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Microsoft Entra External ID vs WSO2 Identity Server 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)
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (9th), Microsoft Security Suite (21st)
WSO2 Identity Server
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 7.9%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WSO2 Identity Server is 1.6%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Corrado Vigano - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution integrates well with existing systems while being easy to use
The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use. Furthermore, Microsoft's reliability in providing a clear roadmap for the solution is very important, especially at a time when cybersecurity is a risk in every company. The solution is easy to reuse and not difficult to find expertise for in the market because it is widespread. It is gaining attention even from partners and from the market on the offering side. This serves as a good starting point for customers who can develop internal competence on the solution. Additionally, the presence of reliable partners who know the solution and can provide internal knowledge is the best aspect for them.
Ritesh_Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilizing key management and seamless single sign-on integration for enhanced user profile management
WSO2 Identity Server's key management feature stands out as a particularly impactful feature for enhancing security. Additionally, from a user perspective, the self-user portal and user profile management capabilities are highly valuable. It allows users to manage their profiles, change passwords, and offers a self-care portal type of functionality. The single sign-on capability integrates seamlessly with various platforms, including Google, Facebook, LDAP, and Active Directory, which supports rapid product launches.

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 for me is the firewall capabilities."
"The positive impact of Microsoft Entra External ID on my organization is that it enhances ease of use for the administrative side."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"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."
"The single sign-on access is the most useful feature we use."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"The best features of Microsoft Entra External ID include its unification of B2C functionality and B2E features."
"I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID."
"The solution gets the job done, and we don't have to do the main configuration."
"I am completely satisfied with WSO2 Identity Server and would definitely recommend it to other companies."
"We use the solution for customer identity management, authenticating customers coming in through a web portal."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"Comprehensive ecosystem."
"The keystore feature has been most valuable for us."
"It's very easy to implement everything."
"The single sign-on procedure itself, as well as the ability to connect to external user sources such as Microsoft Active Directory and LDAP servers, are the solution's most valuable features."
 

Cons

"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"I would like to see faster synchronization."
"The authentication methods available are very limited, and this presents a weak point."
"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
"The support engineers are not as skilled as our engineers. When they say something would not work, or there is no solution, we usually hear that Microsoft would not support this."
"The training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"I generally find Microsoft solutions expensive, especially in specific offerings."
"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."
"This solution requires extensive knowledge to be used effectively as certain areas of its use are not user friendly."
"Sometimes working with the code is difficult because I search for documentation about the code and how to work with the code, which is where I believe they should improve, by providing some documentation on how to work with the code."
"This solution does not have BPM workflows already integrated, we had to integrate the BPM module externally. They do not provide full-featured auditing and certification modules out of the box."
"I found the initial setup to be very complex."
"There needs to be a good support model and easy-to-understand documentation."
"The solution seems to be pretty outdated."
"The high availability architecture has to be improved."
"The solution's licensing model could be more flexible, and pricing could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
"They should bring in some good pricing models to host the marketplace."
"I rate the product price an eight out of ten. There is a need to pay more for the extra features provided by the solution."
"WSO2 Identity Server is not an expensive solution."
"I have found the solutions license is priced competitively compared to others."
"At this time we are working with the open-source version."
"We have to take their support, but that is a minimal charge if I'm comparing it to other identity managers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Transportation Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
Concerning the pricing or setup costs for Microsoft Entra External ID, based on my experience with Entra and 365 in general, it shouldn't require a whole education on their software. That's been a ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
I haven't utilized the adaptive authentication feature. We haven't used the customization capability for user journeys within the Microsoft Entra External ID. I don't have experience trying to crea...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
I'm more familiar with the Microsoft Entra External ID, the Active Directory external identities, because we have a hybrid environment. For the parts that I handle, the on-premise part is easier fo...
What do you like most about WSO2 Identity Server?
The product provides easy integration between API manager and IT server components.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WSO2 Identity Server?
The pricing is currently the same as the API Manager, so it's not surprising. Since we used it primarily for SSO and the self portal, there were no additional pricing concerns.
What needs improvement with WSO2 Identity Server?
Currently, all required features are supported. If new use cases for artificial intelligence arise, it could be beneficial to incorporate those. However, for our current projects, WSO2 Identity Ser...
 

Also Known As

Azure Active Directory External Identities
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Nutanix, ELM, AlmavivA, BDigital, StubHub, M-creations, MedVision360
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra External ID vs. WSO2 Identity Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.