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Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Entra Workload ID 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 ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
1st
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
226
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (1st), Access Management (1st)
Microsoft Entra Workload ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
26th
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
35th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 28.1%, down from 28.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra Workload ID is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Aaron Liang - PeerSpot reviewer
Has significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment
Microsoft Entra ID has helped by simplifying our management of permissions for APIs. We are not directly exposing credentials, as we use tokens instead. It has made management easier and more secure, especially in a multi-user environment. The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment, primarily through the widespread use of single-sign-on. Managing API permissions became much easier, as application registration often involves calling an API to utilize services without directly exposing credentials, relying instead on token-based authentication. This streamlined approach benefits end-users by simplifying access while remaining transparent to them. Ultimately, my role focuses on ensuring a smooth and user-friendly experience, even if the underlying technology remains unseen by the end-users. Our company strongly emphasizes passwordless authentication, primarily through device-bound passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator. While administrators with high-privileged accounts utilize YubiKeys and passwords for tasks like accessing Microsoft Graph, we are actively transitioning all other users towards passwordless methods such as Windows Hello biometrics. This approach streamlines authentication and enhances security. Though initial deployment in 2022 presented challenges due to hardware limitations and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology has significantly improved and provides a simple and effective user experience.
Stanislav Priscak - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables organizations to synchronize users with different products, but it is not easy to integrate
The product enables organizations to synchronize users to Microsoft 365 products Integration with other products must be made easier. I have been using the solution for one year. I rate the tool’s stability a seven out of ten. About 50 people in our organization use the tool. It is used daily.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to see and control PCs and mobile devices is the most valuable. I can see where they are and how many we have. I can also see the age and retention of PCs."
"The most valuable features of this solution are definitely the authorization and authentication, and the rule-based user validation."
"The best feature of Microsoft Entra ID is that it provides more granular control over user identities."
"Having access to Azure Active Directory on the cloud gives us speed and use of the latest technology. The application services are very good, such as GitHub."
"Azure Active Directory has many automation capabilities, and you can apply policies on top. You can do a lot of things with these combinations and integrate other tools like PingFederate."
"The tool's most valuable feature is auto logs. It helps with user activity and monitoring. It also assists us with GLBA policies and procedures. Microsoft Entra ID gives a 360 view of what the user has access to, what applications are available to them, when they are logging in and out, etc. It makes knowing what is happening to our tenants incredibly powerful."
"The user management groups are valuable. It is a pretty basic product, but user management, in general, is valuable with the ability to differentiate between business lines and add different policies, group-based management, and dynamic user groups."
"The most valuable features in Active Directory are the password writeback product and the MDM technology."
"The product enables organizations to synchronize users to Microsoft 365 products."
 

Cons

"Private access and internet access should be available in a less expensive licensing model."
"The integration between the Azure active directory and the traditional active directory could be improved upon."
"It would be good to have more clarity around licensing."
"Microsoft has so many different requirements and priorities that sometimes they don't invest all their energy into the products that you have expectations to investigate."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"The main issue is that because Active Directory is in the cloud, it will inevitably be dependent on internet connectivity."
"I think the documentation and configuration are both areas that need improvement."
"The robustness of the conditional access feature of the zero trust strategy to verify users is adequate but not comprehensive."
"Integration with other products must be made easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of Entra ID depends entirely on our organization's specific needs and use cases."
"It is costly."
"I give the cost a three out of ten."
"We have a yearly license."
"We make sure that we only enable the licenses that are needed for the users, rather than enabling licenses in a blanket fashion."
"We don't really have a choice. It's the one shop in town. If you want this, you have to pay for it."
"The pricing for Azure Active Directory is affordable; I would rate the cost a six out of ten."
"Everything needs to be considered for the requirements and if it is within the budget, then you can come up with a solution, whether it is SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What do you like most about Azure Active Directory?
It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. We can easily do third-party multifactor authentication.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
Regarding pricing, for the services we receive, it seems within the market range and about average.
What do you like most about Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
The product enables organizations to synchronize users to Microsoft 365 products.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
Integration with other products must be made easier.
 

Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Okta, SailPoint and others in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS). Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.