ForgeRock vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

Ping Identity and Microsoft are both solutions in the Identity Management (IM) category. Ping Identity is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.5, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. Ping Identity holds a 4.5% mindshare in IAM, compared to Microsoft’s 12.3% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Ping Identity users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 2024

ForgeRock and Microsoft Entra ID are leading identity management solutions. Microsoft Entra ID seems to have the upper hand due to its scalability, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness based on user reviews.

Features: ForgeRock is praised for extensive customization options, seamless integration with various systems, and strong support. Microsoft Entra ID is recognized for comprehensive scalability, advanced security features, and a robust feature set favored by larger enterprises.

Room for Improvement: ForgeRock could improve its setup documentation, user training materials, and user interface complexity. Microsoft Entra ID needs more intuitive navigation, clearer error messaging, and additional user training resources.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ForgeRock requires significant time and technical expertise to deploy, but users appreciate the support during this process. Microsoft Entra ID has a quicker deployment process with users finding its customer service responsive and effective.

Pricing and ROI: ForgeRock has higher initial setup costs but provides a good long-term return on investment due to its flexibility. Microsoft Entra ID is more cost-effective initially, and users report a significant ROI due to its feature set and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID

February 2025

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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

Omada Identity

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Omada Identity is 3.2%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ForgeRock is 4.5%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 12.3%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity Management (IM)

Featured Reviews

Pernilla Hulth

IAM Project Manager (Independent) at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

The interface is easy to use and gives you a solid overview

The cloud-based deployment was straightforward, but the on-prem deployment was in a highly complex ecosystem. Omada has matured since then. I wouldn't say that it isn't straightforward, but it depends on the customer. A standard deployment is relatively easy, but it can be more painful if you need a lot of customization. We deployed the cloud solution in around four months, nearly meeting the 12-week benchmark. The on-prem deployment took three years. It was a highly complex ecosystem that was dependent on other systems. Depending on the size of your environment, you need a product owner and some specialists for maintenance. My last customer was a university with a complex environment. They had around 12 people involved in maintenance at that organization. Typically, it's between 2-5 people.

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Trisha Bhola

Senior Associate at Cognizant

It's easier to customize and maintain our code

I worked on two different projects based on ForgeRock, and both are automated deployments. One is a UI-based deployment. It's an automated process using some scripts. The deployments are done through Octopus, so it's also automated. We first deploy the essential components of AM and then implement additional configurations like Amster Imports. After that, we import all the SAML Federation data and add some certificates. We have two teams of five and three team members working on the different deployment processes. One is working on the dev side, another is looking at the higher environment, and one is managing the data. In another project, I'm the only developer. We also deploy on the dev environments so that anyone can test new features, configurations, and client requirements. They can test it on the dev environment, but a team of four people manages higher environments. The Access Management component involves the most customization, which takes around 15 to 20 minutes because of the need to import the Amster configuration. If another deployment is simultaneously happening, it may be a little slower and take around 30 minutes. The other components, like the user data stores, take about five to seven minutes. It's another five to 10 minutes for Identity Management. After deployment, the maintenance is mostly checking for security vulnerabilities. If ForgeRock shares security vulnerabilities or advisories, we check to see if there is something inside we need to maintain. Other than that, we just install updates when they add features each month.

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Aaron Liang

System engineer at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees

Has significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment

Microsoft Entra ID has helped by simplifying our management of permissions for APIs. We are not directly exposing credentials, as we use tokens instead. It has made management easier and more secure, especially in a multi-user environment. The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment, primarily through the widespread use of single-sign-on. Managing API permissions became much easier, as application registration often involves calling an API to utilize services without directly exposing credentials, relying instead on token-based authentication. This streamlined approach benefits end-users by simplifying access while remaining transparent to them. Ultimately, my role focuses on ensuring a smooth and user-friendly experience, even if the underlying technology remains unseen by the end-users. Our company strongly emphasizes passwordless authentication, primarily through device-bound passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator. While administrators with high-privileged accounts utilize YubiKeys and passwords for tasks like accessing Microsoft Graph, we are actively transitioning all other users towards passwordless methods such as Windows Hello biometrics. This approach streamlines authentication and enhances security. Though initial deployment in 2022 presented challenges due to hardware limitations and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology has significantly improved and provides a simple and effective user experience.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For me, the best feature of Omada Identity is its web interface because it's really easy for users to understand."

