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JumpCloud vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 30, 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

iboss
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (10th), Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (3rd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th)
JumpCloud
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (10th), Identity Management (IM) (14th), Enterprise Password Managers (9th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (9th), ZTNA as a Service (13th), Active Directory Bridge (3rd), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (5th)
Microsoft Active Directory
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th), Active Directory Management (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
MuhammadAzhar Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Manage multiple cloud platforms seamlessly with unified credentials
The most impactful feature of JumpCloud is that it allows me to use one credential for all platforms or accounts, reducing the need to remember multiple credentials. This feature is highly beneficial for user management, particularly for clients with multiple cloud accounts. Additionally, JumpCloud simplifies the workflow when I work with different cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, and GCP, by integrating directory and credential management.
Rajitha Abhisheka - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that easily merges with cloud-based ADs and provides superior data security
The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents. It is time consuming to get a clear picture and review deviations in conditional policies because you have to check each and every log to find information on malicious attacks, a compromised end-user's account, or phishing emails. The logs for sign-ins and auditing should be available for more than a 30-90 day window. Most logs are displayed in UTC but it would be helpful to include time conversions for tenant regions. Currently, we must do time conversions manually before we contact users to share information and troubleshoot issues.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."
"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."
"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."
"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."
"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."
"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"The interface is clean and user-friendly. Setting up new devices or setting up new users inside the system is easy. Also, it integrates with Office 365, which is pretty much a must for our organization."
"I rate the stability of JumpCloud ten out of ten."
"The UI is intuitively easy to use. It is easy to set up a user. I have found the group management to be pretty simple. You can group users, then assign them to groups of systems, and that relationship allows us to ease the management burden."
"Azure Cloud services are on time and run well and if we use a JumpCloud, the benefits we receive are the ease of management and the solution is completely user-friendly. End users can do identity management easily."
"The product enables device management."
"Ability to integrate all applications."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Some of the most valuable features of Jumpcloud have been the use of the policies. They have been very helpful. There are modules in there for policies where you can create your own which indirectly are GPOs similar to what you have for Microsoft environments, however, they are only doing registry changes. They are very powerful and useful. Additionally, having your directory and SSO in one spot is another thing that they provide in application management. Adding, removing, and updating applications are in one place for desktop administration."
"The user-friendliness of Microsoft Active Directory is a valuable feature."
"The ability for a single sign-on for applications."
"Active Directory makes managing user policies easier, like when a user wants to share files. We also use it to create and manage our email accounts."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is authentication."
"Active Directory is more flexible and feature-rich than Apache."
"It is easy to understand all the components."
"Active Directory plays a focal point in security management, encompassing aspects like credential management, lifecycle, dynamic provisioning, and the network infrastructure of customers."
"One advantage of Active Directory is that you can sync it with Microsoft Office 365, so you can manage on-premise and cloud operations, which can have different requirements. The flexibility of a hybrid management solution is valuable."
 

