Top 10 Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) Alternatives

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is now called Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft renamed it in 2023, and Azure AD Premium P1 and P2 became Entra ID P1 and P2. If you are searching for Azure AD alternatives, you are looking for Entra ID alternatives. The usual reasons are the same: Microsoft 365 lock-in, uneven macOS and Linux support, or a licence bill that keeps growing.

The short answer: pick Okta for vendor-neutral workforce SSO with the largest app catalog, and JumpCloud for one console across users and Windows, macOS and Linux devices. Pick Google Cloud Identity if you run on Google Workspace, and Ping Identity for large hybrid estates. Choose Keycloak if you want open source and can run it yourself. Most organizations that keep Microsoft 365 still keep a small Entra ID footprint for licensing, even after moving SSO and MFA elsewhere.

Last verified: September 2026. We rechecked every vendor's pricing page, product documentation and ownership (acquisitions and renames) for this update.

Azure AD is now Microsoft Entra ID: what changed and what it costs

Microsoft started the rename on August 15, 2023 and changed licence display names on October 1, 2023. According to Microsoft's rename FAQ, capabilities, sign-in URLs, APIs and MSAL libraries stayed the same. Only the name changed. On-premises Windows Server Active Directory kept its name, which is a separate product.

Entra ID is also now one product inside a wider Microsoft Entra family that includes ID Governance, External ID, Verified ID, Internet Access and Private Access. That matters when you compare alternatives, because a Microsoft quote often bundles several of these. Current list prices from Microsoft's Entra pricing page (per user per month, annual commitment):

P1 and P2 used to list at $6 and $9. Per Microsoft's licensing documentation, P1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and Business Premium, and P2 in Microsoft 365 E5. If you already pay for those bundles, the real saving from switching is smaller than the standalone prices suggest. Budget for that before you start a migration.

Quick Comparison

Which Entra ID alternative fits your situation

• Enterprise that wants to leave Microsoft's ecosystem for identity: Okta. It has the largest integration network and works the same across clouds.
• SMB with macOS and Linux endpoints: JumpCloud. It manages identity and devices across all three operating systems without depending on Intune.
• Mid-market company needing simple SSO and provisioning: OneLogin. It is quick to deploy and covers the common SaaS apps out of the box.
• Large enterprise with a complex hybrid estate: Ping Identity. It handles multi-domain federation, partner trust and API security.
• Organization standardized on AWS: AWS IAM Identity Center for workforce access to AWS accounts, at no extra charge.
• Engineering-led team that wants zero licensing: Keycloak, if you can own patching, scaling and uptime.
• Google Workspace shop: Google Cloud Identity, which is already part of your Workspace tenant.
• Regulated enterprise where admin accounts are the main risk: CyberArk Workforce Identity alongside CyberArk privileged access.
• Enterprise with heavy customization and governance needs: PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud, the product ForgeRock customers now run.
• Organization drowning in SaaS subscriptions: Zluri, paired with whichever IdP you choose.

1. Okta Workforce Identity

Okta is the most common replacement for Entra ID when an organization wants identity that is not tied to one cloud or productivity suite. It provides SSO, MFA, lifecycle management and a universal directory for employees and contractors. The Okta Integration Network lists more than 8,000 pre-built integrations, the broadest catalog in this list.

Key Features

• Universal Directory: Consolidates identities from HR systems, Active Directory and LDAP into one store with rich profiles and group management. It removes the need to run Entra ID as the source of truth.
• Single Sign-On: One sign-in for thousands of SaaS, cloud and on-premises apps, which cuts password fatigue and reuse.
• Adaptive MFA: Push, SMS, voice, hardware tokens and biometrics. Policies weigh device context, network reputation, location and behaviour to step authentication up or down.
• Lifecycle Management: Automates provisioning and deprovisioning on hire, move and leave events, so access is revoked the day someone departs.

