Enterprise IAM Platforms -- Okta Alternatives
Enterprise IAM platforms provide the most flexible, scalable, and feature-rich identity management for large organizations with complex requirements. These platforms offer advanced federation, identity orchestration, flexible deployment models (cloud, on-premises, and hybrid), and the ability to handle billions of identity records for customer-facing deployments. They are ideal for organizations with complex regulatory requirements, multi-protocol federation needs, or massive-scale CIAM deployments that exceed the capabilities of cloud-native platforms.
Custom enterprise pricing / PingOne Essential from $3/user/month
The most flexible enterprise IAM platform with cloud, hybrid, and fully on-premises deployment options. PingFederate handles the most complex federation scenarios, while PingAccess provides dedicated API security. Best for large enterprises with complex identity topologies and strict deployment requirements.
Custom enterprise pricing based on deployment model and scale
The deepest identity orchestration capabilities with a visual journey builder and a high-performance directory that scales to billions of records. Best for organizations building complex authentication flows, massive CIAM deployments, or needing IoT identity management.
Free tier included with M365 / P1 from $6/user/month / P2 from $9/user/month
Enterprise-grade identity with the backing of Microsoft's global infrastructure. Conditional access policies, Privileged Identity Management, and tight integration with Microsoft Defender make it the natural enterprise IAM choice for Microsoft-invested organizations.
Enterprise identity security platform with flexible deployment and API security
Custom enterprise pricing / PingOne Essential from $3/user/month
Large enterprises needing flexible deployment options, complex federation, and API security alongside traditional IAM capabilities
Enterprise identity platform with AI-driven orchestration for complex deployments
Custom enterprise pricing based on deployment model and scale
Large enterprises and service providers needing the most flexible identity orchestration, massive CIAM scale, or complex regulatory compliance requirements
Microsoft's cloud identity platform with deep M365 and Azure integration
Free tier included with M365 / P1 from $6/user/month / P2 from $9/user/month
Organizations heavily invested in Microsoft 365 and Azure that want unified identity management across their Microsoft ecosystem
Compare all 3 Okta alternatives side-by-side across pricing, deployment, and key capabilities.
| Feature | Ping Identity 4.2/5 | ForgeRock 4.1/5 | Microsoft Entra ID 4.5/5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Per-user subscription with tiered packages | Per-user subscription or custom enterprise licensing | Per-user monthly subscription (tiered) |
| Open Source | -- | -- | -- |
| Cloud-Hosted | + | + | + |
| Self-Hosted | + | + | -- |
| Best For | Large enterprises needing flexible deployment options, complex federation, and API security alongside traditional IAM capabilities | Large enterprises and service providers needing the most flexible identity orchestration, massive CIAM scale, or complex regulatory compliance requirements | Organizations heavily invested in Microsoft 365 and Azure that want unified identity management across their Microsoft ecosystem |
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| Website | Visit | Visit | Visit |
Choose an enterprise IAM platform when your requirements exceed standard cloud SSO and MFA: you need on-premises or hybrid deployment for regulatory compliance, complex multi-protocol federation across organizational boundaries, identity orchestration with branching logic, a directory that scales to billions of customer records, or API security gateway capabilities. Okta handles most workforce IAM use cases well, but Ping Identity and ForgeRock provide capabilities for the most complex enterprise identity architectures.
The 2023 merger of Ping Identity and ForgeRock created the broadest enterprise identity portfolio in the market, but also introduced product overlap. PingFederate and ForgeRock Access Management overlap in SSO and federation. PingDirectory and ForgeRock Directory overlap in LDAP services. The combined company is consolidating products, so evaluate the current roadmap carefully. If you are making a new purchase, work with the vendor to understand which products are strategic and which are in maintenance mode.
For organizations with standard SSO and MFA requirements across cloud SaaS applications, enterprise IAM platforms introduce unnecessary complexity. Okta or Microsoft Entra ID will serve you well at lower total cost. Enterprise IAM platforms justify their complexity when you have: hundreds of federated partner connections, authentication journeys that require complex branching logic, CIAM deployments at massive scale, strict data residency requirements mandating self-hosted deployment, or legacy protocol support (RADIUS, legacy SAML, WS-Federation) that cloud-native platforms handle less gracefully.
Enterprise IAM platforms like Ping Identity and ForgeRock typically require 3-6 months of implementation with professional services, a dedicated identity engineering team of 2-5 people for ongoing operations, and annual professional services for major upgrades. This is significantly more than Okta, which can be deployed in days to weeks for standard use cases. Factor this operational cost into your total cost of ownership comparison — the professional services and staffing costs often exceed the licensing costs.
Enterprise identity security platform with flexible deployment and API security
ComparisonEnterprise identity platform with AI-driven orchestration for complex deployments
ComparisonMicrosoft's cloud identity platform with deep M365 and Azure integration
CategoryCompare the best open source IAM alternatives to Okta in 2026. Keycloak, JumpCloud — features, deployment, customization, and total cost of ownership compared.
CategoryCompare the best cloud IAM alternatives to Okta in 2026. Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin, Duo Security — SSO, MFA, pricing, and cloud identity features compared.
Use CaseCompare the best Okta alternatives for workforce SSO in 2026. Microsoft Entra ID, Ping Identity, OneLogin, JumpCloud, Keycloak — SSO features, integration breadth, and pricing compared.
Use CaseCompare the best Okta alternatives for customer identity (CIAM) in 2026. Auth0, ForgeRock, Ping Identity, Keycloak — CIAM features, developer experience, scale, and pricing compared.