AWS Directory Service vs Axiad Conductor comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Axiad are both solutions in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.7, while Axiad is ranked #29. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.2% mindshare in IAMS, compared to Axiad’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Axiad users who would recommend it.

AWS Directory Service

Read 16 AWS Directory Service reviews

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699 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Axiad Conductor

Read 6 Axiad Conductor reviews

1,490 Views
387 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AWS Directory Service

Axiad Conductor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 4, 2026

AWS Directory Service and Axiad Conductor compete in identity management, focusing on directory integration and secure identity solutions respectively. AWS Directory Service tends to have an advantage in support and pricing, while Axiad Conductor stands out with enhanced features and security capabilities.

Features: AWS Directory Service offers seamless Active Directory integration, scalable directory management, and hybrid cloud environment support. Axiad Conductor provides comprehensive authentication methods, centralized credential management, and robust security policies.

Room for Improvement: AWS Directory Service could enhance its security policies, diversify its authentication methods, and expand support for non-AWS environments. Axiad Conductor may improve ease of integration, streamline its user interface, and offer more competitive pricing models to attract diverse customers.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Directory Service ensures efficient cloud-based deployment with streamlined integration and robust customer service. Axiad Conductor's deployment process emphasizes security via multi-factor authentication and includes dedicated customer support for personalized assistance.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Directory Service generally offers lower setup costs, with predictable pricing and efficient return on investment due to its integration capabilities. Axiad Conductor, while having higher upfront costs, promises significant ROI through advanced security features and reduced risk exposure, providing long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Directory Service vs. Axiad Conductor Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Directory Service vs. Axiad Conductor

December 2025

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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

AWS Directory Service

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

18th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Axiad Conductor

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

29th

Average Rating

9.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Authentication Systems (26th), Identity Management (IM) (37th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (49th), Passwordless Authentication (9th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (25th), Insider Risk Management (16th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (10th), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (14th), Credential Management Systems (CMS) (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 1.2%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Axiad Conductor is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
AWS Directory Service	1.2%
Axiad Conductor	0.9%
Other	97.9%

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

Featured Reviews

Akram Zaki

IT Specialist at FlairsTech

Hybrid directory service has streamlined global server access and supported reliable daily operations

Some features in AWS Directory Service are not automated and are not scriptable, so they require manual work. In today's world where everything is pretty much automated and scriptable using AI, this is a downside. The price is another concern. AWS is really expensive. They provide an awesome service in general, but it's still expensive, very expensive. AD Connector is an application which connects my own Active Directory to AWS Directory Service or AWS infrastructure. There is a bit of latency which is bound by the AD Connector availability. If the AD Connector is having issues, there is a bit of latency, but in general, it's way better than Microsoft Azure. Still, it could be better. The migration was a bit challenging and required intensive planning and migration time. That is always a hassle. No matter which cloud environment you're moving into, the migration is sensitive because you're generally moving from on-premise to a cloud environment, so there is downtime and there are unexpected issues and errors. It needs very careful planning before doing the migration itself. AWS Directory Service is lacking a few things which could be better. Single sign-on federation is missing. SCIM provisioning is not available. In my company, we use other services for SSO federation, SCIM provisioning, and authentication because of these gaps. I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in to each application. Single sign-on would log in the user to their account and from there they can open all their applications without requiring a login each time. One of the other cons in AWS is that directories cannot span multiple regions because it's a region-bound architecture. This requires several directories for multi-region deployment. This is the case on my end because my company has several branches all over the world, so it requires several deployments.

