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ACF2 vs CyberArk Privileged Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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

ACF2
Ranking in Mainframe Security
6th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (14th)
CyberArk Privileged Access ...
Ranking in Mainframe Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
227
Ranking in other categories
User Activity Monitoring (1st), Enterprise Password Managers (3rd), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (1st), Operational Technology (OT) Security (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Mainframe Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 13.0%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is 4.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mainframe Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager4.0%
ACF213.0%
Other83.0%
Mainframe Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1077621 - PeerSpot reviewer
A reliable, scalable product for security and auditing of our mainframe environment
It is a good product. It has been used for years. As long as it is configured correctly, it is a very stable product. It depends on how an institution or a company configures it. It depends on an institution's risk appetite. You need to make sure it is configured as per the concept of least privilege, and the logging features, detection and control mechanism, and other things like that are enabled. If you configure it to give access to the public, then there could be compromises. You should also have someone who independently checks it to make sure that it is configured keeping security in mind. If it has been configured for a while, when there are enhancements to the product or when you enhance it, you need to make sure that security is also looked at, and it is configured according to an institution's security policies. I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Atul-Gujar - PeerSpot reviewer
Secures critical infrastructures with essential user session audit records
A potential area for improvement is enhancing support for cluster environments and distributed Vaults. Clients in multiple countries that need central access have different challenges that require better solutions from CyberArk. For financial services, CyberArk can improve incident response by ensuring fast support for critical priority tickets to meet compliance requirements. Providing more documentation on CyberArk is recommended for new team members to enhance their troubleshooting capabilities. I understand it's up to the client, but 99% fail to change the demo key, so it's crucial for CyberArk to emphasize changing the key and documenting it as part of the installation process.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The NOACCESS by default is another very good feature. Also, access rules are straightforward, and easy to understand."
"We use this tool to quickly assign privileges to different users as soon as they come in."
"Excellent real-time reporting that saves time and resources."
"Logging and monitoring are most valuable. It is for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."
"I love their support. The support is great. They are number one."
"It's user-friendly and very configurable. We can do many things with it, especially with password management."
"CyberArk PAM can be easily automated."
"It has helped from an auditing perspective identify who has access to privileged accounts."
"The feature that I like the most is the Privileged Session Manager."
"The most valuable features of CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault are password rotations and password encryptions."
"The main feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the ability to manage who has access to what and when, especially with shared accounts."
"You can easily manage more than 4000 accounts with one PSM."
"The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager are its robust functionality and reliability."
 

Cons

"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment. It's a mainframe product. As many companies move to the cloud, depending on what cloud models they choose, such as a public, hybrid, or private cloud, it should be deployable. I am not sure if it can be deployed on those platforms. It has been there since the '50s or '60s, and it's still scalable. It has survived all these years, and it's scalable to many platforms, but I don't know about the cloud."
"Reporting can sometimes include false positives."
"I would like my team and me to be able to use simple browsers, like Chrome, to be able to access mainframe data and provision users using the browser.​"
"It needs longer rules. The max rule is 32K."
"The solution that they proposed was not straightforward because of the backend processes of CyberArk."
"CyberArk has to continue to evolve with that threat landscape to make sure that they're still protecting those credentials that are owned by those that have privileged accounts in the firms."
"CyberArk has a lot on the privileged access side but they have to concentrate more on the application side as well."
"There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's a pretty complex solution."
"The main challenge was integrating with in-house IT and business applications, which are not standard. We needed to create special updates for that kind of integration."
"There are some options in the web portal where they can improve the user experience. For example, in remote, there is a parameter called 'access to remote machine.' When we put host names in that field, we are not able to search it. It"
"Online help needs to be looked into with live agent support."
"CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is more expensive than its competitors, such as BeyondTrust, Delinea, and ManageEngine PAM360."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"No, I do not have any advice on the price of the product."
"Pricing and licensing depend on the environment."
"Its price can be reduced."
"The price of this solution is expensive."
"In comparison to other products on the market, CyberArk is a more costly product."
"I would rate the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"Network and security licenses are currently being managed by other outsource vendors, so they are facing some type of problems in the digital aspect."
"CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is perceived to be somewhat overpriced compared to similar market products. It is a little bit overvalued. It could come down a little bit for my liking. However, the industry-leading reputation and the quality of service justify the high price point to some extent."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
27%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Retailer
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise171
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
The most valuable features of the solution are control and analytics.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
Regarding costs, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is not a cheap product; hence, many companies struggle with its high licensing cost. While it's valuable, it comes with a high price tag, making ...
 

Also Known As

CA ACF2
CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications
Rockwell Automation
Find out what your peers are saying about ACF2 vs. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.