional connection from another cloud where we share equipment or host."

"Two very important features in terms of security are governance and compliance through the Conditional Access policies and Azure Log Analytics."

"The most valuable feature is Conditional Access, and we use it extensively."

"Microsoft Entra ID deserves a ten out of ten rating."

"Installation is straightforward. It only took a couple of hours to set everything up."

"The product is easy to use."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

"Access reviews are an essential feature of Entra Governance. Additionally, privileged identity management is one of its most valuable features. Just-in-time access, or Jet GIT, is integral to this system. Moreover, user behavior analytics stands out as one of its top features."

"It is compliant with our RVRT and CSV guidelines."

"The platform's most valuable feature is the single sign-on service."

"The solution is fully scalable, supporting everything from small companies to large enterprises."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Entra ID Governance is access reviews."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Entra ID Governance for identity management is multi-factor authentication."

"I am very happy with the solution."

"The solution gives me the capability to automatically move guest accounts from the tenant without any manual intervention."

More Microsoft Entra ID Governance pros

Cons

"Customers want to know exactly where they are spending their money, allowing them to assess and potentially save money in those specific areas."

"The downside is that we now have all our eggs in one basket with Microsoft. We have this great authentication and single sign-on, but if Microsoft has an outage in North America or globally, on Outlook or Teams, we're dead in the water... We get some type of hiccup once a quarter."

"Entra could be improved by enhancing self-service options for end users, such as making password reset options more accessible. This would simplify the user experience for end users."

"Reading documentation could be simplified. Technical support could also be faster."

"The Cloud Provisioning Agent cannot provision a lot of the information that AD Connect does. For starters, the lightweight version cannot synchronize device information. If you have computers on-premises, the information about them will not be synchronized by the Cloud Provisioning Agent. In addition, if you have a user on the cloud and he changes his password, that information should be written back to the on-premises instance. But that workflow cannot be done with the lightweight agent. It can only be done with the more robust version."

"It would be awesome to have a feature where you can see the permissions of a user in all their Azure subscriptions. Right now, you have to select a user, then you have to select the subscription to see which permissions the user has in their selected subscriptions. Sometimes, you just want to know, "Does that user have any permissions in any subscriptions?" That would be awesome if that would be available via the portal."

"The frequent changes in branding cause confusion among customers who struggle to keep track of product names and functions."

"Everything should be in one package. There are so many different packages. They need to provide guidance because there are so many features and we don't know how to implement them in our organization."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

"One area for improvement in Microsoft Entra ID Governance could be providing more granular control over security policies."

"The solution lacks the feature to work well with third-party applications."

"Even though we have almost the full package, there are some bugs."

"The product's workflow approval process needs improvement."

"Microsoft Entra ID Governance should improve its capability to manage identities and access from a single console."

"Microsoft Entra ID Governance is relatively new, and some features require more development. For example, when creating user access review campaigns, we can't specify the time to send emails to reviewers—only the date."

"The platform's configuration process needs improvement."

"Microsoft has done a commendable job with RPAX. However, Microsoft should prioritize enhancing its ABAC (Attribute-Based Access Control) capabilities. Currently, Microsoft's ABAC offering falls behind AWS in comparison."

More Microsoft Entra ID Governance cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of Azure AD is one of the biggest benefits, as it is available for use free of charge when you start with Office 365."

"It's relatively inexpensive in comparison with third-party solutions. It's highly available and supported by Microsoft Azure in our enterprise agreements. With the addition of their B2C tenants, it's hard to beat from a cost perspective now."

"The price of Azure Active Directory and Amazon AWS, are almost the same, but most people prefer Amazon AWS because they find it's a little cheaper to some extent and an easier platform to use."

"The price is affordable, and we pay around $100 per month."

"I'm not sure about the specific costs or how they're calculated, but essentially, the costs go up based on the level of security that is required by the organization."

"Licenses are based on the usage. There is no cap. It's based on the number of users we provision."

"Be sure: You know your userbase, e.g., how many users you have. You choose the right license and model that suit your business requirements."

"The product is relatively affordable, especially compared to Okta, a pricey solution."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

"While other products give the pricing for their application, Microsoft Entra ID Governance has a per-user-based license model."

