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IAM / SSO Tools Compared

IAM platforms control who can access what across applications, including workforce identity, customer identity, and privileged access management. Side-by-side comparison across 4 tools — descriptive only, no recommendations.

6 min read Data verified: May 2026 4 tools compared
Okta
IAM / SSO
Paid
$2-$17/user/mo across SKUs $1,500/yr minimum annual contract
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Keycloak
IAM / SSO
Free / OSS
Free (Apache 2.0 open source) commercial support available via Red Hat build (Red Hat build of Keycloak)
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Cisco Duo
MFA
Freemium
Free up to 10 users $3-$9/user/mo for paid tiers
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CyberArk
PAM
Paid
$30K-$2M+/yr enterprise contracts per-vault, per-user, or asset-based depending on product
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Comparing →
Okta
IAM / SSO
Keycloak
IAM / SSO
Cisco Duo
MFA
CyberArk
PAM
$ Pricing & plans
5 dimensions
Pricing model
SSO ($2/user/mo), Adaptive SSO ($5), MFA ($3), Adaptive MFA ($6), Lifecycle…
Management ($4), Identity Governance ($9); enterprise bundles negotiated
Free (Apache 2.0)
Red Hat build of Keycloak offers commercial support and binaries under Red Hat subscription pricing
Duo Free (up to 10 users, MFA basics), Duo Essentials ($3/user/mo), Duo…
Advantage ($6), Duo Premier ($9)
Custom enterprise pricing
typical deployments range $30K-$2M+/yr depending on modules, user/asset counts, and deployment model
Pricing tier
Paid
Free / OSS
Freemium
Paid
Free tier / trial
Free tier
30-day free trial; Okta Developer Edition free for prototyping (limits apply)
Free tier
Software permanently free; no trial needed
Free tier
Duo Free permanently free up to 10 users; 30-day trial of all paid tiers
Trial only
30-day Privilege Cloud trial; live demo and PoC engagements available via sales
Volume discounts
Tiered breaks at 1,000, 5,000, 10,000+ users
multi-year commitments reduce per-user cost
Not applicable (free)
Red Hat subscriptions scale with hosts
Tiered at 100, 500, 1000+ users
multi-year and enterprise agreements reduce cost
Negotiated at enterprise scale based on user counts, asset counts, and module bundle
Hidden costs
Adaptive features require higher-tier SKUs
some advanced features like Identity Governance and Privileged Access are separate products
Operational infrastructure (compute, database, monitoring), specialized…
engineering time, security hardening, version upgrade engineering
Advanced features (Trusted Endpoints, Duo Network Gateway) in Advantage/Premier tiers only
Professional services for implementation, ongoing operational management,…
additional modules (Conjur for secrets management, Endpoint Privilege Manager, etc.)
↗ Deployment & integrations
3 dimensions
Deployment
Cloud-only SaaS
identity-as-a-service model
Self-hosted — containers (Docker, Kubernetes via operator), VMs, bare metal
clustered for HA
Cloud SaaS; on-prem Duo Authentication Proxy for legacy app/VPN/RDP integration
Privilege Cloud (SaaS) or self-hosted (on-prem CyberArk Vault, Privileged…
Session Manager, etc.)
Typical deployment time
Weeks for typical mid-market deployment
months for complex enterprise with custom integrations and lifecycle workflows
Hours for PoC
weeks for production-ready HA cluster with hardening and observability
Hours to days for typical SaaS app coverage
longer for legacy on-prem app integration via Duo Auth Proxy
Months for full enterprise rollout (vault, session management, application…
identity manager); SaaS Privilege Cloud reduces deployment time vs self-hosted
Key integrations
7,500+ pre-built integrations in Okta Integration Network (OIN)
largest catalog among workforce IAM vendors; deep integrations with major SaaS, on-prem AD, HR systems
Standards-based
any SAML 2.0, OIDC, OAuth 2.0 application; protocol mappers for custom integrations; user federation with LDAP/Kerberos/AD
Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Okta, OneLogin, AWS, Salesforce, SAP, Splunk, ServiceNow
RADIUS for legacy apps; broad VPN coverage
ServiceNow, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, AWS, Azure, GCP, Okta,…
SailPoint, Saviynt; native integrations across DevOps and cloud platforms
🔐 IAM / SSO-specific evaluation
7 dimensions
Authentication methods
SAML 2.0, OIDC, OAuth 2.0, WS-Federation, RADIUS (via Okta Access Gateway)
SCIM 2.0 for provisioning
SAML 2.0, OIDC, OAuth 2.0, Kerberos, X.509 client certificates
broad protocol support
Push (Duo Mobile), TOTP, U2F/FIDO2 hardware keys, biometric (Touch ID, Windows…
Hello), SMS, voice, bypass codes
SAML 2.0, OIDC, RADIUS, certificate-based
native integration with Okta, Entra ID, Ping
MFA methods
Okta Verify push, TOTP, FIDO2/WebAuthn (security keys, platform…
authenticators), SMS, voice, biometrics, third-party (Duo, RSA)
TOTP (Google Authenticator, FreeOTP), WebAuthn/FIDO2 (security keys, passkeys),…
email/SMS via custom integration
Duo Push (most-used method), FIDO2/WebAuthn passkeys, hardware tokens (YubiKey,…
Feitian), TOTP, SMS, phone callback, bypass codes
Native MFA plus integration with Duo, Okta, Microsoft Authenticator, RSA, YubiKey, FIDO2
