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Microsoft Entra External ID vs SecureAuth Identity Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 27, 2025

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 Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
5th
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), Microsoft Security Suite (16th)
SecureAuth Identity Platform
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
14th
Average Rating
5.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (16th), Identity Management (IM) (26th), Access Management (20th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 4.5%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SecureAuth Identity Platform is 3.3%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra External ID4.5%
SecureAuth Identity Platform3.3%
Other92.2%
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

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.
it_user710517 - PeerSpot reviewer
Identity and Access Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Valuable features include access request and certification. Application integration, reporting, and certification could be improved.
Valuable features include access request, certification, and password management Provide centralised identity-access management Application integration, reporting, and certification could be improved More than three years The product is only as good as the data you use Moving from v7.x to v8.x…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The impact of having multiple authentication types available significantly helps with security practices using Microsoft Entra External ID."
"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 times that I have gone into it, I found it easy to use and I haven't had any issues with it."
"Primarily Microsoft Entra External ID SSO is valuable as it works with everything when it comes to integration."
"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."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"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."
"For v8.4, you can work easily if you stick to OOTB, however, should you require customization, then the tool is very flexible using SQL/VB knowledge to extend."
"The self-service functionality for password/access management reduced our need for manual intervention."
 

Cons

"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
"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."
"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 authentication methods available are very limited, and this presents a weak point."
"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"Microsoft Entra External ID isn't a complete cloud-based account solution, as it must handle internal employees and collaborate with internal Active Directory."
"I generally find Microsoft solutions expensive, especially in specific offerings."
"A common concern among the customers I visit is the unpredictability of Microsoft's costs at every renewal. This is really bothersome for the customer, and I would say it is the worst element I have seen in these years."
"Moving from v7.x to v8.x is not easy. You need Courion expertise and skills to upgrade and migrate the data."
"Stability was a constant concern. The application was plagued with memory leak issues from initial installation and through multiple major/minor version upgrades."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Construction Company
12%
Educational Organization
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

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...
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Also Known As

Azure Active Directory External Identities
SecureAuth Identity Governance, Core Access Assurance Suite, Courion Access Assurance Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Alegent Health, Associated Materials, Brookdale Senior Living, NV Energy, Woodforest Bank, Wellspan Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra External ID vs. SecureAuth Identity Platform and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.