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Best Cloud Identity & Access Management Alternatives to Okta in 2026

Cloud IAM platforms provide managed, SaaS-delivered identity and access management as direct alternatives to Okta. These platforms handle SSO, MFA, directory services, and lifecycle management without requiring on-premises infrastructure.

5 Cloud IAM Platforms, side by side

ToolDeploymentPricing modelOpen source
Auth0CloudPer monthly active user (MAU)—
Duo SecurityCloudPer-user monthly subscription with free tier—
JumpCloudCloudPer-user (billed annually)—
Microsoft Entra IDCloudPer-user (bundled with Microsoft licenses)—
OneLoginCloudPer-user tiers—

They compete with Okta by offering lower pricing, ecosystem-specific advantages, or specialized capabilities like device-centric zero trust access. Cloud IAM is ideal for organizations that want a fully managed identity platform with minimal operational overhead.

By use case

Our read on which tool suits which job. Editorial, not paid, and separate from the listing below.

Organizations already committed to Microsoft 365 and Azure

Microsoft Entra ID

The strongest cloud IAM alternative for Microsoft-centric organizations. Identity capabilities included in existing Microsoft 365 licensing make it the most cost-effective option for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, with industry-leading conditional access policies.

Cloud

Mid-market teams wanting full IAM features at a lower per-seat price

OneLogin

A cost-effective cloud IAM platform that delivers core SSO and MFA capabilities at a lower price point than Okta. Best for mid-market organizations with straightforward identity requirements that do not need Okta's full governance and CIAM capabilities.

Cloud

Organizations prioritizing easy-to-deploy MFA across VPNs, cloud apps, and legacy systems, especially those in Cisco networking environments

Duo Security

The easiest MFA platform to deploy, with exceptional user experience through Duo Push and strong VPN integration. Best for organizations whose primary cloud IAM need is MFA and zero trust access rather than a comprehensive identity platform.

Cloud

Auth0

Identity & Access Management
Best fit for

SaaS teams that need customer login with a great developer experience

Auth0 is a developer-focused customer identity platform (CIAM) now owned by Okta but sold as a separate product. It provides drop-in login, social sign-in, passwordless authentication, and multi-factor auth for applications, with SDKs for nearly every major framework. Auth0 is especially popular with SaaS startups because of its generous free tier and developer experience: you can go from zero to a working login flow in minutes.

Pricing

Free up to 25,000 MAUs; B2C paid from $35/mo; B2B paid from $150/mo

Per monthly active user (MAU)

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR

Visit Auth0View listing

Duo Security

Identity & Access Management
Best fit for

Organizations prioritizing easy-to-deploy MFA across VPNs, cloud apps, and legacy systems, especially those in Cisco networking environments

Duo Security, a Cisco company, is a multi-factor authentication and zero trust access platform. Duo is known for its ease of deployment, user-friendly push authentication, and broad integration with VPNs, cloud applications, and legacy systems. It provides device trust verification, adaptive access policies, and single sign-on, and can also serve as a full IAM solution with its own directory, lifecycle management, and provisioning capabilities, serving as a practical entry point for organizations building zero trust security architecture.

Pricing

Free (up to 10 users) / Essentials $3/user/month / Advantage $6/user/month / Premier $9/user/month

Per-user monthly subscription with free tier

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

FedRAMP, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001

Visit Duo SecurityView listing

JumpCloud

Identity & Access Management
Best fit for

SMBs and mid-market teams wanting IAM plus MDM without buying both

JumpCloud is an open directory platform that consolidates identity, device, and access management into a single tool. It combines SSO, MFA, cloud LDAP, RADIUS, and cross-platform device management (Windows, macOS, Linux) in one dashboard. The platform is especially popular with SMBs and mid-market IT teams who want to replace Active Directory, Okta, and an MDM tool with one product.