Pros

• Broadest SSO coverage of any workforce identity platform.
• Admins and end users generally find the interface easy to learn.
• Vendor-neutral, so it suits multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

Cons

• Modular pricing adds up: SSO, MFA and lifecycle management are separate line items.
• Custom integrations outside the catalog need specialist engineering time.

Pricing

Okta's workforce pricing page lists Starter at $6, Core Essentials at $14 and Essentials at $17 per user per month, billed annually. Professional and Enterprise are quote-only. A $1,500 annual contract minimum applies.

Best For

Mid-sized and large organizations with a diverse SaaS portfolio that want identity independent of Microsoft. For a deeper look at Okta's own competitors, see our Okta Workforce Identity alternatives guide.

2. JumpCloud

JumpCloud is a cloud directory that combines user identity, device management and application access in one console. It is the closest thing to a like-for-like replacement for Entra ID plus Intune in companies where many laptops are Macs or Linux machines.

Key Features

• Cloud Directory: Centralizes identities and permissions without on-premises servers, and can replace on-premises Active Directory for many SMBs.
• Cross-platform device management: Enrollment, policy enforcement, patching and remote actions for Windows, macOS and Linux, treated as equals.
• SSO and MFA: SAML and OIDC SSO to cloud apps with MFA on top.
• Access control: Group-based policies that decide which users reach which apps, systems and networks.

Pros

• Native support for all three desktop operating systems.
• One console for users, devices and apps reduces tool sprawl for small IT teams.
• Cloud-native, so it suits remote and hybrid workforces.

Cons

• Staff trained on Active Directory and Entra ID need time to adjust.
• Legacy or niche applications may need custom configuration.

Pricing

JumpCloud's pricing page lists Device Management at $9, SSO at $11 and Device Identity Management at $13 per user per month on annual billing. Platform bundles are quote-based. The old free tier (10 users, 10 devices) closed to new accounts on February 1, 2024, according to JumpCloud's support FAQ. New customers get a 30-day trial instead.

Best For

SMBs and mid-market companies with mixed device fleets and remote staff. Compare it with other directories in our cloud directory solutions roundup.

3. OneLogin

OneLogin is a cloud IAM platform owned by One Identity, which acquired it in 2021. It focuses on quick SSO rollout, MFA and automated provisioning for cloud-heavy organizations, and it is now part of One Identity's wider identity security portfolio.

Key Features

• Single Sign-On: One sign-in across apps such as Microsoft 365 and Salesforce, plus on-premises resources.
• MFA: Push notifications, SMS codes and hardware tokens, with context-aware policies.
• Provisioning and deprovisioning: Grants and revokes access based on role and employment status.
• Directory integration: Connects to Active Directory, LDAP and HR systems as a single hub.
• Access policies: Rules based on user attributes, location and device.

Pros

• Intuitive for administrators and end users.
• Broad pre-built connector library for common cloud apps.
• Straightforward deployment compared with larger enterprise suites.

Cons

• Advanced features raise the per-user cost as you grow.
• Its strength is cloud apps. Heavy on-premises estates may find it thin.

Pricing

OneLogin sells per-user, per-month tiers that add provisioning and advanced MFA as you move up. Check the current figures on OneLogin's pricing page and ask for a quote, since list prices and bundles change.

Best For

SMBs and mid-market companies invested in cloud apps that want to replace manual access management quickly.

4. Ping Identity

Ping Identity is an enterprise IAM platform for workforce, customer and partner identity. Thoma Bravo owns it, and it absorbed ForgeRock after Thoma Bravo acquired that company in 2023. PingOne for Workforce is the cloud service, and PingFederate remains the go-to for complex federation.

Key Features

• Single Sign-On: SAML, OAuth and OpenID Connect across SaaS, on-premises and mobile apps. PingFederate handles multi-domain SSO and cross-organization trust.
• MFA: Push, FIDO2 security keys, TOTP and biometrics, with risk-based policies.
• Lifecycle management: Automated provisioning and deprovisioning to prevent orphaned accounts.
• API security: Controls which users and applications can reach sensitive APIs.
• Directory services: Cloud and on-premises directory options, plus LDAP, Kerberos and RADIUS gateways.