"The support response time and the freedom from strange bugs and strange things happening in the software are valuable."

"Omada's most valuable aspect is its usability."

"Support-wise, working with Omada has been good. We have very good direct interactions and fast responses."

"The support for the validity of the resources is valuable. The tool allows resource assignments within a validity period so that the managers do not have to remember to revoke the access once the work is done."

"The thing that I find most valuable is that Omada consists of building blocks, which means that you can configure almost anything you want without using custom code, making it pretty easy to do. It's possible to connect to multiple target systems and to create one role that consists of different permissions in the different target systems. So one role in Omada can make sure that you have an account in three different systems."

"We used to have a problem where an employee's access wasn't terminated when they left the company. Now, we have much better visibility into and control over who has access."

"The most valuable functionality of the solution for us is that when employees stop working for the municipality, they are automatically disabled in Active Directory. Omada controls that 100 percent. They are disabled for 30 days, and after that time Omada deletes the Active Directory account. The same type of thing happens when we employ a new person. Their information is automatically imported to Omada and they are equipped with the roles and rights so they can do their jobs."

More Omada Identity pros

"Easy to customize and adaptable to any environment."

"ForgeRock products are customizable, and the out-of-the-box features are solid, too. I primarily use the OIDC compliance features. It's just a configuration. it's easy to set up and customize trees. We can add our own features if necessary. Banks and corporations have different standards and specific validations."

"I like the intelligent authentication feature."

"Even though we have very small business interests with them today, they see that we plan on growing drastically over the next two years. Therefore, we have excellent support and we are now at a point where we are not calling tech support. We pick up a phone and call the Account Manager and they'll get everything resolved for us. We don't have to queue along with everybody else and go through a long process."

"It works very well, especially in Identity and Access Management. It helps detect anomalies in user behavior patterns."

"Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users."

"The product is easy to use in a development environment."

"The solution integrates well and it is important for them to keep up with the current trends in the market quickly enough, and they have been doing a good job at it."

More ForgeRock pros

"With Azure Active Directory we were able to manage with different options the access for different users."

"Azure Active Directory features have helped improve our security posture. The remote working has been a massive help during the pandemic."

"Azure Active Directory provides us with identity-based authentication, which secures access at the user level and also integrates with conditional access policies and multi-factor authentication helping to increase the identity security for that person. So, the hacking and leaking of passwords is a secondary problem because you will not authenticate a person with one factor. There is a second factor of authentication available to increase the security premise for your company."

"I like Intune's MDM and MI."

"Two very important features in terms of security are governance and compliance through the Conditional Access policies and Azure Log Analytics."

"The security features, such as attack surface rules and conditional access rules, are the most valuable aspects of Azure AD."

"Single sign-on, license management, and role management are the most valuable features. Integration with Microsoft 365 is also very valuable."

"Microsoft customer service is the best in the industry."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

Cons

"I would like to see them expand the functionality of the tool to continue to be competitive with the monsters out there. For example, they could add functionality on the authentication side, functionality that Octa and SailPoint have. But they should do that while maintaining the same simplicity that makes Omada a product of choice today."

"It is not possible to customize reports on Omada Identity."

"The backend is pretty good but the self-service request access screen, the GUI, needs improvement. It's an old-fashioned screen. Also, Omada has reports, but I wouldn't dare show them to the business because they look like they're from 1995. I know they are working on these things and that’s good, because they’re really needed."

"The account management integration isn't bad, but it isn't plug-and-play like Microsoft Azure. You need some deep development knowledge to set up the connectors."

