Microsoft Active Directory vs Netwrix Auditor comparison

Microsoft and Netwrix are both solutions in the Active Directory Management category. Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.5, while Netwrix is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.5. Microsoft holds a 6.2% mindshare in ADM, compared to Netwrix’s 11.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Netwrix users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Active Directory

Read 46 Microsoft Active Directory reviews

1,563 Views
485 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Netwrix Auditor

Read 8 Netwrix Auditor reviews

1,885 Views
1,225 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Active Directory

Netwrix Auditor

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 9, 2024

Netwrix Auditor and Microsoft Active Directory are major IT solutions. The former excels in detailed auditing features, while the latter offers comprehensive identity and access management, making it a versatile choice.

What features are offered by Netwrix Auditor in comparison to Microsoft Active Directory?

Netwrix Auditor provides granular audit reports, user-friendly insights, and specialized audit functionalities. Microsoft Active Directory offers robust identity and access management, comprehensive integration in one environment, and a consolidated feature set.

What areas of improvement can be found in Netwrix Auditor in comparison to Microsoft Active Directory?

Netwrix Auditor needs improvements in scalability, integration with other systems, and broader system compatibility. Microsoft Active Directory could benefit from reducing complexity, simplifying basic task tools, and enhancing user-friendly features.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of Netwrix Auditor in comparison to Microsoft Active Directory?

Netwrix Auditor has mixed reviews on deployment complexity but is praised for its responsive support. Microsoft Active Directory’s deployment often requires significant IT expertise but benefits from widespread community support and extensive documentation.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with Netwrix Auditor in comparison to Microsoft Active Directory?

Netwrix Auditor is seen as cost-effective with a clear return on investment. Microsoft Active Directory is perceived as more expensive but justifiable due to its extensive feature set and integrated solutions.

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Active Directory vs. Netwrix Auditor

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 869,095 peers since 2012

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

Microsoft Active Directory

Ranking in Active Directory Management

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (8th)

Netwrix Auditor

Ranking in Active Directory Management

3rd

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

GRC (10th), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (27th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (16th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 6.2%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netwrix Auditor is 11.3%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Active Directory Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Netwrix Auditor	11.3%
Microsoft Active Directory	6.2%
Other	82.5%

Active Directory Management

Featured Reviews

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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RishiPandit

Lead - Technical Services at Impetus

Optimizing time and effort through comprehensive auditing features

Netwrix Auditor doesn't have many competitors at the level in which it is placed. All other companies provide auditing solutions but not up to the feature list; it is very broad and robust. The best features include flexibility to interact directly with MS-SQL. Real-time alerts help identify potential security threats. The ability to streamline audits with insights into configuration states is helpful, as the access reviews and audit reports are really insightful. This is a good tool. The search functionality is available, but comparative to other vendors, this is a bit slower. Reports are effective; the compliance reports and all the reports are very insightful. That is good.

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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

"The most valuable feature is the configured appliance system in Hypervisor."

"It is easy to understand all the components."

"It is easy to handle, and it gives a hundred percent results with the group policies."

"It is very user-friendly."

"I advise consideration of this solution. The overall product rating is ten out of ten."

"Technical support is helpful."

"These Group Policies provide enhancement, helping to reduce administrative overhead and enhance productivity."

"It is a scalable solution."

More Microsoft Active Directory pros

"What I find the most valuable about Netwrix Auditor is the way it shows risk. The reports are very clear."

"The most valuable feature is the real-time monitoring."

"Netwrix provides features that no other solution on the market does."

"Netwrix Auditor doesn't have many competitors at the level in which it is placed; all other companies provide auditing solutions but not up to the feature list—it is very broad and robust."

"I have found user behavior analysis and the ability to run risk assessments important features. Additionally, the interface and online documentation are very good."

"The most valuable features of Netwrix Auditor are its affordability compared to similar products and its comprehensive monitoring of admin activities."

"I am impressed with the tool's reporting feature and notifications."

"It maintains audit logs for the duration of time that you wish, as long as you have the storage capacity to do so."

Cons

"The interface hasn't changed much over the years. It's suitable for my tastes, but that doesn't mean everybody likes it."

"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."

"The scalability of the solution needs improvement."

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

"The cloud service of Microsoft Active Directory is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."

"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."

"Microsoft Active Directory could improve by having better integration with other solutions."

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

More Microsoft Active Directory cons

"I expect usability features to become more refined over time. I'm interested to see how it evolves and continues to improve."

"When there are issues I would like remediation to be in one place."

"There is room for improvement with the introduction of AI functionality."

"If you buy direct, there is a minimum of 150 licenses that must be procured. The price point and barrier of entry is a little bit higher than it would be if you purchased the solution from an authorized reseller partner, rather than buying it and managing yourself."

"There is room for improvements when it comes to the licensing."

"The solution lacks self-service on password reset. It also needs to improve its scalability."

"An improvement would be if there was an another way to manage the logs besides email because it's not so practical."

"The Linux compatibility of this solution could be improved."

More Netwrix Auditor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"The product's premium support services are expensive."

"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."

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

"The license per user can probably be reduced."

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

"Its price is reasonable."

More Microsoft Active Directory pricing and cost advice

"There is a license for this solution and we are on an annual license. The price is reasonable."

"This solution is reasonably priced. I would rate it a nine out of ten."

"The tool's price is fair."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?

The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?

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 applications. The other use case for Microsoft Active Directory is the authentication of us...

See all answers

What do you like most about Netwrix Auditor?

The most valuable features of Netwrix Auditor are its affordability compared to similar products and its comprehensive monitoring of admin activities.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netwrix Auditor?

I don't know about the pricing of this, but it is good at this price point because our organization has purchased it, which means it was in budget. We usually do not buy expensive solutions, so the...

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What needs improvement with Netwrix Auditor?

The areas of improvement include the front end, as the UI should be more intuitive and there should be fewer bugs. In the UI, we have to adjust and resize our console many times, and sometimes it a...

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Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

ManageEngine ADManager Plus vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 16% of the time

CyberArk Identity vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 9% of the time

JumpCloud vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 8% of the time

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Wazuh vs Netwrix Auditor

Compared 16% of the time

Change Auditor for Active Directory vs Netwrix Auditor

Compared 13% of the time

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs Netwrix Auditor

Compared 12% of the time

Lepide vs Netwrix Auditor

Compared 9% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Netwrix Auditor

Compared 7% of the time

More Netwrix Auditor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Active Directory

September 2025

Download Microsoft Active Directory product report

Buyer's Guide

Netwrix Auditor

September 2025

Download Netwrix Auditor product report

Overview

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

Netwrix Auditor is a security-focused solution that monitors IT environments by tracking changes, ensuring compliance, and enhancing visibility into user activities. It offers detailed auditing, real-time alerts, and robust reporting tools. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive features boost efficiency, productivity, and organizational growth.

Netwrix

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

AT&T, SanDisk, Siemens, Verizon, Electrolux, Allianz, Societe Generale

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Active Directory vs. Netwrix Auditor

September 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Active Directory vs. Netwrix Auditor

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