Pros

• Covers SSO through API security, for workforce and customer identity.
• Scales to complex hybrid infrastructure with strong federation support.
• Published per-user workforce pricing, which is rare at this tier.

Cons

• A steep learning curve that usually needs identity engineering expertise.
• The 5,000-user minimum rules it out for smaller companies.

Pricing

Ping's pricing page lists PingOne for Workforce Essential at $3 and Plus at $6 per user per month. Both need an annual contract with a 5,000-user minimum. Plus adds risk-based MFA, passwordless and Microsoft ecosystem integrations.

Best For

Mid-sized and large enterprises with hybrid or multi-cloud estates and strict compliance needs. See the Ping Identity vendor profile for its customer identity side.

5. AWS IAM and IAM Identity Center

AWS IAM controls who and what can act on AWS resources. IAM Identity Center adds workforce SSO across AWS accounts and applications. Together they replace Entra ID for cloud infrastructure access, though not as a general employee directory for SaaS apps.

Key Features

• Central user and access management: Users, groups, roles and permissions across all AWS services.
• Fine-grained permissions: Policies define exactly which actions are allowed on which resources, such as read-only access to one S3 bucket.
• Federation: Per the IAM Identity Center FAQ, it connects to Active Directory, Okta, Entra ID and other IdPs, and syncs users with SCIM.
• Roles and temporary credentials: Apps and EC2 instances get short-lived credentials instead of long-term keys in code.
• MFA: Supported for console and Identity Center sign-ins.

Pros

• Native to every AWS service.
• Granular control makes least privilege practical.
• No per-user identity licence.

Cons

• The policy language is hard to master at scale.
• It does not manage on-premises identities or non-AWS SaaS on its own.

Pricing

IAM and IAM Identity Center are offered at no extra charge. You pay only for the AWS resources your users and roles consume.

Best For

Any organization whose infrastructure runs mainly on AWS. Pair it with a workforce IdP if you also need SaaS SSO.

6. Keycloak

Keycloak is an open-source IAM server under the Apache 2.0 licence. It joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation as an incubating project in April 2023. It gives you SSO, federation and fine-grained authorization without any licence fee.

Key Features

• Single Sign-On: One sign-in across web apps, mobile apps and APIs.
• Identity brokering: Federates with Google, other SAML or OIDC providers, and social logins.
• User federation: Connects to LDAP and Active Directory, which makes it a useful bridge during an Entra ID migration.
• Admin console: Manage realms, clients, users, roles and groups from one web UI.
• Custom authentication flows: MFA, step-up authentication and custom SPIs for unusual requirements.

Pros

• No licence fees, compared with Entra ID's per-user pricing.
• Deeply extensible through its Java SPIs.
• Full SAML 2.0, OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0 support.
• Large, active community.

Cons

• Needs real IAM expertise to configure well.
• You own patching, scaling, backups and uptime.
• Guaranteed-response support means buying from a third party.

Pricing

Free to download and use. Your costs are infrastructure plus the engineering time to run it.

Best For

Engineering-led organizations that want to avoid vendor lock-in and have the skills to self-host. Compare it with other open-source options in the Keycloak vendor profile.

7. Google Cloud Identity

Google Cloud Identity is Google's identity-as-a-service for users, groups and devices. It is the natural choice for organizations on Google Workspace or Google Cloud, and it can also provide identity for users who do not need Workspace apps.

Key Features

• Central user management: One console for accounts, groups and policies across Google services and third-party apps.
• Single Sign-On: Google Workspace, Google Cloud and SaaS apps such as Salesforce and Slack with one sign-in.
• MFA: Security keys and Google prompts.
• Context-aware access: Policies based on user, group and device status, in line with Google's BeyondCorp zero-trust model.
• Federation: Works with on-premises Active Directory and other SAML 2.0 providers.

