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ForgeRock vs Microsoft Entra External ID comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 27, 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

ForgeRock
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (13th), Access Management (10th)
Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (11th), Microsoft Security Suite (26th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 11.4%, down from 13.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 7.7%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmet Murat Ülker - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use, but customizations can be complicated to handle
I would suggest others use the product after asking them to consider their use cases. SSO may be a use case for some, and using the product as an IDM tool may be a use case. At the moment, my company is not deploying all the components of ForgeRock itself. My company uses ForgeRock for OAuth 2.0. For example, my company is not deploying the IDM and identity gateway components. You should consider your use case and select the required components for that use case. My company does not use the SSO features of the tool. My company uses SSO to access ForgeRock's AM Console for individual users. My company does not use single sign on features of the product and instead, we use Auth0. I rate the tool a seven or eight out of ten.
Corrado Vigano - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution integrates well with existing systems while being easy to use
The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use. Furthermore, Microsoft's reliability in providing a clear roadmap for the solution is very important, especially at a time when cybersecurity is a risk in every company. The solution is easy to reuse and not difficult to find expertise for in the market because it is widespread. It is gaining attention even from partners and from the market on the offering side. This serves as a good starting point for customers who can develop internal competence on the solution. Additionally, the presence of reliable partners who know the solution and can provide internal knowledge is the best aspect for them.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of the tool's operational efficiency, ForgeRock Access Management is used in a lot of environments, different regions, and in different stages of production environments."
"The support is good and prompt."
"We used it to implement multi-factor authentication and to improve our security posture as well as reducing the potential for attacks."
"We have found the identity and access management tools in the solution to be particularly useful for our organization."
"I like the way it is handling authentication and authorization."
"Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users."
"The most valuable features are that it is easy to manage and it's stable."
"ForgeRock has CIAM, which other products didn't have, and they have DevOps ready."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"Primarily Microsoft Entra External ID SSO is valuable as it works with everything when it comes to integration."
"The most beneficial feature for us is the ease of setup. With about five clicks, we can generate unique IDs and keys and set up in less than 30 minutes. We can also generate these for multiple years simultaneously, which is convenient."
"It's quite easy to manage and monitor."
"The positive impact of Microsoft Entra External ID on my organization is that it enhances ease of use for the administrative side."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID."
 

Cons

"I think the upgrade process is sometimes a little complicated and there are failures that occur."
"Automatic Deployment needs improvement. it could be made easier."
"We're worried about the scaling. We're told it will be okay and there won't be issues, however, I'm not 100% convinced."
"The identity management model needs a bit of improvement."
"The solution's deployment should be made easier."
"The product's customization is a bit complicated."
"We raised tickets asking for improvements, but sometimes we don't get the proper solution. They are responding, but the ticket is open for weeks and weeks. For some issues, we don't get a satisfactory solution or the solution doesn't work."
"The solution requires more simplified customization. However, part of the problem is my clients determining their own preferences. Technology can help and do many things, but you have to define your own policies to ensure that the solution or service works within those parameters. Helping customers understand their business and different processes is another issue not relating to the functionality of this solution."
"The cost is very high."
"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
"The quality of Microsoft customer support varies. With an enterprise contract, good resources are usually provided, especially in regions like Saudi Arabia or UAE. However, we have faced challenges with support quality, especially in some subcontinent areas where the resources might not be as experienced."
"A common concern among the customers I visit is the unpredictability of Microsoft's costs at every renewal. This is really bothersome for the customer, and I would say it is the worst element I have seen in these years."
"I would like to see faster synchronization."
"The training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"There is room for improvement in AI technology for Microsoft Entra External ID, particularly in providing detailed alerts."
"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."
"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
12%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ForgeRock?
The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?
Our company was considering switching back to Keycloak from ForgeRock, so as to not pay any license fees. ForgeRock also supports M-PIN and biometric features that Keycloak does not provide. My com...
What needs improvement with ForgeRock?
In the past, I saw that Splunk was integrated with a testing portal, and then it was integrated with Slack. I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area wher...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
The cost totally depends on Azure's pricing structure. If you have sufficient background knowledge about the features and functionality, it can be cost-effective. However, if you need support or as...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
Integration could be improved when it comes to legacy tools.The support engineers are not as skilled as our engineers. When they say something would not work, or there is no solution, we usually he...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
Currently we use some of the AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) solutions and Google Solutions and few of Alibaba Cloud ( /products/alibaba-cloud-reviews ). That totally depends on time to time a...
 

Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
Azure Active Directory External Identities
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
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Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra External ID and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.