"The solution should be made more agile for customers to own or configure."

"The UI design needs improvement. One or two years ago, Omada changed its user interface to simplify, but the simplification has not really kicked in."

"I am not working with the product, but they have this BI tool for role-based mining, and I think that should be included in the core product rather than an add-on."

"Functionality and usability could be improved."

More Omada Identity cons

"I think the upgrade process is sometimes a little complicated and there are failures that occur."

"It should have a better user interface. Its flexibility should also be improved. It is not about simplifying; it is more about flexibility. Each company has its own requirements, and ForgeRock can provide more flexibility in terms of the use of existing modules to implement features for the customers."

"In future releases, I would like to see easier integration with other solutions, like facial recognition and KYC solutions with biometric onboarding."

"We raised tickets asking for improvements, but sometimes we don't get the proper solution. They are responding, but the ticket is open for weeks and weeks. For some issues, we don't get a satisfactory solution or the solution doesn't work."

"The solution's documentation is not very good, and they do not give more details."

"ForgeRock is an open source solution and is available to everyone but it is not freeware. If you need support, you need a subscription for ForgeRock. Many of its functionalities need to be built up with the help of a consultant."

"Lacks simplified documentation within the tool that requires use of a separate portal."

"I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area where improvements are required."

More ForgeRock cons

"Our users sometimes experience issues from having multiple Microsoft accounts, which can cause some confusion and hassle."

"I would like it if Intune could manage MacOS or iOS directly. Right now, we have to use a third-party solution."

"The B2B Federation functionality is not perfect and could be improved. It is not on the same level that we could have if it were being used on-premises. It offers a different experience, which is a bit complicated and has some additional drawbacks."

"I had some issues with the Azure Active Directory on Windows XP. However, it worked well on Windows 7."

"It would be ideal if the solution moved to a passwordless type of environment. It's the future of authentification. It's also more secure and convenient."

"The thing that is a bit annoying is the inability to nest groups. Because we run an Azure hybrid model, we have nested groups on-premise which does not translate well. So, we have written some scripts to kind of work around that. This is a feature request that we have put in previously to be able to use a group that is nested in Active Directory on-premise and have it handled the same way in Azure."

"They can combine conditional access for user actions and application filtering. Currently, they are separated, and we cannot mix the two. I do not know how it would be possible, but it would be interesting."

"There are issues using it with ADFS."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive. Fortunately, I had a very good procurement manager on my side, but they are expensive. The closest competitors are also very expensive. You get a full-fledged solution that can do everything you dream of, but you pay for everything."

"Omada Identity is competitively priced and delivers good value for our money."

"Omada is expensive."

"The initial total cost of ownership to implement Omada Identity is not small. The TCO for the implementation is as high as any other solution. However, the cost of maintaining the solution is at par or lower than competitors, including adding more features or maintaining the system after the initial deployment or installation to make sure that they are available for users to use or extending the functionalities of those activities. Those maintenance costs are lower than other vendors, but the initial cost of getting the system installed is still high."

"It's a fair price for the on-premises system. Compared with what we had before, it's much cheaper and we get all the modules in one. We tried to go with the cloud, but it was far too expensive."

"It is not cheap. None of these solutions are cheap, but we have good pricing at least for now from a licensing perspective."

"They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors."

"Being Dutch, I can only say that it is extremely expensive, but all software products are expensive. If you have 38,000 users, then even one dollar or one euro per person would amount to a significant amount of money. Because of the high number of users, anything gets expensive very fast here."

More Omada Identity pricing and cost advice

"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."

"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."

"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."

"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."

"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."

"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."

"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."

"If you're on Azure, it can be free or it's incorporated, at no extra cost, or it can become extremely complicated."

"Licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis and the cost depends on the number of users."

"The cost of Entra ID depends entirely on our organization's specific needs and use cases."

"Be sure: You know your userbase, e.g., how many users you have. You choose the right license and model that suit your business requirements."

"The licensing costs are yearly. There is a standard fee per user."

