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Okta Platform vs Salesforce Identity comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

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

Okta Platform
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (2nd), Authentication Systems (4th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (3rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (2nd), Access Management (2nd), ZTNA as a Service (4th), AI IT Support (2nd)
Salesforce Identity
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Identity (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of Okta Platform is 15.5%, up from 12.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Identity is 2.5%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Okta Platform15.5%
Salesforce Identity2.5%
Other82.0%
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

Featured Reviews

SN
Identity and Access Management Specialist at a university with 10,001+ employees
Automated lifecycle management has cut onboarding times and now drives secure, clean access
Although I am a fan of Okta Platform overall, there are areas where it could improve security outcomes and reduce admin friction. My top improvement areas include the system log and analytics upgrade, which are great for point troubleshooting, but trending and root cause analysis across large tenants still require exporting to SIEM. Verbose queries and long-range retention costs can add up. Additionally, while certificate rotations are better than most, the process is still manual for busy portfolios, especially concerning multi-SP SAML certificate rotations and app metadata drift. Two more buckets of potential improvements for Okta Platform involve user experience and security. There is the issue of push fatigue and prompt sprawl, where users receive multiple prompts across different apps and sessions. I arrived at the rating of eight because the core controls are strong and reliable, but a few operational UX and UI gaps prevent it from being rated higher. The reasons for not giving it a nine or ten include ongoing issues concerning safety and change safety, the complexity of group rules and mappings, and the lack of robustness in policy management. Additionally, there remains a need for more manual involvement than necessary, especially for large portfolios and dual certificate rotation, along with proactive SP data metadata validation.
NavinJacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Digital Officer at Cipher7
Structured operations and analytics have transformed how my teams manage customers and sales
I see room for improvement regarding financial operations and FinOps. If they are not being controlled correctly, Salesforce billings can get huge. They charge for everything: license costs, storage costs, and transaction costs, and it can really end up blowing budgets if it is not controlled. Those controls should be something that is easy to manage. With Salesforce, it is pretty difficult to manage unless you are a very advanced user. Normal regular users may not be able to keep the costs in control. This ends up resulting in bill shocks where you suddenly receive a bill which you may not be expecting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable functions are Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)."
"It's easy to use and straightforward."
"I think all the functions of the solution are vital and important because life cycle management is important for some companies. The Single Sign-On feature is fantastic for different customers and advanced server access is really good for access to the servers."
"I find the provisioning features and the integration with other applications useful."
"It's reliable and it does what it is advertised to do."
"Okta Platform is the gold standard when it comes to identity providers and the single sign-on experience."
"The positive impact I have seen from using Okta Platform is that it makes it easier for new joiners to get birthright access and have users added based on department or employee type."
"Okta Platform has positively impacted our organization because our staff can connect to all tools and applications we use from a single location, which has saved us time."
"The best features of Salesforce Platform that I appreciate are that it is very configurable and easy for both developers as well as customers to use."
"The single sign-on feature of Salesforce Identity enhances our organization's security posture overall."
"The most valuable features are the pipeline management, being able to track the pipeline anytime, and the ability to get in touch with our high management team or board members."
"The user experience was great because it had all the features that the client needed. It was fully customized for the client, and it was very simple. It was the best solution at that time."
"Salesforce Identity is a very user-friendly solution."
"The solution is very easy to understand."
 

Cons

"This user integration with the Okta integration network could be simplified."
"It's not compatible with on-premises installations, unless you host it as a SaaS. We were not able to do that. For example, imagine a scenario where the cloud is not available. Then, Okta will not work for you. That use case will readily fail because it doesn't have an on-premises installation that you can use to authenticate or provide identity and access management. If you have a purely on-premises solution that is not connected to the internet, then this will not work. This is one area that can be improved."
"I think the setup in the beginning can be a bit of a learning curve."
"The product is expensive compared to other tools."
"There is a need for Okta to provide an end-to-end solution without needing a separate product like Zscaler for multifactor authentication."
"The stability could be better."
"There should be automated aggregation and complete classification processes included in it."
"The only area of concern in the solution stems from the fact that my company needs some help regarding the setup phase from a partner."
"The most wanted feature on such platforms nowadays is artificial intelligence, especially for marketing activities. This is also my area of expertise, so it would be very interesting to see AI in these platforms."
"The product is slow."
"Salesforce could make it more user-friendly and easier to implement. Currently, there's a lot of coding and technical work required. I would appreciate a more plug-and-play approach where you could set it up without needing a dedicated technical person."
"Salesforce Identity needs more expertise in the application."
"The interface should be simplified and the dashboard has a lot of options but could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing model could be better for SMBs."
"It has a yearly subscription. As compared to its competitors, it is quite expensive. It also has a complex licensing model."
"The price of Okta Workforce Identity is competitively priced. We pay annually for the use of the solution."
"Okta has fairly competitive pricing."
"The price of this product could be lower."
"The price of the solution is good."
"The licensing model is fine for general service usage. However, the charges for API features and API tokens can be quite high."
"The solution is really expensive."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a very low price and ten is a very high price, I rate Salesforce Identity's pricing a six out of ten."
"I'd recommend Salesforce for larger products where you really need a robust CRM. It's expensive, so for smaller websites or products, it might not be the most cost-effective solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Hospitality Company
7%
Performing Arts
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise50
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Okta Workforce Identity?
Okta has introduced the Universal Directory. It has custom attribute capability and user permissions to read/write on their profiles or hide them. Profile sources and identity profile sourcing are ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Okta Workforce Identity?
Pricing for Okta is reasonably not that much, however, I don't have access to the commercial aspect.
What needs improvement with Okta Workforce Identity?
Currently, in Okta Workforce Identity we get the two-digit authentication code. Instead of getting the two-digit authentication code, if we had an option to do fingerprint verification, that would ...
What do you like most about Salesforce Identity?
The single sign-on feature of Salesforce Identity enhances our organization's security posture overall.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Identity?
I see room for improvement regarding financial operations and FinOps. If they are not being controlled correctly, Salesforce billings can get huge. They charge for everything: license costs, storag...
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Identity?
My overall experience in this current field I am working spans different areas. One area is for service management, contact centers, BPOs, and customer relationship management. Others are for sales...
 

Also Known As

Okta Customer Identity, Workforce Identity
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

FedEx, Zoom, Takeda, Lululemon Athletica, GrunHub, jetBlue, McKensson, Bain & Company, Engie, Peloton, Sonos, T-Mobile, Hewlett Packard, MGM Resorts, Ally Financial, Priceline, Albertsons, Itercom, Classy, FICO, Kensho, Live Nation, Drata, Rotary, and others.
SAP, Microsoft, Workday, Servicenow, ADP, Google Apps, box, Oracle
Find out what your peers are saying about Okta Platform vs. Salesforce Identity and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.