Sick of trying to remember all your passwords? Or constantly being asked for log-in credentials? These issues hamper everyone, and they only get worse as your customer base and team members grow. With the right identity management solution, you could save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours wasted on unproductive activities. Not to mention, you mitigate the risk of losing it all from insecure behavior by both employees and customers.
Therefore, we’ve curated a list of the top 14 best identity management (IdM) solutions for you below. Weigh the pros and cons of each solution to determine the right fit for your business.
Top 14 Best Solutions for Identity Management
- LastPass – Best IdM Solution for Password Management
- Okta Identity Cloud – Best Comprehensive IdM Solution
- Microsoft Azure Active Directory – Best IdM Solution for Microsoft Users
- Oracle Identity Governance – Best IdM Solution for Scalability
- OneLogin – Best IdM Solution for Small Businesses
- Auth0 – Best IdM Solution for Social Media
- Ping Identity – Best IdM Solution for Large Enterprises
- ForgeRock Identity Platform – Best IdM Solution for Lifecycle Management
- BIO-key PortalGuard – Best Biometric IdM Solution
- SailPoint – Best IdM Solution for Cloud Platforms
- Centrify – Best IdM Solution for Privileged Access
- Duo Security – Best IdM Solution for Simple Authentication
- Ondato – Best IdM Solution for KYC Compliance
- SAP Identity Management Component – Best IdM Solution for HR Integration
1. LastPass – Best IdM Solution for Password Management
Pricing: Free trial, Free for one device, $4/month for multiple devices, $5/month for 6 users.
Often, small organizations just need a simple password manager like LastPass instead of a full-service IdM. Though it’s suited for smaller organizations, LastPass thinks big. Its useful features include shared credentials between teams, two-factor authentication, and secure storage of personal cards for mobile shopping. LastPass also enables you to have multiple accounts for the same website and generates secure passwords and backup passwords for you automatically. They even throw in 1GB of encrypted file storage as a bonus.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to onboard and use | Occasionally buggy UI |
| Features optimized for personal use | |
| High flexibility | |
| Easily share passwords |
2. Okta Identity Cloud – Best Comprehensive IdM Solution
Pricing: Free Trial, $2-11/user/month depending on the package
When it comes to security, you can’t rest easy until you know everything is taken care of. From workforce to customer identity, Okta ensures all your needs are met with its zero-trust security model. Use Okta’s secure APIs to integrate your apps. Simplify your IT team’s workload with identity and access management that help prevent data breaches. Okta is perfect for larger businesses with many apps that need integrated access.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy sign-on across providers | Hard to set up, poor docs |
| Easily integrate apps | Poor/inconsistent UI |
| Browser extension | |
| Many sign-on options |
3. Microsoft Azure Active Directory – Best IdM Solution for Microsoft Users
Pricing: Free trial, P1: $6/month, P2: $9/month. Minimum 12 months, or part of Microsoft 365 package
If your workflow is already heavily integrated with Microsoft products like Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, then using Azure Active Directory (AAD) is a no-brainer. AAD offers a plethora of log-in options like single sign-on and multi-factor authentication with extensive documentation and user support. Not to mention, AAD also protects your business from cyber-attacks by automating access-control decisions when your users access your cloud apps. Although, you may still control individual user access manually if you wish.
| Pros | Cons |
| Recognized industry leader | Difficult to use, bad UI |
| Also protects from cyber attacks | Complex features |
| Universal identity, single sign-on | |
| Conditional access |
4. Oracle Identity Governance – Best IdM Solution for Scalability
Pricing: No information is given, test it using the oracle cloud free tier
Most companies are either growing fast or plan to grow in the future. Your company is likely no exception. Juggling several user roles and access points is probably too complicated for your current IdM model. Start preparing now with Oracle Identity Governance. Oracle offers a highly customizable and technical solution that manages your users’ identities throughout the entire lifecycle. With detailed access-control options, you’ll likely find the right ones for your rapidly expanding business.
