Microsoft Entra ID vs Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) comparison

Microsoft and Broadcom are both solutions in the Access Management category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while Broadcom is ranked #27. Microsoft holds a 15.1% mindshare in AM, compared to Broadcom’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution.

Microsoft Entra ID

Read 273 Microsoft Entra ID reviews

26,383 Views
7,651 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Symantec Zero Trust Network...

Read 1 Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) review

1,170 Views
468 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra ID

Symantec Zero Trust Network...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Entra ID and Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Okta, Cisco and others in Access Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Access Management Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Access Management

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 884,933 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 Access Management

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

273

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)

Symantec Zero Trust Network...

Ranking in Access Management

27th

Average Rating

0.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

ZTNA as a Service (20th), ZTNA (18th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 15.1%, down from 27.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Access Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID	15.1%
Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)	1.4%
Other	83.5%

Access Management

Featured Reviews

Stafin Jacob

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.

Read full review

cto543714

CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Restricts access to applications but improvement is needed in integrations

Over the last year, I have been working with customers because it's changing and maturing. These things are rolled out in segments and chunks, not all at once. Additional internal work is often required to make it functional, such as properly configuring the active directory. This internal work can take up to three months. The process varies, and implementing Symantec ZTNA quickly is not realistic. I wouldn't recommend the tool to non-core customers because you won't get the support you need. I'd rate Symantec ZTNA a seven on a scale of one to ten. They're still integrating different pieces into their solution. The challenge with ZTNA is that different companies implement it slightly differently, with some features present in one product but missing in another. ZTNA is a tricky acronym that companies use, but when you look closely, you find that each vendor might only have some of the expected features.

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 fact that it's an ecosystem in itself is probably the best one."

"The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID has made my secure access to apps or resources in my environment more seamless."

"The identity and access management piece is probably the most valuable to us."

"Don't delay implementing this solution, it's the best thing you can do for your identity protection."

"The features of Microsoft Entra ID that I appreciate the most include the incredible value we have found in the MFA piece along with Conditional Access."

"The most valuable features of this solution are definitely the authorization and authentication, and the rule-based user validation."

"The security features are great. They will report in advance to you in the case of suspicious activity."

"The most valuable feature is the factor identification. I find that it is natural integration, and it is just a natural step. I do not need to do anything else."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

"The most valuable feature of this product is restricting and controlling what people have access to. If I want a contractor to connect to my network, I can give them access to only the specific things they need without giving them full VPN access to my entire network. That's the main benefit everyone gets from it. The value depends on how many users and applications you have and what you want to share."

Cons

"The ability to manage and authenticate against on-premises solutions would be beneficial."

"Something that I definitely expect is improvement in the UI and UX for frontline workers, especially for non-tech savvy individuals."

"The technical support can be confusing - if you're looking for something very specific, it can be hard to get the right answer or a solution."

"I believe it can also be integrated into other Microsoft products, as well as more integrations with other solutions."

"My understanding is, in the future, they will be able to bring everything into one single platform and they are not there yet."

"The implementation of other third-party MFA such as Okta or Duo could be improved, even though Duo is integratable. The response from actual support tickets is a bit laggy, and I would like them to be more responsive."

"The thing that is a bit annoying is the inability to nest groups. Because we run an Azure hybrid model, we have nested groups on-premise which does not translate well. So, we have written some scripts to kind of work around that. This is a feature request that we have put in previously to be able to use a group that is nested in Active Directory on-premise and have it handled the same way in Azure."

"Currently, Microsoft Entra ID is a pretty service. It could benefit from implementing a specific large language model instead of LDAP queries to find resources and implementation details in one comprehensive scoop."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

"For areas of improvement, the main issue is with integrations. The Symantec ZTNA comprises many products cobbled together on the back end. Sometimes, the integrations work well; sometimes, they don't. For example, if you want to use two-factor authentication, you need to integrate that into the solution. Or if you want to accept protocols other than web coming to your secure gateway, that's another integration. Supporting different devices like Macs, Samsung phones, or iPhones also requires more integrations. Ensuring all these integrations work properly is an ongoing process and a moving target."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are working with the Premium P2 licenses, which are reasonable. If you invest in the on-premises environment setup, then it costs so much. However, on-prem AD gives you the ability to manage your organization in a very organized manner, where you can create a group policy."

"As a nonprofit, we have A5 licenses for nonprofits in education, so we at least have some reduced costs."

"I don't pay for it. Going by how I feel, I see the prices for any MFA solution going down because the more different alternatives there are, the cheaper things should be. Microsoft Authenticator app would be the preferred application, but there are too many ways to implement MFA. I don't know how much it cost, but the price should go down."