Cons

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."
"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."
"The dashboards for local use could be better."
"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."
"Its pricing could be better."
"The visual tool and interface must be more fine-tuned."
"JumpCloud can improve in its synchronization of identities. More specifically, groups with Office 365. They've been working on it, but it's not where I would necessarily like it to be."
"Lacks the ability to have various VPN applications."
"Support is not good enough."
"They need more straightening of the SSO capabilities."
"It could dip into CI/CD tooling as well. That would be a very interesting part to see."
"JumpCloud could improve the compatibility with other devices and operating systems. For example, the solution only works well with Mac and some Linux devices. It does not work for mobile devices, such as Android."
"JumpCloud could improve the user interface. While it has certainly come a long way, there is still room for improvement in terms of simplifying and making it more intuitive for the user. In my opinion, the UI/UE could benefit from some modifications to enhance the overall user experience. I have suggested some changes to JumpCloud regarding this matter as I believe that they have the potential to further enhance the platform and make it even more user-friendly. There are certain small features within the system that users may not be familiar with, as they may have previously used different systems with different user interfaces."
"The product must provide remote password reset features."
"UI is not very user-friendly."
"Perhaps the synchronization could be simpler and more controllable. There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates."
"If Microsoft is going to add anything to the on-prem solution, it should be an updated GUI."
"I would like to see the integration with Mac and IOS products improved."
"I would like to see improvements in the solution’s security filtering feature. It can include machines and filter some users. There is no option to exclude a particular user or system."
"We may occasionally experience difficulty integrating some solutions with Microsoft Active Directory, but I am unsure whether the issue lies with Microsoft Active Directory or the other solution."
"The interface hasn't changed much over the years. It's suitable for my tastes, but that doesn't mean everybody likes it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."
"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"Licensing cost can be anywhere between $2 and $18 a month depending on what you want to do."
"The pricing is all on the JumpCloud website. It's not hidden, you don't have to go through a show me a quote type procedure. The pricing is straightforward to understand."
"I am pretty sure that the cost to acquire JumpCloud is less. They have à la carte or per-user pricing. The pricing is there on their webpage. I am not sure if they have any enterprise pricing or discounts if you have more users. But the overall pricing is less than Okta."
"The solution is pretty expensive."
"JumpCloud offers several subscription plans as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider. The pricing is based on the number of users and the services that are required, meaning that you only pay for what you consume and don't have to pay for services that you don't need. When compared to other solutions, JumpCloud can actually be more cost-effective, as it eliminates the need to hire a team, purchase hardware, pay for licenses and software, and worry about updates, security, and backups. Thus, it offers a more efficient and cost-effective solution for managing your needs."
"The pricing model changed about 18 months ago. It used to be that you got 10 users free, and then you paid for any user above 10 users. Now, when you go above 10 users, you pay for every user. It has become a bit more expensive, but it's such a good product. When you take into account Microsoft licenses, if you were to run Active Directory, you'd need a server to put it on, or you would need a couple of servers, backup, etc. It's a no-brainer. JumpCloud is so much easier to manage from my perspective, regardless of the cost increase. It's just brilliant."
"The cost of the solution is approximately $12 per user. However, the cost depends on what modules you're using. They have an all-in-one package and they do have tiers. For example, the more users you have, the cheaper it ends up being in the end too. I know they've done some changes to the pricing model and I haven't been involved in a lot of the licensing lately. I don't know the exact cost at this time."
"We are using an enterprise license for JumpCloud. We have purchased a license for approximately $3,000 a year, but we are charged more than $135,000 annually."
"My company makes payments every quarter towards the licensing costs of the product."
"We have to purchase a license for the solution."
"The version of Microsoft Active Directory I was using was expensive because it was used for large companies."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
"The license is perpetual and the cost is minimal. If you purchase Microsoft Windows then Microsoft Active Directory comes with the package."
"Active Directory is built-in into Microsoft Windows 10. I'm not an administrator and would not be involved in purchasing decisions for new versions of the software. I have only used the client portion of it, I do not know if there is a cost to using the solution."
"Active Directory is an expensive solution, primarily due to Microsoft's licensing model. This licensing approach includes paying for server licenses as well as for each computer that connects to it. However, when working with the Azure cloud, there is no cost for the server. This is profitable and one of the main reasons why Azure Cloud and other cloud-based solutions are being used more."
"The product's premium support services are expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?
Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.
What needs improvement with iboss?
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctl...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We used it for student and faculty filtering on campus.
What do you like most about JumpCloud?
The product enables device management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JumpCloud?
AWS charges per user, which can be costly if I have more than ten users. Third-party platforms tend to be cheaper tha...
What needs improvement with JumpCloud?
I would like AWS to integrate more cloud platforms with JumpCloud, such as Alibaba or Oracle. This would be helpful, ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
Technology is evolving. AI is offering solutions. However, short-term fixes are like band-aids.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
I utilize it in almost every scenario. I use the Hazer database and meet daily needs across every industry, every time.
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Resmo
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
Cars.com, GoFundMe, Grab, ClassPass, Uplight, Beyond Finance, Foursquare
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about JumpCloud vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.