| Pros | Cons |
| Customize for organization’s needs | Resource-intense |
| Easily integrate with other products | Expensive, better for large businesses |
| Thorough documentation | Requires professional configuration, maintenance |
| Sophisticated risk-management |
5. OneLogin – Best IdM Solution for Small Businesses
Pricing: Advanced: $6/user/month, Professional: $12/user/month
What if you never had to enter a password again? OneLogin goes beyond the basics of identity management by making password elimination possible. This is vital for small businesses as this helps you onboard your customers quicker. OneLogin also helps your users connect to your service via popular applications without a hitch. On the workforce side, OneLogin offers many APIs for data provisioning and a dashboard to track your users.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to use | Poor customer service |
| Many features that can be bundled/added | Needs more customization options |
| Enhances productivity |
6. Auth0 – Best IdM Solution for Social Media
Pricing: Free for up to 7,000 users, B2C Essential: $160/month, B2C Professional: $1200/month
Everyone uses social media, so why don’t you use it to log onto your app or website? Auth0 is another solution that offers password-free authentication, along with many other means of logging in. Moreover, if you use the paid version, you can build customized identity flows to suit your business. Auth0 also offers a solution for businesses that need secure authentication for their machines. Enable your IoT devices, app servers, and daemons to log in securely with Auth0’s API.
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent docs for developers | Managing roles could be easier |
| Easy to deploy and integrate | |
| Integrate machines as well | |
| Easily customize login | |
| Extensive free plan |
7. PingIdentity – Best IdM Solution for Large Enterprises
Pricing: By product usage
Your business could be one of the leaders in your industry. If that’s the case, you might also lead your peers in terms of complexity. PingIdentity streamlines your customers’ experience with thousands of pre-built templates and personalized authentication experiences for your customers. Use as many features as you need, because PingIdentity offers hundreds. For instance, you can simplify log-in by employing facial ID. PingIdentity adapts cloud, mobile, on-premises, and SaaS solutions to simplify customer acquisition and retention.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great for large workforces | Doesn’t auto-renew customer access |
| Excellent customer service | Hard to adapt workflows |
| Extreme personalization, customization |
8. ForgeRock Identity Platform – Best IdM Solution for Lifecycle Management
Pricing: Free trial, contact vendor for pricing
Gathering info on your customers can help you produce powerful insights for your organization. ForgeRock accompanies you every step of the way. AI and machine learning insights drive their lifecycle management solution to optimize both security and productivity. This makes ForgeRock highly scalable and helps HR or third parties gather information on your users. The high level of security also makes it easy to address your needs for IoT devices.
| Pros | Cons |
| Innovative AI-driven approach | No live support |
| Optimized for IoT | |
| Highly scalable | |
| Biometric capabilities offered |
9. BIO-key PortalGuard – Best Biometric IdM Solution
Pricing: Ranges from $12.50/year/user – $42/year/user
Ultimately, the most secure way for your users to log in is by using Biometric data. PortalGuard uses zero-trust architecture to provide biometric, single-sign-on, and multi-factor authentication. Typically employed by larger enterprises, PortalGuard is perfect for enterprises with highly sensitive information to protect. You will have the option of on-premises or SaaS deployment to attain password-free workflows.
| Pros | Cons |
| Extremely secure | Not necessary for small businesses |
| Integrates with any other cloud authentication standard | |
| Deploy throughout organization |
10. SailPoint – Best IdM Solution for Cloud Platforms
Pricing: Contact for demo
As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, SailPoint presents a viable security solution. For your customers, you can speed up onboarding and offboarding with their zero-trust framework. Within your organization, you can easily manage your passwords and tailor access to specific roles as they evolve. These factors make Sailpoint perfect for organizations requiring cloud access for remote work.
| Pros | Cons |
| Enhances workflow | Difficult to solve problems |
| Easy for developers to use | Not an intuitive UI |
| Best Role-based access | Better for large, complex organizations |
11. Centrify – Best IdM Solution for Privileged Access
Pricing: Free trial, App: $4/month/user, App+: $8/month/user
One of the greatest risks your organization faces is privileged access abuse. Centrify solves this with insights based on AI and machine learning. When you log in, Centrify will verify who is requesting access, the context of the request, and the risk of the access environment. Centrify errs on the side of caution as it implements least privilege access. If you so desire, Centrify handles your machine credentials as well.