"Licensing costs for Microsoft Entra ID remain a concern, especially with the price increases in 2023."

"Azure Active Directory is expensive."

"Compared to other Microsoft products, the cost is not too expensive. There's a free tier available, though it doesn't include all features. Overall, it's well-priced."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

12%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

33%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Omada Identity Cloud?

As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configur...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Omada Identity Cloud?

They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Omada Identity Cloud?

The biggest issue, which is the reason why we are transitioning from their product to SailPoint, is the overall user ...

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What do you like most about ForgeRock?

The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?

Our company was considering switching back to Keycloak from ForgeRock, so as to not pay any license fees. ForgeRock a...

See all answers

What needs improvement with ForgeRock?

In the past, I saw that Splunk was integrated with a testing portal, and then it was integrated with Slack. I don't t...

See all answers

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?

We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Du...

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure Active Directory?

It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. W...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?

We are an enterprise customer with an enterprise agreement in place with many of our partner companies, so there are ...

See all answers

Comparisons

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Omada Identity

Compared 32% of the time

Saviynt vs Omada Identity

Compared 17% of the time

One Identity Manager vs Omada Identity

Compared 7% of the time

SAP Identity Management vs Omada Identity

Compared 6% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Omada Identity

Compared 5% of the time

More Omada Identity Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs ForgeRock

Compared 14% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs ForgeRock

Compared 9% of the time

Auth0 vs ForgeRock

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Siteminder vs ForgeRock

Compared 7% of the time

One Identity Manager vs ForgeRock

Compared 5% of the time

More ForgeRock Competitors

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 11% of the time

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 10% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 9% of the time

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

CyberArk Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Omada Identity

February 2025

Download Omada Identity product report

Buyer's Guide

ForgeRock

February 2025

Download ForgeRock product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

February 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Also Known As

Omada Identity Suite, Omada Identity Cloud

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Omada

Demo not available

Ping Identity

Microsoft

Overview

Omada Identity is an identity governance and administration (IGA) solution designed to help organizations manage and secure digital identities and access across their IT environments. It focuses on enhancing security, compliance, and efficiency by automating identity management processes.

Omada Identity offers a robust set of features that streamline identity lifecycle management, access governance, and compliance reporting. It integrates with a wide range of IT systems, applications, and data sources, providing a centralized platform for managing user identities and access rights. The solution enables organizations to enforce security policies, ensure regulatory compliance, and reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

What are the critical features of Omada Identity?

Identity Lifecycle Management: Automates the process of creating, updating, and deactivating user identities throughout their lifecycle.
Access Governance: Ensures that users have appropriate access rights, enabling continuous monitoring and recertification of access.
Compliance Reporting: Provides comprehensive reporting capabilities to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Simplifies the assignment and management of access rights based on user roles within the organization.
Self-Service Access Requests: Empowers users to request access to resources through a user-friendly portal, reducing administrative burden.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with various systems, applications, and data sources for unified identity and access management.

What benefits or ROI items should users look for in the reviews when evaluating Omada Identity?

Improved Security: By ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive information, Omada Identity enhances overall security posture.
Regulatory Compliance: Helps organizations meet compliance requirements by providing detailed audit trails and reporting features.
Operational Efficiency: Automates routine identity management tasks, reducing manual effort and freeing up IT resources for strategic initiatives.
User Productivity: Streamlines access management processes, enabling users to quickly obtain the resources they need to perform their jobs.
Reduced Risk: Minimizes the risk of data breaches and insider threats by enforcing strict access controls and continuous monitoring.

Omada Identity is widely adopted across various industries, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. In healthcare, it helps protect patient data and comply with regulations like HIPAA. In finance, it ensures compliance with SOX and other financial regulations. In manufacturing, it secures access to sensitive production data and intellectual property.

Pricing and licensing for Omada Identity are typically based on the number of users and the specific features required. Customer support is available through various channels, including online resources, support tickets, and professional services for implementation and customization.

