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Microsoft Active Directory vs Tenable Identity Exposure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.3
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th)
Tenable Identity Exposure
Ranking in Active Directory Management
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 6.4%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Identity Exposure is 6.6%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

Roberta Politano - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good authentication features
The solution's group policy is a normal way to deploy configuration and helps deploy to a wider environment. The solution is deployed both on-premises and on the cloud. I would recommend the solution to other users based on their infrastructure. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Alexandru Cioruta - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-implement solution that provides good reporting features and protects users’ AD infrastructure
We use Tenable Identity Exposure for our customers who have legacy AD still in use to see any exposure and protect their AD infrastructure as much as possible The solution is easy to implement, and its reporting is great. From the start, you get to see the exposure of your AD. So, it doesn't need…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easy to handle, and it gives a hundred percent results with the group policies."
"Active Directory is more flexible and feature-rich than Apache."
"It's quite easy to integrate into other directories."
"I think the main reason we are using Active Directory for SSO Office for single time and for intake integrity capability to other services."
"Stability and performance are good. So far, we have not observed any major downtime or performance issues since we deployed it."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The solution is stable."
"The password policy helps enforce security protocols by requiring complex passwords and frequent password changes."
"The solution is easy to implement, and its reporting is great."
 

Cons

"In the solution, assigning permissions is complex, making it difficult to grant them at a granular level or to multiple users without templates or alternative tools."
"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."
"There could be enough material to learn about the product."
"If Microsoft is going to add anything to the on-prem solution, it should be an updated GUI."
"UI is not very user-friendly."
"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."
"Microsoft Active Directory restricts most of the features our company's employees want to use since they are involved in research and development activities."
"Microsoft Active Directory could improve by having better integration with other solutions."
"Tenable Identity Exposure is more expensive than Defender for Identity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not overly expensive. It's considered a base function by Microsoft."
"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."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"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."
"The price of Microsoft Active Directory could improve. We pay annually for the solution."
"The version of Microsoft Active Directory I was using was expensive because it was used for large companies."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
There are a few areas that could be improved with Microsoft Active Directory, along similar lines as Intune. Not too much on the support side, but on the Group Policy side, it doesn't always functi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
The use cases for Microsoft Active Directory are managing all users on-premises. We have over 200 employees and multiple computers, approximately over 200 computers. We have shared computers and sh...
What do you like most about Tenable Identity Exposure?
The solution is easy to implement, and its reporting is great.
What needs improvement with Tenable Identity Exposure?
Tenable Identity Exposure is more expensive than Defender for Identity.
What is your primary use case for Tenable Identity Exposure?
We use Tenable Identity Exposure for our customers who have legacy AD still in use to see any exposure and protect their AD infrastructure as much as possible.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Teanble.ad
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about One Identity, Netwrix, ManageEngine and others in Active Directory Management. Updated: July 2025.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.