No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (8th)
Tenable Identity Exposure
Ranking in Active Directory Management
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (24th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 6.5%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Identity Exposure is 3.3%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Active Directory6.5%
Tenable Identity Exposure3.3%
Other90.2%
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

Eko Kurniawan - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Operations & Security at veris
Has simplified credential management and improved secure access control across departments
The features I find most useful in Microsoft Active Directory are especially for the Single Sign-On. This is very useful for users, particularly if they have plenty of applications, such as tablet applications. When they log in to their computer, the application will automatically log in with their credentials. They don't need to remember another user and password to log in to the application because it's already maintained with Microsoft Active Directory using Single Sign-On. To assess the impact of Microsoft Active Directory's centralized domain management on security protocols and access permissions, Microsoft Active Directory itself has constraints with security because when we have a solution such as SSO or Single Sign-On, which makes it easier for users to log in, some parts have security openings. When their computer is compromised with a threat, malware, or other cyber threats, it becomes easier to enter the application without login permission.
Alexandru Cioruta - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Cybersecurity Presales Domain Lead Architect at Eviden France
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

"Having active deployment and well-configured systems helps me manage tasks and easily oversee thousands of users."
"I find the product makes it easier to enhance various tools with Microsoft Active Directory."
"One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs."
"The Solution's most important feature is that it can merge with a cloud-based active directory via Azure AD Connect."
"The features and capabilities of Microsoft Active Directory that I have found the most valuable over the years are that it is a mature technology, it's stable, and it delivers what it promises."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is authentication."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"The solution is easy to implement, and its reporting is great."
 

Cons

"The solution's price could be better."
"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."
"In my experience, it's difficult to manage Microsoft Active Directory when the server is attacked by a threat or malware."
"I have encountered a few stability issues."
"If you are using the Active Directory, the main concern is that the policy is restricted to the specific local area network."
"Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't."
"Sometimes when we create email groups in Microsoft Active Directory and add someone to that group, it takes around 24 to 48 hours for their email account to be synchronized with their Microsoft Office 365 shared mailbox, distribution list, or group."
"The product could be improved in the area of security."
"Tenable Identity Exposure is more expensive than Defender for Identity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Active Directory is not an expensive 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."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"The version of Microsoft Active Directory I was using was expensive because it was used for large companies."
"Its price is reasonable."
"It's not overly expensive. It's considered a base function by Microsoft."
"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."
"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."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Active Directory Management solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise20
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
The best way to protect this is to use Microsoft Defender. For Microsoft support for Microsoft Active Directory, I would rate it as eight. If I give it 10, it would be too perfect. Eight is fair. M...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
My main use cases for Microsoft Active Directory are to manage user access and credentials.
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Active Directory?
Regarding Microsoft Active Directory's integration with third-party applications, it depends on the requirements. It's not always linked or combined with Microsoft Active Directory. In my experienc...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

No data available
Teanble.ad
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about One Identity, Microsoft, Netwrix and others in Active Directory Management. Updated: July 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.