Microsoft Entra ID vs One Identity Defender comparison

Microsoft and One Identity are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while One Identity is ranked #15 with an average rating of 10.0. Microsoft holds a 15.3% mindshare in AS, compared to One Identity’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of One Identity users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Entra ID

Read 234 Microsoft Entra ID reviews

25,521 Views
7,912 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

One Identity Defender

Read 3 One Identity Defender reviews

305 Views
293 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra ID

One Identity Defender

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 2024

Microsoft Entra ID and One Identity Defender are both robust identity management solutions. Users appear more satisfied with the pricing and support of Microsoft Entra ID. Yet, One Identity Defender seems to excel in feature richness, making it potentially worth the higher expense.

What features are offered by Microsoft Entra ID in comparison to One Identity Defender?

Microsoft Entra ID is praised for its seamless integration with other Microsoft services, effective multi-factor authentication, and ease of use. One Identity Defender stands out for its extensive scalability, advanced security features, and superior customizability.

What areas of improvement can be found in Microsoft Entra ID in comparison to One Identity Defender?

Microsoft Entra ID users highlight concerns about limited customization options, occasional performance issues, and insufficient advanced features for complex environments. One Identity Defender users point out that its interface can be somewhat convoluted, documentation is lacking, and initial setup can be challenging.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of Microsoft Entra ID in comparison to One Identity Defender?

Both products receive positive feedback for deployment, but Microsoft Entra ID is noted for quicker setup times due to its integration with existing Microsoft infrastructure. Customer service for Microsoft Entra ID is valued for responsiveness, while One Identity Defender’s support is praised for its in-depth technical assistance.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with Microsoft Entra ID in comparison to One Identity Defender?

Microsoft Entra ID users find the product to be cost-effective with a good return on investment, especially for businesses already using Microsoft services. One Identity Defender, though more expensive, is considered worth the investment by users who need its advanced capabilities. Microsoft Entra ID appeals to those seeking cost efficiency, while One Identity Defender justifies its higher price with superior features.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Entra ID vs. One Identity Defender Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID vs. One Identity Defender

July 2025

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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 Authentication Systems

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

234

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)

One Identity Defender

Ranking in Authentication Systems

15th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 15.3%, down from 19.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of One Identity Defender is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems

Featured Reviews

Bahram Piri

Chief Executive Officer & Founder at IDmelon Technologies

Security focus and seamless implementation increase platform productivity

Microsoft Entra ID can be improved in many ways, and there's a big wish list.If we're focusing on security, something that I definitely expect is improvement in the UI and UX for frontline workers. This is important, especially for non-tech savvy individuals. It is something Microsoft Entra ID could do to improve for a wider audience. It's important to focus on the frontline workers since they are non-tech savvy individuals. They are not like those back-office engineering C-level employees who are constantly dealing with computers, and we need to build a specific user experience and user interface for them to handle this stuff. That's something I expect Microsoft to focus on more for Microsoft Entra ID.

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Maksym Tkachenko

Sales Engineer at Bakotech

Good compatibility, responsive support, and a nice interface

The solution works very well. The initial setup is pretty easy. It is stable and pretty reliable in general. We find that the product scales very well. Technical support is responsive. The interface is good. It is compatible with other products. It has everything we need right now. The login…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Azure AD has features that have helped improve our security posture."

"I saw the benefits of Microsoft Entra ID immediately after I started using it."

"Azure AD allowed us to get rid of servers and other hardware running at our offices. We moved everything to the cloud. Once we set up roles and permissions, it's only a matter of adding people and removing people from different groups and letting permissions flow through."

"The boards for task tracking are a valuable feature."

"The tool's most valuable feature is conditional access."

"I would rate the solution as 9. It is a very good solution for unified management."

"Privileged Identity Management and Privileged Identity Management make controlling access considerably easier and ensure that authorized access is achieved."

"The ability to speed up ability is an asset."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

"It's very fast, and it's easy to use because it's integrated with Active Directory."

"We find that the product scales very well."

"One Identity Defender has good network protection."

Cons

"There is no great solution in the cloud for Conditional Access authentication and RADIUS-type authentication."

"Some of the features that they offer, e.g., customized emails, are not available with B2C. You are stuck with whatever email template they give you, and it is not the best user experience. For B2C, that is a bit of a negative thing."

"The B2B Federation functionality is not perfect and could be improved. It is not on the same level that we could have if it were being used on-premises. It offers a different experience, which is a bit complicated and has some additional drawbacks."

"I think the documentation and configuration are both areas that need improvement."