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reviewer2230065

Lead Architect at a wellness & fitness company with 10,001+ employees

We have seen increased productivity now that users can self-serve their account recovery

We were looking for a way for users to self-serve and increase productivity. Before Axiad Cloud, every time a user was locked out they would have to call the help desk and wait for someone to call back and help them recover their accounts. Now users can do it themselves and cut down on the time they are down with an expired credential. That was the primary driver for why we looked at using this solution. The biggest benefit is that Axiad Cloud has increased the productivity of the business unit where it has been deployed. Before, we had anywhere between 10 and 15 percent of our users that were, at any given time, not able to sign into their systems because of expired credentials. With the introduction of the solution for that business unit, that number went down. That's a measurable advantage. Users also say it is much easier to use but that is not something that we can measure.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Provides good performance and availability."

"The most valuable feature is that because it's all in the cloud, you don't need to manage the infrastructure."

"The most valuable feature is ease of use."

"We like the fact that it's got such great redundancy."

"What we appreciate most about AWS Directory Service is the high availability."

"AWS has eliminated the downtime we waste when our on-premises resources go down."

"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."

"I would rate AWS Directory Service nine out of ten."

More AWS Directory Service pros

"The solution has also saved us time by having end-users troubleshoot issues through the MyCircle feature, and has definitely reduced the efforts of our administrators. It is saving us five to 10 minutes per incident."

"It's very user-friendly. We're issuing YubiKeys for our corporate users and they just plug it in, go to the Axiad Cloud portal, and click the issue button. It's a couple of steps."

"What I have found most valuable is the overall way Axiad listened to our problems and helped us solve them. They provided guidance and expertise, with their experience, that enabled us to be successful in a very challenging space."

"Aside from Active Directory, anything that is a multi-factor platform is handled through Axiad Cloud. It is critical for helping to enforce usage of authentication devices across our organization."

"The life cycle management of credentials is the aspect that we have found to be the most useful... The differentiator that Axiad provided was the ability to provide users a way to self-serve the updating of their credentials on their private keys. That was the feature we were most interested in and Axiad does an excellent job of it."

"And when it comes to enrolling a user, it's super easy with One Click Issuance... It's so easy now that we can offload the process to our clients who can self-enroll. Previously, we would have to do the enrollment process because it was so complicated."

Cons

"Can be improved by including on-premises access for services through Identity Access Management."

"I've encountered challenges, particularly with Amazon WorkDocs, which is being deprecated. This has made it necessary to find an alternative document management solution that can handle editing, sharing, and workflow management for documents like Word files and PDFs."

"AWS is really expensive. They provide an awesome service in general, but it's still expensive, very expensive."

"Currently, there is no option to integrate our on-premises Cisco AWS Directory Service, requiring some manual configuration. If AWS Active Directory Service provided additional domain controller functionalities, like other on-premises Active Directory, it would be very helpful."

"AWS could improve the number of regions. Azure has passed them. The ned more consistency, as far as the Northeast is concerned."

"Our only complaint is that you cannot integrate your Exchange server. Or, if you are planning to install an Exchange server on your Amazon EC2 instance, then you need to configure Active Directory on EC2 instance. We would like for this limitation to be lifted."

"Some of the security protocols are difficult to understand."

"Accessing the data needs improvement."

More AWS Directory Service cons

"I would like a more modern look to the portal."

"With their licensing model, it becomes hard to scale. For example, we couldn't roll it out enterprise-wide because if you scale it across more than 100,000 users, the cost becomes too exorbitant."

"We would prefer that the solution be hosted in Canada because we're a Canadian entity. That would be nice to have. It's not a feature, as such, but it would really make us a lot happier if it could be located in Canada."

"I'm looking forward to seeing how they move to FIDO U2F as their primary authentication method across all of their solutions."

"There are just some minor tweaks that could be made on the front end. It would be cool to have nicknames for authenticator devices. If you have more than one, it's hard to discern what you have."

"macOS is notoriously ever-evolving and it's difficult to keep pace with it as it pertains to certain kinds of crypto authentication. That's really not even on Axiad. That's a decision by Apple, but it makes it a moving target."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."

"We pay an annual subscription fee."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."

"Axiad's pricing was what we were expecting. It was at the right spot. They were competitive."

