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: July 2026 4 tools compared

Okta

IAM / SSO

Paid

$6-$17/user/mo across suites $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

Okta Workforce Identity suites: Starter ($6/user/mo), Core Essentials ($14), Essentials ($17), Professional/Enterprise…

custom-quoted; individual per-SKU SSO/MFA/Governance pricing is no longer publicly listed

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

◧ Bottom line

Last updated 6 July 2026

How this category breaks down This page compares 4 IAM / SSO tools. Open-source / free-tier options: Keycloak, Cisco Duo. Commercial platforms: Okta, CyberArk. Use the comparison table above to match each tool’s stated best-fit to your environment.

Frequently asked questions

3 questions

Which IAM / SSO tools does this comparison cover?

This comparison covers 4 IAM / SSO tools: Okta, Keycloak, Cisco Duo, CyberArk.

Which IAM / SSO tools are open-source or offer a free tier?

Open-source or free-tier options: Keycloak, Cisco Duo.

Which IAM / SSO tools are commercial (paid)?

Commercial / paid options: Okta, CyberArk.

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.