"Azure AD needs to be more in sync. The synchronization can be time-consuming."

"One thing that bothers me about Azure AD is that I can't specify login hours. I have to use an on-premises instance of Active Directory if I want to specify the hours during which a user can log in. For example, if I want to restrict login to only be possible during working hours, to prevent overtime payments or to prevent lawsuits, I can't do this using only Azure AD."

"It would be awesome to have a feature where you can see the permissions of a user in all their Azure subscriptions. Right now, you have to select a user, then you have to select the subscription to see which permissions the user has in their selected subscriptions. Sometimes, you just want to know, "Does that user have any permissions in any subscriptions?" That would be awesome if that would be available via the portal."

"The quality of support is regular. If you contact Microsoft support directly for Microsoft Entra ID, it's faster, but when you do it through a partner, it takes more time."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

"The login capabilities could be better."

"We have some clients that are wanting to protect their Apache web servers with One Identity Defender but all the research I have done says cannot be done. It can only be oriented to an IIS server. One Identity Defender should have more integration with more types of web servers."

"Maybe it could provide support for more web applications. It seems more focused on IIS web applications."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The process for buying licenses from Microsoft is somewhat messy and really hard to do. We have to talk to someone because it's hard to find out how many licenses we need. If I'm applying for 2,000 users, how many Windows licenses do we need? They could also charge less for support."

"Microsoft is so expensive. You know it is expensive when a Fortune 100 company like ours is complaining about the cost. That has been a big thing for me. When I really want to use an Azure service, it is very hard for me to justify the cost, especially with Microsoft support."

"Azure AD's pricing is comprehensive and affordable. The prices are easy to understand, and the licenses include a variety of security monitoring and additional features."

"We have a yearly license."

"I'm not totally aware of the pricing and licensing, but I do know that the pricing and licensing must be quite balanced. We are a pretty old client of Microsoft, and MSA is just one of the services we use from Microsoft. There's a whole Microsoft 365 suite that's implemented as well. I'm sure it is something that is acceptable to both parties."

"Pricing-wise, they offer a stepladder approach. You can start with the lowest level features, then start increasing based on new requirements."

"Microsoft Authenticator is included in the package when we purchase a license from Microsoft."

"Microsoft Entra ID's pricing is reasonable."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?

Our experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID involves leveraging Microsoft 365 E5 licensing, so it's included. Being included in Microsoft licensing makes it mu...

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Comparisons

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 9% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon Cognito vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs One Identity Defender

Compared 47% of the time

More One Identity Defender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

July 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

July 2025

Download One Identity Defender product report

Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator

No data available

Interactive Demo

Microsoft

Demo not available

One Identity

Overview

Microsoft Entra ID is used for extending on-premises Active Directory to the cloud, managing application access, enabling multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on. It facilitates policy enforcement and secure access, ensuring centralized identity management across cloud and on-premises resources.

Organizations utilize Microsoft Entra ID for robust user and group management, identity synchronization, and conditional access. Its seamless integration with third-party apps, scalability, and support for remote work make it a preferred choice. The admin center streamlines identity and access tasks, enhancing efficiency and security with features like privileged identity management and audit logs.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Single Sign-On: Simplifies user access to multiple applications with one login.
Multifactor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring additional verification.
Conditional Access: Establishes policies that determine how users' access cloud apps.
Integration: Easily integrates with various third-party applications.
User Identity Protection: Safeguards user identities from threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Manages elevated access to sensitive resources.
Audit Logs: Provides thorough activity logs for oversight and compliance.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Entra ID reviews?

Enhanced Security: Offers strong multifactor authentication and identity protection.
Administrative Efficiency: Simplifies identity and access management tasks.
Scalability: Supports growing user bases and remote work environments.
Integration Capabilities: Compatible with numerous third-party applications.
User-Friendly Interface: Makes managing user identities straightforward.

Microsoft Entra ID implementation varies across industries. Tech firms leverage it for secure, scalable access management, while healthcare organizations utilize its identity protection features to safeguard patient data. Educational institutions adopt Entra ID for streamlined user management and policy enforcement, ensuring secure access for students and staff across on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft

Defender enhances security by requiring two-factor authentication to gain access to your network resources. Defender uses your current identity store within Microsoft Active Directory (AD) to enable two-factor authentication.

One Identity

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.

Bakersfield Police Department, Village of Westmont, Illinois

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID vs. One Identity Defender

July 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Entra ID vs. One Identity Defender

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. One Identity Defender and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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