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Ping Identity Platform vs Symantec Advanced Authentication comparison

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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

Ping Identity Platform
Ranking in Authentication Systems
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th), Data Governance (18th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (9th), Access Management (7th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (3rd), Directory Servers (1st)
Symantec Advanced Authentic...
Ranking in Authentication Systems
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Ping Identity Platform is 2.9%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Authentication is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Ping Identity Platform2.9%
Symantec Advanced Authentication1.4%
Other95.7%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

AmitRathod - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Analyst at Toll Holdings Limited
Single sign-on has simplified access while adaptive authentication protects complex user journeys
Regarding areas for improvement in Ping Identity Platform, there is not much. In terms of licensing and implementation costs, it has premium pricing, and it has a very complex implementation. It provides greater feasibility, but it takes a very long time in terms of complete building. There is a very limited number of legacy support, which can pose potential difficulties in integrating with certain older or legacy systems. Additionally, issue troubleshooting can be difficult at times. Sometimes issues can be difficult to diagnose and require extensive technical expertise. There is also a very steep learning curve for administrative purposes and potential difficulties with offline authentication scenarios.
Umair (Abu Mohaymin) Akhlaque - PeerSpot reviewer
Group CEO at Flexsolutions
Ensures robust security features and ease of deployment, although it may lack some of the more modern authentication options
There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements are essential to meet the evolving demands of the market. It lacks features such as ActiveSync Exchange security, and it doesn't offer alternatives like password-less authentication via biometrics or patches. While Symantec mainly relies on traditional token-based or password-based methods, newer authentication methods are missing from its repertoire. Support services often lack promptness and depth of knowledge, leaving customers waiting for weeks to resolve issues. In the realm of multifactor authentication, swift resolution of problems is critical, as any slowdown or interruption can significantly impact operations. Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The soundness of the solution is its most valuable feature. For example, if you are in our corporate network, you can log on without any traffic interfering."
"It provides ease of connecting all our devices."
"It's pretty stable as a product."
"This is a user-friendly solution."
"PingFederate is very flexible. We can do many customizations, and it also provides an SDK to tailor it to our specific requirements. There are also numerous plugins available. I've worked with tools like ForgeRock and Okta, but I find PingFederate to be the most customizable."
"PingFederate is a good product but there are limitations."
"It offers robust features and customization options that justify the cost."
"What I like best about PingID is that it's very user-friendly. PingID is well-built as a developer tool and regularly upgrades and updates via patches. I also like that PingID has clear documents that will help you integrate it with other solutions."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it's a strong authentication solution that's able to integrate with applications."
"The most valuable feature is that we get a wide range of authentication methods and authentication integrators, so different platforms can get service authentication with transparency to the final user while providing strong authentication forms and connectors."
"It allows us to assure our customers that we are protecting their data."
"CA products are the best fit with our backend systems."
"Rules on Risk Authentication are very good."
"It tells us exactly what we want in terms of authentication to various applications and provides protection for users who access them."
"It actually increases our revenue and the customer base."
"One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability."
 

Cons

"Many times when we are authenticating, we'd like the freedom to set the time; maybe it needs to be slightly longer, and before we can authenticate it, it ends up in an error and then we have to create everything all over again in terms of launching the application."
"Notifications and monitoring are two areas with shortcomings in the solution that need improvement."
"The solution should allow for better integration with other platforms and the UBT."
"Ping Identity Platform is expensive."
"Some colleagues have mentioned API connectivity, data security, and privacy issues."
"If the solution is going to compete with Microsoft, they need to offer more unique functionality to keep their current user base."
"They could use some bio-certification. It's just more user-friendly and more convenient than entering the one time passes. That would be an improvement."
"In terms of licensing and implementation costs, it has premium pricing, and it has a very complex implementation."
"This solution could be improved with risk-based authentication. I think that this product has everything that most customers are looking for, but modern technology has people looking for security tools with risk-based authentication, which they have a separate tool for. If they could integrate this, it would improve Symantec Advanced Authentication. They have to look at what's newly trending and how things are moving forward, and then adapt and adopt those features. Symantec's technical support should also be improved, in terms of response time."
"The initial setup of the tenant is a big cost element of the service and we were doing multiple tenants for our customer."
"Advanced Authentication talks about the Device ID. But how the device ID is captured, I want to know more about that."
"It needs faster implementation on the cloud for our customers."
"We have seen quite a few issues with bugginess. It is indeed pretty buggy and we have had to install some fixes."
"Arcot itself is based on a browser technology. This means that the office ID is effectively stored as a cookie in the browser."
"They definitely need to automate a few processes like the Wiley process."
"Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is costly."
"Ping offers flexible pricing that's not standardized."
"Compared to some SaaS-based solutions, the platform is relatively cost-effective."
"Ping Identity Platform is not very expensive."
"The platform's value justifies the pricing, especially considering its security features and scalability."
"The tool is quite affordable."
"Ping Identity Platform is not an expensive solution."
"PingID pricing is a ten out of ten because it's a little bit cheaper than other tools, such as Okta and ForgeRock, and supports multiple tools."
"The price is reasonable."
"There are eventually going to be implementation costs. Sometimes you're required to have custom code developments there, so that has to be part of the implementation price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Construction Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PingFederate?
Regarding pricing for Ping Identity Platform, I would rate it eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with PingAccess?
The areas where I think PingFederate needs room for improvement include that the most significant area I would recommend is that things such as redirects still do not have majority of the applicati...
What is your primary use case for PingAccess?
The main use case for PingFederate is that we are maintaining the centralized single sign-on with DuroSengel and Carabras as the two main instances to review. If any application is hosted outside o...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Ping Identity (ID), PingFederate, PingAccess, PingOne, PingDataGovernance, PingDirectory, OpenDJ
CA Advanced Authentication, CA Strong Authentication, CA Risk Authentication, Arcot WebFort, Arcot RiskFort
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Equinix, Land O'Lakes, CDPHP, Box, International SOS, Opower, VSP, Chevron, Truist, Academy of Art University, Northern Air Cargo, Repsol
Global bank, Large Filipino Bank and SK Infosec
Find out what your peers are saying about Ping Identity Platform vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.