JumpCloud vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

JumpCloud and Microsoft are both solutions in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category. JumpCloud is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.5, while Microsoft is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.5. Additionally, 100% of JumpCloud users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

JumpCloud and Microsoft Active Directory are major competitors in the identity and device management space. JumpCloud seems to have the upper hand due to its flexibility, cloud-based solutions, and ease in integrating applications.

Features: JumpCloud stands out for its ease of management, powerful single sign-on, and device management capabilities. It also supports remote management and offers a cloud-based solution that is ideal for organizations with diverse needs. Its ability to integrate various applications and manage users and devices seamlessly is a notable advantage. Microsoft Active Directory excels in centralized domain management, robust user and group policy management, and fits well within the Microsoft ecosystem. Offering on-premises deployment, it caters to enterprises with complex needs and integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft services.

Room for Improvement: JumpCloud could enhance its mobile device management capabilities and improve integration with platforms like Microsoft 365. The expansion of its feature set to include multi-tenant features and asset management could also be beneficial. Microsoft Active Directory could improve its user-friendliness, especially in reporting capabilities, cloud integration, and overall user interface. Users note the need for easier synchronization between on-premises and cloud environments and enhanced support for multi-factor authentication.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: JumpCloud's cloud-focused platform ensures straightforward deployment in public and hybrid cloud environments. It has strong customer service, with some initial setup challenges noted. Microsoft Active Directory is better suited for on-premises and hybrid deployments, often needing more complex setups. Customer service is generally reliable but proves less responsive during initial setups.

Pricing and ROI: JumpCloud presents a transparent pricing model with feature flexibility, making it a cost-effective choice for startups and enterprises looking for cloud-based management. It offers significant ROI through streamlined management and compliance capabilities. Microsoft Active Directory varies in cost based on server licenses and user CALs, but its integration within Microsoft environments often justifies the higher expenses. Users benefit from its renowned enterprise capabilities, though initial costs may be higher.

To learn more, read our detailed JumpCloud vs. Microsoft Active Directory Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

JumpCloud vs. Microsoft Active Directory

September 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

iboss

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

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

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MuhammadAzhar Khan

Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group

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.

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Giovanni Baruzzi

Owner at Syntlogo GmbH

Mature technology delivers consistent capability and enhances centralized user management

I think Microsoft Active Directory could be more intuitive. My impression of the integration of Microsoft Active Directory with third-party applications is that it can be made better. It's not the tendency of Microsoft to use a standard, but to modify it to their needs. This is catastrophic if you have to integrate other applications that use the same standard. This creates a major problem, so you have to be very careful and implement step by step, knowing that the partner is Microsoft. I would leave Microsoft Active Directory as it is and build possibly interfaces. For example, there is a provisioning protocol standard named SCIM. It seems that Microsoft Active Directory does not yet have a SCIM interface, which is a problem.

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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

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"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."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

"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."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

More iboss pros

"The most valuable features of JumpCloud are flexibility, policy management for devices, and device patch management. For example, we can limit access to devices only in Chile or send a number of commands to the devices to manage them."

"The most valuable feature of JumpCloud, it provides a convenient and streamlined solution for me to access and manage all of the features I require in one centralized location. This eliminates the need for me to worry about hiring individuals to manage these tasks, as well as eliminating concerns surrounding hardware, updates, and licenses. With JumpCloud, I am able to receive the services I need in a timely and efficient manner, which has significantly reduced my stress and alleviated a great deal of the issues I once faced. This is especially important as I am often bound by laws, regulations, contracts, and customer demands to keep up with various tasks. With JumpCloud, I am able to manage everything I need in one place, giving me visibility and control over aspects that I previously had to manage through multiple systems."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"I am impressed with the product's remote access which allows admins to control endpoints which is a timesaver."

"As a cloud-based directory, JumpCloud allows me to integrate nearly every system I have come across that supports SAML 2.0. That's a specific technology that allows different services to integrate for user authentication and identification purposes. That means that with JumpCloud, I can then have one single password. Single sign-on for a particular user that works with VPN, radius authentication for WiFi, logging into Office 365, and their email. Their individual computers use that same password. It's extensible which allows us to tie in customers' security systems. We don't have to provision a new user, 12 different places with 12 different passwords. I only have to create them once and assign them privileges."

More JumpCloud pros

"It is easy to understand all the components."

"The user-friendliness of Microsoft Active Directory is a valuable feature."

"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 solution's technical support is good."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Active Directory is the ability to search for computers and users. While I do not have administrative privileges to reset passwords, I can view user information such as department, and communicate with someone who can make the changes."

"I find the product makes it easier to enhance various tools with Microsoft Active Directory."

"I can use Active Directory to block a user's internet access and monitor how an employee is using the internet."

"It's quite easy to integrate into other directories."

More Microsoft Active Directory pros

Cons

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"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."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

More iboss cons

"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."

"I would like AWS to integrate more cloud platforms with JumpCloud, such as Alibaba or Oracle."

"Support is not good enough."

"A nice feature called patch management with different kinds of licensing is not included in JumpCloud."

"The querying for users in Jumpcloud could be improved, it is sometimes difficult to use. When you're trying to query a user and you spell out their name, you don't receive that person. Sometimes you receive a list of people with the same first name or last name. This could be better."

"They need more straightening of the SSO capabilities."