"Don't just focus on the hardware or software costs of acquiring a solution, but look at it from the perspective that so much of what it takes to run a PKI environment has to do with the people who are running it.... look at the total cost of ownership and not just the cost of acquisition."

"The pricing is very competitive for what is offered at the level that we need. They are right there with what the industry standards are. They tend to be a little bit less, in terms of cost, when we are talking about security at government standards. So, I would say that they have a slight advantage on cost compared to the industry average. They are the lower cost solution and the best bargain out on the market today."

"It's very cheap on a per-year basis. The cards themselves last about three years and the license is on the order of double-digit dollars per user, and not hundreds of dollars per user, per year."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Performing Arts

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Real Estate/Law Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?

The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.

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What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?

Accessing the data needs improvement. Additionally, integration and compatibility with other AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) services, network open LDAP, support for on-premise and cloud envir...

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What advice do you have for others considering AWS Directory Service?

I would rate AWS Directory Service nine out of ten. Users need to be aware of how the system works locally to adapt easily to the integration and setup.

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Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 40% of the time

Okta Platform vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Entra External ID vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 14% of the time

Omada Identity vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 10% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 10% of the time

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CyberArk Certificate Manager vs Axiad Conductor

Compared 25% of the time

Silverfort vs Axiad Conductor

Compared 22% of the time

Okta Platform vs Axiad Conductor

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Axiad Conductor

Compared 15% of the time

RSA SecurID vs Axiad Conductor

Compared 12% of the time

More Axiad Conductor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

January 2026

Download AWS Directory Service product report

Buyer's Guide

Axiad Conductor

January 2026

Download Axiad Conductor product report

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD

Axiad Cloud

Overview

AWS Directory Service lets you run Microsoft Active Directory (AD) as a managed service. AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, also referred to as AWS Managed Microsoft AD, is powered by Windows Server 2012 R2. When you select and launch this directory type, it is created as a highly available pair of domain controllers connected to your virtual private cloud (VPC). The domain controllers run in different Availability Zones in a region of your choice. Host monitoring and recovery, data replication, snapshots, and software updates are automatically configured and managed for you.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Axiad Conductor offers intuitive management for authentication processes, streamlining tasks like YubiKeys and smart card issuance, catering to organizational needs with a user-centric approach.

Axiad Conductor facilitates credential lifecycle management and multi-factor authentication by simplifying the deployment and management of authentication devices. "One Click Issuance" ensures easy user enrollment in a cloud environment, reducing administrative burdens. While interface enhancements and authenticators' nickname features could improve usability, its approach to managing cryptographic credentials and handling smart cards and YubiKeys stands noteworthy. Although Apple's macOS changes present challenges, Canadian hosting preferences are recognized.

What are Axiad Conductor's main features?

User-Friendly Management: Streamlines the process with minimal steps for issuing devices.
Credential Lifecycle Management: Allows users to self-update and manage credentials with ease.
Managed Cloud Environment: Reduces administrative efforts by addressing needs flexibly.
One Click Issuance: Facilitates easy enrollment and updates of user authentication elements.

What benefits or ROI do users find valuable?

Simplified Deployment: Quick setup and management of authentication devices save time and resources.
Enhanced Security: Robust update and lifecycle management bolster organizational security.
User Autonomy: Self-update capabilities empower users and reduce support overhead.
Regulatory Compliance: Meets stringent compliance needs through effective certification processes.

In industries where multi-factor authentication is critical, Axiad Conductor is widely implemented for internal and contractor workforce authentication, managing PKI on smart cards, and YubiKeys for VPN and local access. The ability to manage smart cards and machine certificates aids in maintaining regulatory compliance, while the transition to cloud-based certificate management streamlines operations and supports seamless integration.

Axiad

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

AWS Directory Service vs. Axiad Conductor

December 2025

Free Report: AWS Directory Service vs. Axiad Conductor

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