required for privileged sessions
Adaptive / risk-based auth
Okta Adaptive MFA uses contextual signals (device, location, network, behavior)…
for risk-based step-up; requires Adaptive MFA SKU
Conditional authentication flows can be customized
not as turnkey as commercial adaptive MFA products
Duo Risk-Based Authentication (Advantage+) uses device trust, location, network signals
Trusted Endpoints policy
Risk-based session controls
threat analytics module for anomaly detection on privileged sessions
Directory integrations
Active Directory, LDAP, HR-driven (Workday, BambooHR, UltiPro, SuccessFactors),…
Google Workspace; Universal Directory as system of record
LDAP, Active Directory, Kerberos via user federation
custom user storage SPI for proprietary stores
Active Directory, Azure AD/Entra ID, LDAP via Duo Authentication Proxy
SCIM for automated user provisioning (Advantage+)
Active Directory, LDAP, Azure AD/Entra ID
HR-driven workflows via identity governance integrations (SailPoint, Saviynt)
Lifecycle management (SCIM)
Okta Lifecycle Management automates provisioning/deprovisioning via SCIM 2.0
HR-driven joiner/mover/leaver workflows
SCIM 2.0 supported via extensions/community plugins
not as polished out-of-the-box as commercial IAM products
SCIM-based user provisioning from Azure AD, Okta, Google
auto-deactivation on user removal
Identity governance via integrations (SailPoint, Saviynt)
SCIM-based provisioning for some workflows
Privileged access
Okta Privileged Access (separately licensed) for server access; not full PAM platform
buyers needing deep PAM often pair Okta with CyberArk/BeyondTrust
Not a PAM platform
provides authentication, not privileged credential management
Not a PAM platform
integrates with PAM solutions to add MFA at credential-checkout
Core CyberArk strength
credential vaulting, session isolation/recording, just-in-time access, secrets management (Conjur), endpoint privilege management
Session monitoring
Session policies and re-authentication enforcement
full session recording is not a core Okta feature
Session listing and forced logout per user/admin
audit logging via Event Listener SPI
Authentication logs and reports
session-level monitoring is not a core Duo feature (MFA is event-based)
Privileged Session Manager records and monitors all privileged sessions
session-level audit and replay; threat detection on session telemetry
✓ Compliance & certifications
1 dimension
Compliance certifications
FedRAMP High, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, CSA STAR, IRAP
Software has no specific certifications
organizations deploy in their own compliant environments. Red Hat build inherits Red Hat platform certifications.
FedRAMP Moderate, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR
FedRAMP Moderate (Privilege Cloud), SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, Common Criteria,…
supports PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX, NIST 800-53
◧ Positioning
3 dimensions
Target deployment
Mid-market to enterprise workforce identity, organizations wanting broad SaaS integration
Developer-led organizations, self-hosted IAM, customer-facing applications…
(CIAM), avoiding per-user SaaS pricing
Organizations of all sizes adding MFA, especially Cisco ecosystem customers
Enterprises with significant privileged account exposure, regulated industries,…
complex hybrid environments
Strengths cited
Largest identity SaaS app catalog (7,500+ pre-built integrations), strong SCIM…
provisioning ecosystem, broadly recognized as a workforce identity leader, mature partner network
Free and open source under Apache 2.0, strong protocol support (SAML, OIDC,…
OAuth), CIAM-capable, broad customization, no per-user licensing
Easy deployment, strong UX, generous free tier (10 users), broad application…
coverage, recognized as 2026 Gartner Customers' Choice for User Authentication
Considered a leader in privileged access management with deep capabilities for…
credential vaulting, session management, and just-in-time access; broad compliance coverage; mature platform
Where it fits less well
Higher-tier features (Adaptive MFA, Lifecycle Management) require Identity Engine tier
has experienced publicly disclosed security incidents that have been addressed; pricing positioned at premium tier
Requires operational expertise to run in production at scale
no SaaS-managed option from upstream project (Red Hat offers managed options separately)
Primarily MFA-focused
full identity lifecycle and SSO breadth require pairing with another IAM platform for some deployments
Enterprise-tier pricing reflects platform depth
deployment requires planning and operational maturity
Head-to-head comparisons
2 pairs
Okta vs Cisco Duo→ Okta vs Keycloak→
Methodology Comparison data synthesized from publicly available vendor documentation, MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluations, AV-TEST results, Gartner Peer Insights, G2/Capterra/TrustRadius reviews, anonymized transaction data (Vendr, CostBench, CheckThat.ai), and publicly reported pricing as of May 2026. defend.network is independent and has no commercial relationship with the vendors compared.