Pros

• Native integration with Gmail, Drive, Cloud Console and Workspace.
• No need to run Entra ID alongside Google services.
• A free edition covers core identity needs.

Cons

• On-premises integration is shallower than Microsoft's or Ping's.
• Less compelling if Google is not your main productivity suite.

Pricing

Cloud Identity Free covers core identity and endpoint management. Cloud Identity Premium costs $6 per user per month on an annual plan or $7.20 on the flexible plan, according to Google's billing plan documentation. Edition details are in the Cloud Identity editions guide.

Best For

Organizations that run on Google Workspace or Google Cloud and want identity inside that ecosystem.

8. CyberArk Workforce Identity

CyberArk Workforce Identity (formerly CyberArk Identity) combines SSO, MFA and lifecycle management with CyberArk's privileged access tools. Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of CyberArk on February 11, 2026. The company says CyberArk's identity security products remain available as a standalone platform.

Key Features

• Single Sign-On: SAML and OpenID Connect SSO to SaaS and on-premises apps.
• MFA: Biometrics, hardware tokens, push and one-time passwords, with granular policies.
• PAM integration: Extends control, monitoring and auditing to administrator accounts, where Entra ID alone offers less session-level control.
• Lifecycle management: Provisioning and deprovisioning tied to role and employment changes.
• App catalog: Pre-built connectors for common SaaS apps.

Pros

• Strong protection for privileged users through the CyberArk PAM suite.
• Wide choice of authentication methods.
• SSO for standard and privileged users in one platform.

Cons

• Deployment in complex on-premises environments needs careful phasing.
• Enterprise pricing is a significant investment.
• Roadmap direction under Palo Alto Networks is still settling, so ask about product plans.

Pricing

Quote-based, depending on users and modules. Contact CyberArk sales through cyberark.com.

Best For

Regulated enterprises where administrator accounts are the main risk. For privileged access options on their own, see our PAM solutions comparison.

9. PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud (formerly ForgeRock)

ForgeRock no longer sells under its own name. After Thoma Bravo bought it in 2023 and merged it into Ping Identity, ForgeRock Identity Cloud became PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud. It is a SaaS platform for workforce, consumer and B2B identity with access management, governance and orchestration.

Key Features

• Central identity management: One platform for accounts, profiles and access rights.
• Adaptive authentication: MFA and risk-based authentication that weigh location, device and resource sensitivity.
• Access management: Fine-grained control over OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect apps, legacy and modern.
• Identity governance: Access certifications, role management and policy enforcement.
• Identity orchestration: Drag-and-drop journeys for registration, self-service and passwordless sign-in.

Pros

• Handles complex, unusual enterprise requirements.
• Scales to millions of identities.
• Covers authentication, authorization, governance and lifecycle in one product.

Cons

• Complex to implement, usually with specialist help.
• Higher cost than Entra ID or simpler IAM tools.
• Existing ForgeRock customers should confirm their product roadmap with Ping.

Pricing

Quote-based, depending on identities, modules and support level.

Best For

Large enterprises in regulated industries with complex identity journeys. The ForgeRock vendor profile covers its customer identity history.

10. Zluri

Zluri is a SaaS management and identity governance platform, not an identity provider. It belongs on this list because many teams look at leaving Entra ID when the real problem is SaaS sprawl. Zluri finds every app in use, tracks spend and automates access reviews and offboarding. You still need an IdP from this list, or Entra ID itself.

Key Features

• SaaS discovery: Builds an inventory of every app in use, including shadow IT that Entra ID's app gallery does not see.
• Usage monitoring: Shows active users and unused licences.
• Spend management: Tracks renewals and flags redundant subscriptions.
• Access governance: Access reviews and security checks across discovered apps.
• Automated workflows: Onboarding, offboarding and provisioning across SaaS tools.

Pros

• A single view of a fragmented SaaS estate.
• Cuts spend by finding unused and duplicate licences.
• Automated offboarding closes access gaps.

