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

Microsoft Entra External ID vs Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management 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 Entra External ID
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (10th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (5th)
Microsoft Purview Data Life...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
27th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (9th), Document Management Software (6th), Data Governance (26th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 1.7%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management is 1.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra External ID1.7%
Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management1.8%
Other96.5%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

FS
Consultant at Artifield
Offers strong identity unification but needs better customization
Microsoft Entra External ID can be improved with additional features, specifically customizable flexibility and a customizable user interface for the login dialog. Currently, the login dialog has very limited customization options, which only include font styles, colors, text messages, or brand icons. Last month, Entra ID introduced some customizable features in their login dialog, but this does not apply to Microsoft Entra External ID, indicating a significant gap between the two. In theory, Entra External ID can support many external identity providers where custom login dialogs could be integrated, potentially via SSO feature coordination, although I have not yet confirmed this. Hence, enhanced customizable login options and the ability to use attribute password logins are critical features that are required for Microsoft Entra External ID to gain dominance in the authentication market.
ST
Ict Systems Manager at Lltnpa
Automated retention has transformed compliance workflows and now simplifies audit responses
The deep native integration with Microsoft 365 is what ultimately made me decide on Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management over Enterprise Vault and OpenText Content Manager. Auto-apply retention labels using machine learning is the specific integration with Microsoft 365 that made it the deciding factor for me over Enterprise Vault or OpenText. Manually labeling content at our data volumes is not realistic. The automated classification based on sensitive information types and trainable classifiers is what makes the program actually scale. That feature gets used constantly. We went from inconsistent ad-hoc retention practices to a consistent, automated, documented program across the whole organization with Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management. That shift from a compliance audit perspective is enormous.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most beneficial feature for us is the ease of setup. With about five clicks, we can generate unique IDs and keys and set up in less than 30 minutes. We can also generate these for multiple years simultaneously, which is convenient."
"When it comes to Microsoft Entra External ID, Microsoft itself is the best distributor."
"It's similar to using a Microsoft account to create accounts on other websites. We are also using Microsoft Entra to monitor which applications our guests are using. This allows us to filter, block, or adjust permissions for these applications as needed for our collaborators."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"The experience has been rather good; there are other possibilities, but we made the choice to go with Microsoft, and we have a good experience with that."
"Primarily Microsoft Entra External ID SSO is valuable as it works with everything when it comes to integration."
"Microsoft Entra External ID is more secure, offering a secure environment."
"Microsoft Entra External ID offers numerous advantages; there's no need to maintain anything on-premises, which results in a significant IT infrastructure cost saving."
"The impact of Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management on my unified data catalog has improved a lot; the improvements I see are in the lineage, the discovery, and the labeling."
"The system is stable; I haven't encountered any worldwide stability issues unlike other office products."
"We went from inconsistent ad-hoc retention practices to a consistent, automated, documented program across the whole organization with Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management."
"The UI is the most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"There have been a couple of times when it was unavailable because of Microsoft issues, but other than that, I don't remember any problems."
"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
"The quality of Microsoft customer support varies. With an enterprise contract, good resources are usually provided, especially in regions like Saudi Arabia or UAE. However, we have faced challenges with support quality, especially in some subcontinent areas where the resources might not be as experienced."
"The problem with Microsoft products is that they often cater to enterprise-level needs, which can be too costly for medium-sized businesses."
"There is room for improvement in AI technology for Microsoft Entra External ID, particularly in providing detailed alerts."
"The training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"Microsoft Entra External ID isn't a complete cloud-based account solution, as it must handle internal employees and collaborate with internal Active Directory."
"Microsoft's Purview Data Lifecycle Management preview features can be unreliable, hindering their usefulness."
"I think labeling could use a lot more AI assistance. AI implementation into labeling would be beneficial."
"The initial setup took longer than we expected. Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management is not a turn-it-on-and-go product."
"The time it takes to scan is one issue; when we raise high-volume issues and tickets related to scanning failures, it relates to permission errors, which are technical challenges."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
"The service operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, charging an extra one cent per field of metadata scanned in our data."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
Microsoft is flexible in the pricing for the product, so I cannot say that it is expensive, but definitely they are flexible in the price lists and their ways of doing payments.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
Not really at the moment, but perhaps when we go deeper into using Microsoft Entra External ID, we may experience some things we may not prefer. However, up to now, we have not encountered anything...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
When I say identity, I mean Microsoft Entra External ID. We have been using Microsoft Entra External ID since the beginning of 2022. I am using it as a client. The purposes for using Microsoft Entr...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management?
Better coverage outside Microsoft 365 is a feature I wish Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management had that it does not offer today. If I could change one thing about Microsoft Purview Data Life...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management?
Automating retention and deletion across our Microsoft 365 environment is my main use case for Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management. At Microsoft scale, Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and T...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management?
Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management implementation is very much a team-wide effort. The policies apply organization-wide across all Microsoft 365 users. The management side, configuring pol...
 

Also Known As

Azure Active Directory External Identities
Microsoft Information Governance, Microsoft Purview Records Management
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra External ID vs. Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.