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AWS Directory Service vs Microsoft Entra ID Governance comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 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

AWS Directory Service
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Entra ID Governance
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID Governance is 2.6%, up from 0.7% 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
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra ID Governance2.6%
AWS Directory Service1.6%
Other95.8%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Basa Saiteja - PeerSpot reviewer
A valuable access management system with a user-friendly and straightforward setup
The solution is scalable, and we can scale according to our needs. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. In our organization, our access to our AWS comes from IAM. We use AWS consoles using our credentials and don't have route access, so each person will log in through our IAM programmatic access, and everyone on our team can work on cloud. Over 10,000 people in our organization utilize the solution.
William Kox - PeerSpot reviewer
Great policies and timelines for streamlined compliance
There are some areas where improvements are necessary. Even though we have almost the full package, there are some bugs. I cannot directly perform some tasks from the portal. First, I have to go to the policy, change it, and then return to the package to add it. I cannot do it directly from the package. Workarounds are needed, so that can be improved. At the moment, that is the only issue we are facing that needs enhancement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The support is very good. I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is that because it's all in the cloud, you don't need to manage the infrastructure."
"Provides good performance and availability."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"We like the fact that it's got such great redundancy."
"AWS handles everything on the backend requiring minimal legwork from our team. We only require a dedicated database administrator while depending on Amazon for RDS."
"The most valuable feature of AWS Directory Service is cost-cutting features."
"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."
"Access reviews are an essential feature of Entra Governance. Additionally, privileged identity management is one of its most valuable features. Just-in-time access, or Jet GIT, is integral to this system. Moreover, user behavior analytics stands out as one of its top features."
"The most valuable features are multifactor authentication and account creation for the Exchange environment in Office 365."
"The solution is fully scalable, supporting everything from small companies to large enterprises."
"The platform's most valuable feature is the single sign-on service."
"I am very happy with the solution."
"Regarding Microsoft Entra ID Governance integration with Microsoft services, there is automated identity lifecycle management in the product."
"It is compliant with our RVRT and CSV guidelines."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Entra ID Governance is access reviews."
 

Cons

"Can be improved by including on-premises access for services through Identity Access Management."
"The solution lacks certain features."
"AWS could improve the number of regions. Azure has passed them. The ned more consistency, as far as the Northeast is concerned."
"The group policy can be improved."
"Some of the security protocols are difficult to understand."
"Accessing the data needs improvement."
"I would like to grant partial access to a table contained in a database without having to provide full access to the whole database."
"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."
"The solution lacks the feature to work well with third-party applications."
"There are some areas where improvements are necessary. Even though we have almost the full package, there are some bugs."
"If you want to conduct access review of database-based applications, then you cannot do that."
"The product's workflow approval process needs improvement."
"The platform's configuration process needs improvement."
"Sometimes, the solution is not super reliable."
"If you want to conduct access review of database-based applications, then you cannot do that."
"Microsoft Entra ID Governance should improve its capability to manage identities and access from a single console."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"We pay an annual subscription fee."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."
"There are no additional costs besides the standard licensing fees."
"In the education sector where I work, the annual cost for my Google and Microsoft environments is approximately $35,000. This covers the needs of 3,400 students and 800 faculty and staff members."
"While other products give the pricing for their application, Microsoft Entra ID Governance has a per-user-based license model."
"The solution's pricing is not low but reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Healthcare Company
11%
Performing Arts
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
18%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Directory Service?
The most valuable feature of AWS Directory Service is cost-cutting features.
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.
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...
What do you like most about Microsoft Entra ID Governance?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Entra ID Governance is access reviews.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra ID Governance?
In terms of integration, improvements could be made. To enhance integration, they could provide out-of-box integration with HashiCorp. This out-of-box integration with HashiCorp or another product ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra ID Governance?
Clients may use Microsoft Entra ID Governance for various identity management tasks.
 

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Directory Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID Governance and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.