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Microsoft Entra ID vs Yubico YubiKey comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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 Entra ID
Ranking in Authentication Systems
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
236
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
Yubico YubiKey
Ranking in Authentication Systems
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (3rd), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 12.9%, down from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Yubico YubiKey is 7.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra ID12.9%
Yubico YubiKey7.9%
Other79.2%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Bahram Piri - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
OmerKhan1 - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution that is efficient, user-friendly, and easy to use
It would be better if the product can come up with a serial number for the keys. It would be nice if they had a numbering system as a configuration identity that would help the IT and technical teams to identify the keys because they look all the same. It would be more like putting a tag on them.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features of Microsoft Entra ID that I find most valuable include the ability to define service principles and assign permissions."
"It is great for mom-and-pop shops or small businesses that are truly coming into the enterprise ecosystem and that have not come from a legacy environment."
"Every feature in Microsoft Entra ID plays a crucial role in overall security."
"We have a complex scenario with several applications, and we're trying to achieve SSO for most of our applications, but some of our legacy applications don't support SSO or modern protocols. Our core applications are ready for SSO or to be federated. We've centralized our authentication process using Entra ID, so we can collect sign-offs from the users and filter using conditional access."
"Microsoft Entra ID efficiently responds to numerous requests, and we have not faced significant connectivity issues, making it reliable."
"Azure Active Directory provides access to resources in a very secure manner. We can detect which user is logging in to access resources on the cloud. It gives us a comprehensive audit trace in terms of from where a user signed in and whether a sign-in is a risky sign-in or a normal sign-in. So, there is a lot of security around the access to resources, which helps us in realizing that a particular sign-in is not a normal sign-in. If a sign-in is not normal, Azure Active Directory automatically blocks it for us and sends us an email, and unless we allow that user, he or she won't be able to log in. So, the User Identity Protection feature is the most liked feature for me in Azure Active Directory."
"The user functionality enables us to provide different levels of access, across many applications, for each user. We can customize the access level and set a security level in connection with that access. For instance, we can require MFA. That is a feature that helps enhance our security posture a lot."
"The security and compliance features are very helpful. The online information on the site is well documented."
"The solution is simple to use and we have installed it in our clients' endpoints. The tool is just plug-and-play for the end user. The end user can just put in the key to the security computer and log in without any hassle. The solution is efficient, user-friendly, and easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
"It's small and lightweight. Like a phone, it doesn't run out of battery. It also doesn't have to be unlocked. It doesn't break. Moreover, they're very durable and it's very convenient."
"YubiKey is a hardware security device with advanced security features."
"Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones."
 

Cons

"An area where there is room for improvement is the ease of use of the dashboards."
"The frequent changes in branding cause confusion among customers who struggle to keep track of product names and functions."
"When you start to deal with legacy applications, provisioning is not as intuitive."
"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."
"In terms of stability, sometimes the more applications you integrate, the more it becomes a little bit unstable."
"The solution could be improved when it comes to monitoring and logging as these are the most critical areas in case something was to go wrong."
"At the free or basic level of service, Azure should provide identity protection features including single sign-on and multifactor authentication."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"It would be better if the product can come up with a serial number for the keys. It would be nice if they had a numbering system as a configuration identity that would help the IT and technical teams to identify the keys because they look all the same. It would be more like putting a tag on them."
"Yubico YubiKey is inconvient. No one likes the idea of having to put a USB device into the system, having to remember to take it out, and having passwords. It may be very good for security but it is not great for people to use."
"It's a hardware device, so it isn't cost-effective to use for all your accounts. You might have a hard time getting budget approval. It's better to take a strategic approach and use it only for critical accounts. You can use other forms of authentication for the rest."
"Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India."
"Currently, an area where the product lacks is in addressing service needs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I work for an academic medical center, where there is a watch kept over every dollar spent. I do have concerns about the micro charges for different levels or features of the product."
"We have various levels of their licensing, which includes users on different levels of their enterprise offering."
"Microsoft is so expensive. You know it is expensive when a Fortune 100 company like ours is complaining about the cost. That has been a big thing for me. When I really want to use an Azure service, it is very hard for me to justify the cost, especially with Microsoft support."
"The pricing for Azure Active Directory is affordable; I would rate the cost a six out of ten."
"The pricing depends on the use case and can be negotiated based on volume."
"The price is affordable, and we pay around $100 per month."
"The price of the solution was reasonable."
"Microsoft Entra ID service can be quite costly due to its hidden expenses linked to usage."
"We paid 100 bucks for one Yubikey."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business80
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise132
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 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?
Our experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID involves leveraging Microsoft 365 E5 licensing, so it's included. Being included in Microsoft licensing makes it mu...
What needs improvement with Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India. In India, administrators typically have control over all security devices, bu...
What is your primary use case for Yubico YubiKey?
I primarily use Yubico YubiKey ( /products/yubico-yubikey-reviews ) for authentication in environments such as Active Directory, cloud administration, trading room, and dealing room where phones ar...
What advice do you have for others considering Yubico YubiKey?
From an individual perspective, no improvements are required for Yubico YubiKey. However, at a corporate or enterprise level, a central control mechanism is necessary, which is currently lacking in...
 

Also Known As

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

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.
Google Inc., Salesforce, Novartis, Facebook, GitHub, CERN, Duke University, Code Enigma, Luther Burbank High School, ZorgSaam, Agfa, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Dyson Ltd, Portugal Telecom, Boral, Canonical Ltd
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. Yubico YubiKey and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.