"There are a few aspects that could be improved. Their API was a little spotty when I last used it, and some of those use cases were around removing systems from our environment."

"Lacks the ability to have various VPN applications."

More JumpCloud cons

"UI is not very user-friendly."

"Active Directory's user experience is a little dated. Group policy management should be more customizable."

"Typically, it depends on the customer's situation. If the customer operates in smaller locations where most PCs are in a common location, we usually aim to consolidate the directory infrastructure for easier maintenance. However, for distributed setups spanning multiple countries, configuring multiple sites becomes necessary and more intricate to handle. Our objective is to minimize the number of sites, simplifying operations for IT administrators and reducing errors. Mistakes in Active Directory can be costly for organizations, as disruptions can occur rapidly. Moreover, when it comes to hybrid single sign-on across various applications, Microsoft hasn't put forth significant effort. Single sign-on has become a challenge for many customers who utilize diverse solutions beyond Microsoft products. While implementing single sign-on is relatively straightforward in the Azure cloud, it's considerably more complex when dealing with the local Active Directory. This presents a big challenge for many of our customers."

"I expect additional features like maximizing user flow, improving the branding of the UI, and enabling non-interactive login. Customizing the login page is limited to changing the background and logo, and adding terms and conditions during registration requires JavaScript."

"The product's premium support services could be less expensive."

"Microsoft Active Directory restricts most of the features our company's employees want to use since they are involved in research and development activities."

"I did not have a good experience with the product's tech support. First-level support takes a lot of time since they ask many questions."

"It could be more scalable. We still need another software solution to monitor the network in addition to Active Directory and OpManager, our domain controller. We use SolarWinds."

More Microsoft Active Directory cons

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."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"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 probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"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."

"Licensing cost can be anywhere between $2 and $18 a month depending on what you want to do."

"JumpCloud's monthly license costs around $25 for the complete solution."

"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 cost was around $5 per user per month."

"I rate the product's pricing a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"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."

"The solution is pretty expensive."

More JumpCloud pricing and cost advice

"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."

"It's not overly expensive. It's considered a base function by Microsoft."

"My company makes payments every quarter towards the licensing costs of the product."

"I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten."

"The price of Microsoft Active Directory could improve. We pay annually for the solution."

"I'm unsure about the cost of the solution, as I was never involved in that aspect. However, I don't think it would be expensive. It might be average, around four or five out of ten."

"Microsoft Active Directory is not an expensive solution."

"The version of Microsoft Active Directory I was using was expensive because it was used for large companies."

More Microsoft Active Directory pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

17%

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

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What do you like most about JumpCloud?

The product enables device management.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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, ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?

The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?

I think Microsoft Active Directory could be more intuitive. My impression of the integration of Microsoft Active Dire...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?

My usual use case for Microsoft Active Directory is to share groups of authorization among many different application...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

JumpCloud

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Active Directory

September 2025

Download Microsoft Active Directory product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Resmo

No data available

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

JumpCloud enables organizations to manage devices, users, and applications across platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. It offers centralized authentication, identity and access management, single sign-on, directory services, security policy enforcement, and cloud service integration.

Organizations leverage JumpCloud for its robust device management, policy management, and seamless integration with applications such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Its flexibility, stability, scalability, and ease of use make it a strong choice for managing business directories, executing scripts on-demand, synchronizing system access, and implementing mobile device management. Key features include remote access, Windows Out of Box Experience, strong authentication and authorization controls, centralized user and device management, efficient onboarding and offboarding processes, and extensive security and reporting features.

What are the most important features?

Device Management: Centralized control over devices across multiple platforms.
Single Sign-On: Simplified access to multiple applications with one set of credentials.
Policy Management: Enforcement of security policies across different systems and devices.
Application Integration: Integration with major applications like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Remote Access: Secure remote access capabilities for users.
Script Execution: Efficient execution of scripts and job scheduling across systems.
Comprehensive Reporting: Detailed security and activity reports to help monitor and manage access.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Flexibility: Adaptable to different business needs and environments.
Stability: Reliable performance with minimal downtime.
Scalability: Easily scales to accommodate growing user and device numbers.
Ease of Use: User-friendly interface supports efficient management tasks.
Enhanced Security: Strong controls and policy enforcement reduce security risks.
Streamlined Processes: Simplified onboarding and offboarding processes increase efficiency.

In specific industries, JumpCloud is utilized to manage a wide array of tasks such as automating administrative functions in healthcare, ensuring secure access to sensitive data in finance, and supporting remote work needs in technology sectors. Its ability to integrate with diverse platforms and provide centralized control makes it suitable for managing complex IT environments.

JumpCloud

Active Directory stores information about objects on the network and makes this information easy for administrators and users to find and use. Active Directory uses a structured data store as the basis for a logical, hierarchical organization of directory information.

This data store, also known as the directory, contains information about Active Directory objects. These objects typically include shared resources such as servers, volumes, printers, and the network user and computer accounts.

Security is integrated with Active Directory through logon authentication and access control to objects in the directory. With a single network logon, administrators can manage directory data and organization throughout their network, and authorized network users can access resources anywhere on the network. Policy-based administration eases the management of even the most complex network.

Microsoft

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

Buyer's Guide

JumpCloud vs. Microsoft Active Directory

September 2025

Free Report: JumpCloud vs. Microsoft Active Directory

Find out what your peers are saying about JumpCloud vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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