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Microsoft Entra ID vs Salesforce Identity 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
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
234
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
Salesforce Identity
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Identity (2nd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Identity and Access Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Entra ID is designed for Single Sign-On (SSO) and holds a mindshare of 26.6%, up 25.5% compared to last year.
Salesforce Identity, on the other hand, focuses on Mobile Identity, holds 22.7% mindshare, up 17.3% since last year.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Mobile Identity
 

Featured Reviews

Bahram Piri - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Mitesh (Mitesh) Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Adheres to the data privacy regulations of each region, easy to learn and offers strong security features
The single sign-on feature of Salesforce Identity enhances our organization's security posture overall. For example, I recently implemented Identity for a fashion brand in Canada. They were using GitGuard before. From my experience, I saw a lot of complexities with GitGuard, especially when developing core integrations. Salesforce Identity was much easier. We replaced it in a month which took them six months to build. It saves time, and it's very secure. You need permissions for any operation, and data is protected when switching between apps. Salesforce Identity supports compliance with data protection and privacy regulations. Salesforce adheres to the data privacy regulations of each region. The data is always encrypted, and their security is very strong. Even with access, you can't break into the system due to their security settings. It definitely obeys regulations regarding data security.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Let's say we decide that our users need to have MFA, multi-factor authentication. It is very easy to implement that with Azure Active Directory."
"Azure AD has features that have helped improve our security posture."
"Configuring the domain and setting it up in the Azure portal is just three clicks to be honest."
"The scalability capabilities are quite high."
"I find the stability of Microsoft Entra ID to be excellent."
"Microsoft Entra ID is pretty user-friendly and intuitive. The graphics are particularly useful when it comes to the auditing part."
"Conditional Access is a helpful feature because it allows us to provide better security for our users."
"Delegated permissions and federated credentials are valuable features of Entra ID."
"The single sign-on feature of Salesforce Identity enhances our organization's security posture overall."
"The solution is very easy to understand."
"The user experience was great because it had all the features that the client needed. It was fully customized for the client, and it was very simple. It was the best solution at that time."
"The most valuable features are the pipeline management, being able to track the pipeline anytime, and the ability to get in touch with our high management team or board members."
"Salesforce Identity is a very user-friendly solution."
 

Cons

"My problem with Azure AD is that it's designed for medium to large systems, and we're not that large."
"The onboarding process for new users can be improved. It can be made simpler for people who have never registered to Azure AD previously and need to create an account and enable the MFA. The initial setup can be made simpler for non-IT people. It should be a bit simpler to use. Unless you get certifications, such as AZ-300 and AZ-301, it is not a simple thing to use at the enterprise scale."
"Private access and internet access should be available in a less expensive licensing model."
"I had some issues with the Azure Active Directory on Windows XP. However, it worked well on Windows 7."
"When it comes to identity and access life cycle management for applications that are run on-premises, as well as access governance, if those kinds of capabilities could be built into Azure Active Directory, that would be good."
"There are some features, where if you want to access them, then you need to make use of PowerShell. If someone is not really versed in PowerShell scripting, then they would definitely have issues using some of those features in Azure Active Directory."
"I think the documentation and configuration are both areas that need improvement."
"There is a lot of room for improvement in terms of its integration with the local Active Directory. There are some gaps in terms of the local Active Directory through which Microsoft is syncing our environment from our data center. There should be the availability of custom attributes on Azure Active Directory. In addition, there should be the availability of security groups and distribution groups that are residing on the local Active Directory. Currently, they are not replicated on Azure Active Directory by default."
"The most wanted feature on such platforms nowadays is artificial intelligence, especially for marketing activities. This is also my area of expertise, so it would be very interesting to see AI in these platforms."
"Salesforce could make it more user-friendly and easier to implement. Currently, there's a lot of coding and technical work required. I would appreciate a more plug-and-play approach where you could set it up without needing a dedicated technical person."
"Salesforce Identity needs more expertise in the application."
"The interface should be simplified and the dashboard has a lot of options but could be improved."
"The product is slow."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is sold as part of the enterprise package and our licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"The pricing depends on the use case and can be negotiated based on volume."
"Our customers are looking for advanced features and processes for it to be cost-effective for their organizations. They see it as an overpriced product. They are enjoying using Azure Active Directory, but they are looking for better prices."
"We got a good deal. If you get rid of all the products providing features that Azure Suite can provide, then it makes sense cost-wise."
"It's relatively inexpensive in comparison with third-party solutions. It's highly available and supported by Microsoft Azure in our enterprise agreements. With the addition of their B2C tenants, it's hard to beat from a cost perspective now."
"There are four different levels of subscription including the free level, one that includes the Office 365 applications, the Premium 1 (P1) level, and the Premium 2 (P2) level."
"The E5 plan we are using contains the premium plans for Azure Active Directory. We are not paying only for the Azure Active Directory Premium licenses. We have it already included within our E5 plan."
"The cost of Entra ID depends entirely on our organization's specific needs and use cases."
"I'd recommend Salesforce for larger products where you really need a robust CRM. It's expensive, so for smaller websites or products, it might not be the most cost-effective solution."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a very low price and ten is a very high price, I rate Salesforce Identity's pricing a six out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
7%
 

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?
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...
What do you like most about Salesforce Identity?
The single sign-on feature of Salesforce Identity enhances our organization's security posture overall.
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Identity?
We get network-related cases on Salesforce Identity and work on them.
 

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.
SAP, Microsoft, Workday, Servicenow, ADP, Google Apps, box, Oracle
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Single Sign-On (SSO). Updated: May 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.