Pricing

Free 30-day trial (legacy free tier for up to 10 users/10 devices referenced by third parties); paid packages from $9/user/mo annual (Device Management), SSO from $11/user/mo annual; Platform tier is custom/contact-sales

Per-user (billed annually)

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR

Visit JumpCloudView listing

Microsoft Entra ID

Identity & Access Management
Best fit for

Organizations already committed to Microsoft 365 and Azure

Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) is Microsoft's cloud identity platform and the backbone of authentication for Microsoft 365, Azure, and Windows. Because it ships with nearly every M365 or Microsoft 365 Business plan, it's the default identity provider for a huge share of the market. Entra ID includes Conditional Access for risk-based policies, Privileged Identity Management, and deep integration with Windows device trust.

Pricing

Free tier with Microsoft cloud subscriptions; P1 $7.00/user/mo; P2 $10.00/user/mo

Per-user (bundled with Microsoft licenses)

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP High, HIPAA

Visit Microsoft Entra IDView listing

OneLogin

Identity & Access Management
Best fit for

Mid-market teams wanting full IAM features at a lower per-seat price

OneLogin is a cloud IAM platform focused on the mid-market, now part of One Identity (Quest Software). It offers SSO, MFA, user provisioning, and unified directory services, typically at a lower price point than Okta. OneLogin's SmartFactor Authentication uses machine learning to score risk at every login, and the platform has a solid integration catalog through its App Catalog.

Pricing

No free tier; Workforce Identity from $3/user/mo (Basic), Essentials $6, Business $10; Enterprise contact sales

Per-user tiers

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR

Visit OneLoginView listing

Comparisons

JumpCloud vs OneLogin

Choose JumpCloud if all-in-one platform combines directory, SSO, MFA, and MDM is your priority and small-to-mid-size org...

Read Comparison

Duo Security vs JumpCloud

Choose Duo Security if exceptionally easy to deploy. Fastest MFA rollout in the industry is your priority and organizati...

Read Comparison

Duo Security vs OneLogin

Choose Duo Security if exceptionally easy to deploy. Fastest MFA rollout in the industry is your priority and organizati...

Read Comparison

Auth0 vs Duo Security

Choose Auth0 if best developer experience in the identity industry with comprehensive SDKs is your priority and developm...

Read Comparison

Auth0 vs ForgeRock

Choose Auth0 if best developer experience in the identity industry with comprehensive SDKs is your priority and developm...

Read Comparison

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Choose Auth0 if best developer experience in the identity industry with comprehensive SDKs is your priority and developm...

Read Comparison

Shortlists

Editorial lists and deep dives covering these tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft Entra ID Free is included with any Microsoft 365 subscription, providing basic SSO and MFA. However, the advanced features that compete with Okta. Conditional access, Identity Protection, Privileged Identity Management, and access reviews. Require Entra ID P1 ($6/user/month) or P2 ($9/user/month) licensing. For organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 E3 or E5, Entra ID P1 or P2 is included, making it effectively free. Calculate your true cost based on your existing Microsoft licensing.

Duo Security is primarily an MFA and access platform, not a full IAM replacement. It provides excellent MFA and basic SSO but lacks Okta's comprehensive directory services, identity lifecycle management, automated provisioning, and identity governance. Duo can replace Okta if your only requirement is MFA. If you need full workforce identity management, Duo is better used alongside a directory and SSO platform.

Okta starts at $2/user/month for SSO but quickly increases with add-ons for MFA, lifecycle management, and governance. Microsoft Entra ID is included in M365 licenses, with P1 at $6 and P2 at $9 per user/month for advanced features. OneLogin starts at $4/user/month with a simpler pricing structure. Duo Security offers a free tier for 10 users, with paid plans from $3 to $9 per user/month. The true cost comparison depends on which features you need. Okta's total cost often exceeds competitors when all required add-ons are included.

Duo Security offers the best end-user MFA experience with its seamless push notifications. Okta provides the most polished SSO portal and end-user dashboard. Microsoft Entra ID provides the most seamless experience within Microsoft applications but can feel fragmented for non-Microsoft apps. OneLogin's end-user portal is clean and functional but less refined than Okta. For admin experience, Okta's console is the most intuitive, while Entra ID settings are spread across multiple Azure portals.

View all Identity & Access Management tools

About this listing

Cloud IAM Platforms tools, compared on public information. The comparison table and the full entries follow our editorial order, with any paid Featured listing shown first and labelled. How we work →