"There are no additional costs besides the standard licensing fees."

"The solution's pricing is not low but reasonable."

"In the education sector where I work, the annual cost for my Google and Microsoft environments is approximately $35,000. This covers the needs of 3,400 students and 800 faculty and staff members."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

28%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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 do you like most about Azure Active Directory?

It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. We can easily do third-party multifactor authentication.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?

Regarding pricing, for the services we receive, it seems within the market range and about average.

What do you like most about Microsoft Entra ID Governance?

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Entra ID Governance is access reviews.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra ID Governance?

Microsoft Entra ID Governance ( /categories/grc ) is relatively new, and some features require more development. For example, when creating user access review campaigns, we can't specify the time t...

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra ID Governance?

I am using Microsoft Entra ID Governance ( /products/microsoft-entra-id-governance-reviews ) to integrate with our system. We control the joiner, mover, and leaver processes to enable auto provisio...

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Comparisons

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 10% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 8% of the time

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Cognito vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Microsoft Entra ID Governance

Compared 73% of the time

Tenable Cloud Security vs Microsoft Entra ID Governance

Compared 8% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Governance Competitors

Product Reports

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Microsoft Entra ID

May 2025

Microsoft Entra ID Governance

May 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID Governance product report

Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Overview

Microsoft Entra ID is used for extending on-premises Active Directory to the cloud, managing application access, enabling multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on. It facilitates policy enforcement and secure access, ensuring centralized identity management across cloud and on-premises resources.

Organizations utilize Microsoft Entra ID for robust user and group management, identity synchronization, and conditional access. Its seamless integration with third-party apps, scalability, and support for remote work make it a preferred choice. The admin center streamlines identity and access tasks, enhancing efficiency and security with features like privileged identity management and audit logs.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Single Sign-On: Simplifies user access to multiple applications with one login.
Multifactor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring additional verification.
Conditional Access: Establishes policies that determine how users' access cloud apps.
Integration: Easily integrates with various third-party applications.
User Identity Protection: Safeguards user identities from threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Manages elevated access to sensitive resources.
Audit Logs: Provides thorough activity logs for oversight and compliance.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Entra ID reviews?

Enhanced Security: Offers strong multifactor authentication and identity protection.
Administrative Efficiency: Simplifies identity and access management tasks.
Scalability: Supports growing user bases and remote work environments.
Integration Capabilities: Compatible with numerous third-party applications.
User-Friendly Interface: Makes managing user identities straightforward.

Microsoft Entra ID implementation varies across industries. Tech firms leverage it for secure, scalable access management, while healthcare organizations utilize its identity protection features to safeguard patient data. Educational institutions adopt Entra ID for streamlined user management and policy enforcement, ensuring secure access for students and staff across on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft Entra ID Governance empowers organizations with advanced identity management, security enforcement, and seamless access management across environments, offering robust multi-factor authentication and audit capabilities.

Microsoft Entra ID Governance provides comprehensive identity and security management through features like single sign-on and privileged identity management. It enhances user management with user behavior analytics, entitlement management, and access reviews while integrating on-premises solutions with cloud services like Office 365. By ensuring secure access and resource protection within Azure, organizations manage access, automate user access rules, and govern external identities effectively.

What features make Microsoft Entra ID Governance stand out?

Audit Trail Capabilities: Thorough tracking for security compliance.
Multi-Factor Authentication: Enhanced protection across platforms.
Single Sign-On: Efficient management across different systems.
Privileged Identity Management: Control just-in-time access with analytics.
Entitlement Management: Automate guest account management.

What benefits should users look for in reviews of Microsoft Entra ID Governance?

Enhanced Security: Strong authentication and auditing for secure environments.
Efficient User Management: Streamlined access processes through SSO.
Unified Identity Solutions: Integration with cloud and on-premises platforms.
Automated Access Rules: Reduced manual oversight with automation.

Financial services utilize Microsoft Entra ID Governance to protect sensitive data while automating user access rules and managing compliance. In education, it facilitates user account management and access provisioning for students and faculty, ensuring secure collaboration through Exchange and Teams.

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.

Information Not Available