HEAD-TO-HEAD · FACTS ONLY, NO SCORES

Microsoft Entra vs Ping Identity: IAM jobs, prices and limits side by side

Short answer

Both document directory and single sign-on. Microsoft adds governance and detection products with published prices; Ping adds deployment choice, including software you run yourself and FedRAMP High through Ping Government Identity Cloud. Both cover directory and SSO, lifecycle and IGA and privileged access. Only Microsoft Entra covers app coverage and threat detection.

By The Access Desk · Best IAM Tools · Published 2026-10-08

Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial profiles, no scores; we did not run the products.

How do they compare job by job?

Coverage as described on each vendor's own pages, read in September 2026 and updated 11 October 2026. Not a score.
Job	Microsoft Entra	Ping Identity
J1Directory and SSO	Documented Entra ID Free includes MFA and SSO; the app gallery lists thousands of applications; Conditional Access comes with P1; phishing-resistant methods include passkeys and FIDO2 security keys. Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra application gallery · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Conditional Access overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra authentication methods · Read 27 Sep 2026	Documented PingOne for Workforce Essential covers SSO, directory, OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, LDAP, Kerberos and a RADIUS gateway; Plus adds adaptive MFA and passwordless; PingFederate is an enterprise federation server. Source: Ping Identity pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: PingFederate · Read 27 Sep 2026
J2Lifecycle and IGA	Documented Entra ID Governance: lifecycle workflows before start, on status change and at leave, access reviews, entitlement management, and HR-driven provisioning from Workday and SAP SuccessFactors. Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: HR-driven provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partial Inbound provisioning and SCIM in the Essential tier; governance features are not in our sources. Source: Ping Identity pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
J3App coverage	Partial Account discovery shows app users who do not match an Entra ID user. For apps without provisioning, the documented path is a CSV export, matching, an access review and an optional ServiceNow ticket. Source: Microsoft Learn: governing existing users in an application · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: applications that do not support provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources PingOne DaVinci orchestrates sign-in and registration journeys across identity tools from any vendor; it does not describe discovering unmanaged applications or accounts. Source: PingOne DaVinci · Read 11 Oct 2026
J4Privileged access	Partial Privileged Identity Management (PIM) needs Microsoft Entra ID Governance or Entra ID P2 licences, per Microsoft's licensing page; feature detail is not in our sources. Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance licensing fundamentals · Read 11 Oct 2026	Partial Ping announced Privileged Access for Desktop Agents on 27 May 2026, with availability that may vary by product, region or deployment model. Source: Ping Identity press release, 27 May 2026 · Read 27 Sep 2026
J5Threat detection	Documented Defender for Identity detects identity-based attacks across on-premises Active Directory, Entra ID and other IAM such as Okta; ID Protection and risk-based Conditional Access come with P2. Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources

Can you run both in one stack?

They overlap on directory and SSO, so most stacks would use one of them for that job and the other only for the jobs it adds.

What do they cost and how are they deployed?

Microsoft Entra

Pricing: Per user per month, paid yearly: Entra ID Free; P1 $7.00; P2 $10.00; ID Governance $7.00 (requires P1 or P2); Entra Suite $12.00 (requires P1); Workload ID $3.00 per workload identity. P1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and Business Premium, P2 in Microsoft 365 E5. Defender for Identity needs EMS E5 or A5, Microsoft 365 E5 (E5, A5, G5), Microsoft 365 E5, A5, G5 or F5 Security, Microsoft 365 F5 Security and Compliance, or a standalone Defender for Identity licence; the standalone price is not stated.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender for Identity sensor prerequisites · Read 11 Oct 2026
Deployment: Microsoft cloud service; on-premises apps provisioned through the ECMA connector host; Defender for Identity uses sensors on identity infrastructure.
Source: Microsoft Learn: application provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026
Integrations: Thousands of gallery applications; provisioning by SCIM 2.0, LDAP, SQL, REST, SOAP, PowerShell and ECMA connectors.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra application gallery · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: application provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026
Certifications: Not covered in our sources

Ping Identity

Pricing: PingOne for Workforce Essential $3 and Plus $6 per user per month, annual contract, 5,000-user minimum; 30-day trial on both.
Source: Ping Identity pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Deployment: PingOne cloud, PingOne Advanced Services dedicated tenant, or PingFederate as software in cloud containers; FedRAMP High and DoD IL5 through Ping Government Identity Cloud.
Source: PingFederate · Read 27 Sep 2026
Integrations: 6,500+ orchestrated capabilities across 350+ connectors.
Source: Ping Identity homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026
Certifications: FedRAMP High and DoD IL5 through Ping Government Identity Cloud.
Source: PingFederate · Read 27 Sep 2026

What are each one's strengths and limits?

Microsoft Entra

Strengths

Published per-user prices for every tier.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Directory, governance and detection from one vendor.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026
Account discovery for app users who match no Entra ID user.
Source: Microsoft Learn: governing existing users in an application · Read 27 Sep 2026

Limits

ID Governance requires Entra ID P1 or P2.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Apps without provisioning rely on a documented manual path (CSV export and matching).
Source: Microsoft Learn: applications that do not support provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026
Privileged Identity Management needs Entra ID P2 or ID Governance licences, and its feature detail is not in our sources.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance licensing fundamentals · Read 11 Oct 2026

Ping Identity

Strengths

Choice of cloud, dedicated tenant or self-run software.
Source: PingFederate · Read 27 Sep 2026
Low published per-user price.
Source: Ping Identity pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Broad protocol support, including Kerberos and RADIUS.
Source: Ping Identity pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
PingOne DaVinci, a no-code orchestration service for identity journeys with hundreds of out-of-the-box integrations, delivered as multi-tenant SaaS.
Source: PingOne DaVinci · Read 11 Oct 2026

Limits

5,000-user annual minimum.
Source: Ping Identity pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Governance and threat detection products are not in our sources.
Basis: absence on the pages we read

Which should you look at first?

Microsoft Entra

Look at Microsoft Entra first if you need: threat detection.

Microsoft Entra's pages highlight: Published per-user prices for every tier.

Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026

Ping Identity

Look at Ping Identity first if you need: the jobs both cover.

Ping Identity's pages highlight: Choice of cloud, dedicated tenant or self-run software.

Source: PingFederate · Read 27 Sep 2026

Frequently asked questions

Do Microsoft Entra and Ping Identity publish prices?

Microsoft Entra: Per user per month, paid yearly: Entra ID Free; P1 $7.00; P2 $10.00; ID Governance $7.00 (requires P1 or P2); Entra Suite $12.00 (requires P1); Workload ID $3.00 per workload identity. P1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and Business Premium, P2 in Microsoft 365 E5. Defender for Identity needs EMS E5 or A5, Microsoft 365 E5 (E5, A5, G5), Microsoft 365 E5, A5, G5 or F5 Security, Microsoft 365 F5 Security and Compliance, or a standalone Defender for Identity licence; the standalone price is not stated. Ping Identity: PingOne for Workforce Essential $3 and Plus $6 per user per month, annual contract, 5,000-user minimum; 30-day trial on both.

Do Microsoft Entra and Ping Identity overlap?

They overlap on directory and SSO, so most stacks would use one of them for that job and the other only for the jobs it adds.

How can I compare more than two IAM tools?

Use the side-by-side tool, which shows up to five vendors' job coverage, prices and limits in one table.