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Microsoft Entra ID vs Opal comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
1st
Ranking in Access Management
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
278
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (2nd), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
Opal
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
21st
Ranking in Access Management
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 16.6%, down from 24.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Opal is 1.0%, up from 0.6% 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 ID16.6%
Opal1.0%
Other82.4%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Stafin Jacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Practice Lead at Invoke
Identity has become our central gatekeeper and has provided secure single sign-on for all users
Microsoft Entra ID can improve by focusing more on new passwordless methods and becoming a primary adopter. One feature we would like to see is the ability to have security questions for password resets. I know the current capability is phasing out, so we do not have an alternative method yet. Customers who already use security questions require a smoother transition for that capability to be available. My experience with the deployment has had some challenges, particularly around the Microsoft MFA campaigns. The hardest part is moving users from a different MFA provider to the Microsoft MFA provider, as it ultimately depends on user activity. In large enterprises with numerous users across various geographies, this transition takes time. If there are ways to exert more control around that process, it would improve the situation.
Pranay Jain - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior software engineer at Simplify vms
Focused workdays have replaced doomscrolling and now reduce my daily screen time significantly
Opal can be improved in some ways. In the paid version, there are multiple features, but in the freemium version, there are fewer features. The blockage of the application can be more rigorous. Right now, if we play two to three games, then a math game or anything, we are able to remove that lock. It should be more rigorous in some manner, and for some applications, it should be more rigorous. Application-wise rigorousness should be introduced. The different modes are good, but they should be more customizable according to the person. The end goal should meet whatever the objective is, so if the person has used more than six hours, then it should remind the person frequently that this application has used this time and this is an application you should not use. It should give us a timer or some kind of notification that the person will not use it anymore.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID has had a high impact and a good impact on our secure access to the apps or resources in our environment."
"It has features that have definitely helped to improve our security posture."
"We haven't implemented permission identity management, but we plan to use it. Entitlement management and dynamic grouping of Microsoft 365 groups are features I enjoy. From an administrative perspective, we can now manage users from a single pane of glass, which enhances efficiency. MFA will improve the user experience and increase organizational efficiency."
"Microsoft Entra ID has provided my company with visibility into everything that is occurring regarding authentications for any application across all apps."
"The most important things of Azure Active Directory are the security and the facility to manage all the services and users. It is very easy to manage users and assign roles, permissions, and access. At the same time, it is a very secure environment. Microsoft takes security very seriously. They take care of all the security and all the factors to prevent any kind of data or information compromise."
"Every feature in Microsoft Entra ID plays a crucial role in overall security."
"I would rate Microsoft Entra ID a ten out of ten."
"Active Directory itself is the best feature it has. It also gives us a single pane of glass for managing user access."
"Opal has positively impacted my organization by reducing stress and increasing effectiveness for all our employees; it works better so all our employees have more time to sleep and they can investigate more."
"Previously, my phone usage was around nine hours and fifteen minutes or more, but it has significantly reduced to around six hours and thirty minutes to seven hours, meaning two and a half to three hours has been reduced after using Opal as my primary screen time blocker."
 

Cons

"One challenge with Entra ID is its complexity, stemming from integrating many components into a single solution."
"When it comes to identity and access life cycle management for applications that are run on-premises, as well as access governance, if those kinds of capabilities could be built into Azure Active Directory, that would be good."
"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."
"Entra ID is not battle-tested or stable enough to support a business of our size. There are some design issues specifically around support for legacy services."
"Microsoft's biggest challenge is the documentation."
"I'm not satisfied with technical support. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 2."
"In my opinion, Microsoft sometimes releases products too early without providing enough documentation. Our team works with innovative solutions like verified ID, identity governance ,and lifecycle workflow. When we started with lifecycle workflows, we had only two integrated worklows. Still, we couldn't find much of the information we needed in the documentation about our use case or how to leverage IDs in our proof of concept."
"Microsoft is working with Microsoft Identity Manager for Active Directory on-premise. It will be very important to have these identity management solutions directly in Azure Active Directory. It's very important to have some kind of Azure identity manager as a technology for identity and access management for working both in the cloud and inside the Azure suite."
"Opal can be improved in some ways."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing costs are yearly. There is a standard fee per user."
"I think we're on the E3 — I think it was about 35 dollars per user."
"It comes free with the Microsoft account. We have a yearly agreement, and all products are covered under it."
"The price of the solution was reasonable."
"I am not involved in the pricing or licensing, so I can't speak to that."
"It's really affordable."
"Active Directory is bundled with a package of Microsoft services, so it doesn't cost much. I don't know about the individual license of Active Directory."
"Its price is per user. It is also based on the type of user that you're synchronizing up there."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business90
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise162
No data available
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
I would rate the pricing of the product as four out of five. The product is definitely good, and I see it as part of the future roadmap for managing all endpoints.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I believe instead of putting everything in a single form under Microsoft Entra ID, it would be best for Microsoft to segregate these features. For example, if someone wants to design the Conditiona...
What needs improvement with Opal?
Opal can be improved in some ways. In the paid version, there are multiple features, but in the freemium version, there are fewer features. The blockage of the application can be more rigorous. Rig...
What is your primary use case for Opal?
The main use case of Opal for me is to reduce my screen time during my work hours, during my wake-up time, and during my sleeping time to improve my focus and feasibility towards my work and my act...
 

Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. Opal and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.