In summary, Omada Identity is a comprehensive IGA solution that enhances security, compliance, and efficiency in managing digital identities and access.

Omada

ForgeRock is a comprehensive open-source identity and access management solution designed to meet the unique needs of your users and workforce. With ForgeRock you can orchestrate, manage, and secure the complete lifecycle of identities in any cloud or hybrid environment. ForgeRock allows you to set up bot detection, identity proofing, and risk-based authentication.

With ForgeRock, you can define access policies and automate the management of the identity lifecycle all from a central, easy to use, and graphical dashboard. ForgeRock Access Management allows you to build safe authentication using options like passwordless and usernameless logins, single sign-on, biometrics, contextual analytics, and behavioral authentication. When threats appear, you can swiftly change how your users access your most sensitive applications and provide users with secure access to the applications, systems, and resources they need on demand.

ForgeRock Benefits and Key Features

Elevate your security and efficiency: Consolidating your legacy systems under one single platform provides reliable, unified control over all your user identities and access-related policies. ForgeRock Access Management also supports scaling existing policies for application onto new setups.
Passwordless authentication: Implementing passwordless authentication is simple with ForgeRock Access Management. You can easily replace user-selected passwords with other options, such as easy multi-factor authentication, biometrics, and SSO.
Identity governance: ForgeRock Identity Governance is a modern, AI-driven identity governance solution. By leveraging ForgeRock generated analysis reports, you can identify and apply appropriate user access, automate high-confidence access approvals, recommend certification for low-risk accounts, and review high-risk and inappropriate user access privileges. In addition, you can grant and enforce access to systems, applications, and infrastructure according to established policies.

Reviews from Real Users

ForgeRock stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its robust identity and access tools and its being easy to manage and scale with one central dashboard.

PeerSpot users note the effectiveness of these features. A technology solutions leader at an outsourcing company writes, “We need it for multiple clients, multiple implementations. Not all of them are necessarily a multi-tenant solution. We need a very versatile solution that can do a lot of work, but from a single instance that we can centralize authentications and we don't duplicate the efforts and that's where ForgeRock seems to do better.”

Mohamed B., a cyber security consultant at a tech company, writes, "Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users. ForgeRock secured our system so that it is accessed only by authorized people, and it implemented the SSO."

Ping Identity

Microsoft Entra ID is used for extending on-premises Active Directory to the cloud, managing application access, enabling multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on. It facilitates policy enforcement and secure access, ensuring centralized identity management across cloud and on-premises resources.

Organizations utilize Microsoft Entra ID for robust user and group management, identity synchronization, and conditional access. Its seamless integration with third-party apps, scalability, and support for remote work make it a preferred choice. The admin center streamlines identity and access tasks, enhancing efficiency and security with features like privileged identity management and audit logs.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Single Sign-On: Simplifies user access to multiple applications with one login.
Multifactor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring additional verification.
Conditional Access: Establishes policies that determine how users' access cloud apps.
Integration: Easily integrates with various third-party applications.
User Identity Protection: Safeguards user identities from threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Manages elevated access to sensitive resources.
Audit Logs: Provides thorough activity logs for oversight and compliance.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Entra ID reviews?

Enhanced Security: Offers strong multifactor authentication and identity protection.
Administrative Efficiency: Simplifies identity and access management tasks.
Scalability: Supports growing user bases and remote work environments.
Integration Capabilities: Compatible with numerous third-party applications.
User-Friendly Interface: Makes managing user identities straightforward.

Microsoft Entra ID implementation varies across industries. Tech firms leverage it for secure, scalable access management, while healthcare organizations utilize its identity protection features to safeguard patient data. Educational institutions adopt Entra ID for streamlined user management and policy enforcement, ensuring secure access for students and staff across on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Bayer, ECCO Shoes, Vattenfall, NuStar Energy, Unicredit, Schiphol Group, BMW Group, Deutsche Leasing

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.

Buyer's Guide

ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID

February 2025

Free Report: ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID

Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.

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