| Pros | Cons |
| Mitigates Ransomware | Not automated enough |
| Industry Leader | Better for large businesses |
| Adaptable, contextual solutions | |
| Time-based role assignments |
12. Duo Security – Best IdM Solution for Simple Authentication
Pricing: Free trial, Free plan up to 10 users, MFA On premises: $3/user/month, Access: (cloud apps) $6/user/month, Beyond: $9/user/month
Duo Security is an excellent solution for businesses looking for several cheap sign-on options. Ranging from biometrics to MFA to single sign-on, you will likely find an authentication option that suits your needs. Moreover, you can manage passwords securely with this tool. Duo also provides functionality for remote working allowing secure access via VPNs and logging you in across several devices and applications.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to use | Laggy MFA verification |
| Perfect for remote teams | Highly administrative |
| Flexible integration with other platforms |
13. Ondato – Best IdM Solution for KYC Compliance
Pricing: No info available, request a demo.
If your business provides financial or insurance services, you likely need to comply with several KYC regulations. Ondato is an industry leader in this field, facilitating compliance at every step of the process. Services offered include risk scoring, risk management, and other fraud prevention strategies. With regards to the customer, Ondato enables you to verify their identity securely with biometrics such as photo and live video screening.
| Pros | Cons |
| Has everything for Fintech | Requires more customization for specific use cases |
| Smoothly but securely onboard clients | |
| Integrate several platforms/products at once | |
| User friendly |
14. SAP Identity Management Component – Best IdM Solution for HR Integration
Pricing: Not provided / part of larger packages.
If you have a big HR team, you might want to render their workflows more efficient with SAP IdM Component. This solution connects with SAP’s HR software to help you track user behavior and manage roles. Identity data is stored securely at a central location by a highly reputable organization. Moreover, you have as much flexibility with role management as you want, as SAP allows for role provisioning based on context or any other factor. Unfortunately, some users claim that this tool does not integrate as well as they would like with the rest of SAP’s software.
| Pros | Cons |
| Granular access provisioning for large organizations | Doesn’t connect to all SAP software easily |
| Role-based access | |
| Easily integrate across company workflows |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Identity Management and why is it important?
Identity Management (IdM) is how your business manages the credentials of your customers and employees. IdM can be divided into four components: access, permission, roles, and tracking. Access is the method your users use to sign on, be it with or without a password. Permission considers whether the user has access to a particular section of your app. Roles are assigned to users to indicate their relationship to a particular asset, can they edit this document? Can they view this spreadsheet? Finally, tracking consists of reporting user activities.
Identity Management is an integral part of any company’s online presence. The speed at which your users enter their credentials can affect your conversion rates and user onboarding. Not to mention, IdM should be secure to protect your business from vulnerabilities.
How do I choose an identity management solution?
When choosing an IdM, you should consider its features and scalability. The appropriate ones depend on your use case. For instance, small businesses might not prioritize scalability. Important features generally relate to access, permissions, roles, and tracking. Meanwhile, you should ensure that the IdM is a good fit for your employees and your customers, depending on their technical savvy.
What is the zero-trust security model?
In short, the zero-trust security model postulates that a given user should not be trusted until their credentials are validated. That means that every sign-on is regarded as a potential threat, users are guilty until proven innocent.
What is the best identity management solution?
Given that IdMs cover a wide range of software, it’s simpler to consider the best IdMs in the following categories. That said, Okta Identity Cloud could be considered the best comprehensive identity management solution.
What is the best privileged identity management solution?
Centrify is a good solution for businesses looking to mitigate privileged access abuse. They manage risk effectively using AI-driven technology. Moreover, they are considered an industry leader by the Gartner Magic Quadrant.
What is the best cloud-based identity management solution?
SailPoint is often considered the best identity management solution for cloud platforms. Use Sailpoint if you manage lots of remote workers to ensure that all your cloud assets are accessed securely.
What is the best identity management solution according to the Gartner Magic Quadrant?
Among the software we listed, the Gartner Magic Quadrant recognizes both Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Centrify as industry leaders in identity management.