"We are always looking for better pricing."

"Microsoft Azure AD has P1 or P2 licensing options, and it depends on the customer's needs. To use Conditional Access, you need to have the P1 license, and to use the PIN features, you need the P2 license."

"I think we're on the E3 — I think it was about 35 dollars per user."

"Microsoft has a free version of Azure AD. So, if you don't do a lot of advanced features, then you can use the free version, which is no cost at all because it is underpinning Office 365. Because Microsoft gives it to you as a SaaS, so there are no infrastructure costs whatsoever that you need to incur. If you use the free version, then it is free. If you use the advanced features (that we use), it is a license fee per user."

"It is very expensive. Its price should be lower. Price is the most important factor for Turkish people."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

"Pricing varies depending on the situation. In competitive situations, it's usually priced competitively. Nobody pays the full MSRP. Typically, you negotiate and work with them on the pricing."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Access Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	88
Midsize Enterprise	39
Large Enterprise	159

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...

See all answers

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

My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID is that it is decent.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?

I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)?

Pricing varies depending on the situation. In competitive situations, it's usually priced competitively. Nobody pays the full MSRP. Typically, you negotiate and work with them on the pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)?

For areas of improvement, the main issue is with integrations. The Symantec ZTNA comprises many products cobbled together on the back end. Sometimes, the integrations work well; sometimes, they don...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)?

The solution helps to allow access only to what is explicitly needed. This means restricting access to specific applications rather than providing broad access to multiple resources, some of which ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 22% of the time

Okta Platform vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 4% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 4% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Compared 15% of the time

Portnox vs Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Compared 14% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Compared 9% of the time

Okta Platform vs Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Compared 8% of the time

Axis Security vs Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Compared 3% of the time

More Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

March 2026

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Buyer's Guide

Access Management

March 2026

Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) report

Download Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) product report

Also Known As

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

Symantec Secure Access Cloud, Luminate.io, Luminate

Interactive Demo

Microsoft

Demo not available

Broadcom

Overview

Microsoft Entra ID is an advanced identity and access management service offering seamless single sign-on, multifactor authentication, and centralized user access across applications, enhancing security and efficiency for organizations transitioning to cloud-based environments.

Recognized for its centralized management, Microsoft Entra ID significantly boosts organizational security by integrating features such as conditional access and identity protection. It supports a wide array of applications, facilitating a secure transition from on-premises to scalable cloud environments. By adopting robust security measures and flexible identity management, organizations can streamline operations and ensure consistent user experiences. However, challenges like confusing licensing costs, outdated documentation, and limited integration with non-Microsoft applications persist. Enhancements in technical support, interface design, and more granular permissions are needed to address these issues effectively.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Seamless Single Sign-On: Allows users to access multiple applications with one set of credentials.
Multifactor Authentication: Adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple forms of verification.
Conditional Access: Provides adaptive policies to ensure the right access under the right conditions.
Identity Protection: Detects and responds to potential vulnerabilities and threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Controls and monitors access to critical resources.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Microsoft Entra ID?

Enhanced Security: Protects against unauthorized access and data breaches.
Operational Efficiency: Centralizes identity management to reduce administrative tasks.
Scalability: Supports growth by accommodating evolving IT environments.
Cost Management: Facilitates cost control through centralized systems and automated processes.

In healthcare, Microsoft Entra ID facilitates secure patient record access and compliance with industry regulations. Financial institutions rely on it for robust security measures in safeguarding client data. In the education sector, it streamlines access to online resources for students and faculty. Global enterprises benefit from its ability to manage complex identity frameworks across multiple regions, ensuring reliable security amidst increasing cyber threats.

Microsoft

Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), revolutionizes remote access security for enterprise applications. By replacing traditional VPNs with secure, temporary connections solely to required applications, it significantly reduces the attack surface, mitigating the risk of data breaches. Whether accessing cloud-based or on-premises applications, Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) ensures robust security through continuous authentication and authorization, adhering to the Zero Trust principle of "never trust, always verify." This solution not only enhances security by reducing unauthorized access but also simplifies access for users while offering scalability and cost savings by eliminating the need for complex hardware and software. Tailored for organizations with remote workforces, cloud-based applications, and stringent data security concerns, Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) stands as an efficient and scalable access control solution among its competitors.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

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

NEX, AIG, Fiverr, Upwork

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Okta, Cisco and others in Access Management. Updated: March 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Access Management vendors.

We monitor all Access Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.