Cons

• Discovery depends on integration with your SSO, HR and finance systems.
• It complements an identity provider rather than replacing one.

Pricing

Quote-based, usually tied to employee count. Details at zluri.com.

Best For

Mid-sized and large organizations with SaaS sprawl. For full governance suites, see our identity governance and administration comparison.

How to migrate from Entra ID (Azure AD)

1. Run both in parallel. Deploy the new platform next to Entra ID with directory synchronization so accounts stay consistent.
2. Move SSO app by app. Start with low-risk cloud apps, then move critical ones once the pattern is proven.
3. Federate Microsoft 365. Point Microsoft 365 authentication at the new IdP. Entra ID stays in the background for licence assignment.
4. Move device policies. If you are leaving Intune too, migrate device management last, after sign-in is stable.
5. Shrink, do not delete. Most organizations keep Entra ID in a reduced role as long as they use Microsoft 365.

From Deepak's experience building LoginRadius, a customer identity platform he scaled to over a billion users, the hard part of any identity migration is rarely the protocol. It is the long tail of apps, service accounts and exceptions nobody documented. Inventory those before you sign a contract.

How we evaluated these alternatives

Each platform was judged on how well it replaces a specific Entra ID job: workforce SSO, MFA and Conditional Access, directory, device management, lifecycle and governance, or privileged access. For this September 2026 update we checked each vendor's own pricing page and product documentation. We also confirmed ownership changes (Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk, Ping and ForgeRock under Thoma Bravo, One Identity and OneLogin), and removed claims we could not trace to a vendor source. We did not run hands-on benchmarks. Prices are list prices and change often, so confirm them with the vendor.

For the full vendor landscape, browse the access management category on the Identity Map or the full identity vendor directory. If you are still running on-premises Active Directory, our Active Directory management tools guide covers that layer. Looking for Microsoft's customer-facing identity product instead? See the Entra External ID profile and our explainer on IAM vs CIAM.

Bottom Line

Entra ID is strong inside a Microsoft estate, and much of it comes bundled with Microsoft 365. Leave it when your apps, devices or clouds are mostly not Microsoft. Okta, JumpCloud, Google Cloud Identity and Ping Identity cover most of those cases. Shortlist two or three, run a proof of concept against your hardest ten apps, and price them against what your Microsoft 365 bundle already includes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Azure AD the same as Microsoft Entra ID?

Yes. Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID in 2023. Features, APIs and sign-in URLs did not change, and Azure AD Premium P1 and P2 became Entra ID P1 and P2. Windows Server Active Directory is a different, on-premises product and kept its name.

What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)?

Okta is the strongest general alternative for vendor-neutral workforce identity. JumpCloud fits SMBs with mixed Windows, macOS and Linux devices. Google Cloud Identity fits Google Workspace organizations, Ping Identity fits large hybrid enterprises, and Keycloak fits teams that want open source.

How much does Microsoft Entra ID cost in 2026?

Entra ID Free comes with Microsoft cloud subscriptions. P1 lists at $7 and P2 at $10 per user per month on annual terms. The Entra Suite is $12 and requires P1. Microsoft 365 E3 includes P1 and E5 includes P2.

What is the cheapest Azure AD alternative?

Keycloak has no licence fee, and AWS IAM Identity Center has no extra charge for AWS users. Google Cloud Identity has a free edition. JumpCloud no longer offers a free plan to new accounts. Compare total cost, including hosting, MFA, device management and staff time.

Can I use an Entra ID alternative and keep Microsoft 365?

Yes. Okta, Ping Identity and JumpCloud can act as the primary identity provider while Microsoft 365 accepts federated sign-in. Entra ID still runs in the background for Microsoft 365 licence assignment, so plan to keep it in a reduced role.

What happened to ForgeRock and OneLogin?

Thoma Bravo acquired ForgeRock in 2023 and merged it into Ping Identity, and ForgeRock Identity Cloud is now PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud. OneLogin has been part of One Identity since 2021 and is still sold under the OneLogin name.