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Microsoft Entra ID Governance vs Okta Identity Governance: reach beyond the IdP and IGA
The short answer
On our default weights Microsoft Entra ID Governance scores higher overall, 6.15 against 5.10 out of 10. Entra ID Governance scores higher on Unmanaged app discovery, Accounts inside the app, Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM and Pricing transparency. They tie on Orchestrates through the existing stack, Executes changes itself, Machine, service and agent accounts and Audit evidence.
By The Credential Desk · IAM Compared · Published 2026-10-08
Desk research from public vendor pages and documentation read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-13. Editorial assessment; we did not test the products.
How do they score on each criterion?
| Criterion | Weight | Entra ID Governance | Okta | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unmanaged app discovery | 18% | 3.5 Account discovery covers users inside connected apps; discovery of apps outside Entra is not described in the governance docs reviewed. | 3.0 Not described on the pages reviewed for applications: discovery of apps nobody connected to Okta is not described. ISPM scans environments for shadow AI agents and their connections. | Entra ID Governance |
| Accounts inside the app | 16% | 5.5 Account discovery shows app users that match no Entra ID user; apps without provisioning rely on a CSV export. | 5.0 Entitlements give fine-grained control over what a user can do within an application, and downstream permissions are updated or revoked when a role changes; discovery of local, orphaned or dormant accounts inside apps is not described on the pages reviewed. | Entra ID Governance |
| Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM | 14% | 6.5 SCIM, LDAP, SQL, REST, SOAP, PowerShell and ECMA connectors, including on-prem apps; a manual CSV path for the rest. | 3.0 Not described on the pages reviewed. Reach into applications without an API, connector or SCIM endpoint is not described; onboarding and offboarding run between directories and cloud applications. | Entra ID Governance |
| Orchestrates through the existing stack | 14% | 5.0 Requires Entra ID P1 or P2 and fits best when Entra is the identity provider; manual removals can be routed to ServiceNow tickets. | 5.0 A governance product inside the Okta identity platform; requests run through a self-service portal, Slack or Teams. Feeding findings into another IGA, PAM or ITSM tool is not described on the pages reviewed. | Tie |
| Executes changes itself | 12% | 8.0 Lifecycle workflows before start, at status change and at departure, plus HR-driven provisioning. | 8.0 Automates user onboarding and offboarding between directories and cloud applications, and updates or revokes downstream permissions when a role changes. | Tie |
| Machine, service and agent accounts | 10% | 8.0 Entra Agent ID is generally available, and workload identities are priced and governed in Entra. | 8.0 Okta for AI Agents tracks each agent, verifies ownership, governs access and shuts down rogue actions; ISPM surfaces shadow agents into a central directory; Cross App Access issues ephemeral, scoped tokens for tool calls. Service accounts and hardcoded credentials are not described. | Tie |
| Audit evidence | 10% | 7.0 Review decisions and assignments are recorded in Entra; no framework-mapped evidence pack described. | 7.0 Auditable records of access approvals and scheduled access certifications presented as evidence for auditors; a framework-mapped evidence export is not described. | Tie |
| Pricing transparency | 6% | 9.5 $7.00 per user per month, paid yearly, published, on top of Entra ID P1 or P2. | 3.0 No price on the Identity Governance page. The Okta pricing page lists Workforce Identity suites per user, with Identity Governance priced on inquiry. | Entra ID Governance |
| Total | 100% | 6.15 | 5.10 | Entra ID Governance |
What shape is each tool's reach?
- DISC
- Unmanaged app discovery
- 3.5
- INAPP
- Accounts inside the app
- 5.5
- NOAPI
- Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM
- 6.5
- ORCH
- Orchestrates through the existing stack
- 5.0
- EXEC
- Executes changes itself
- 8.0
- NHI
- Machine, service and agent accounts
- 8.0
- EVID
- Audit evidence
- 7.0
- PRICE
- Pricing transparency
- 9.5
Each sector is one criterion. The longer the engraved sector, the higher the editorial score. Sectors are equal width, so the picture shows the shape of a tool's reach, not its weighted total.
- DISC
- Unmanaged app discovery
- 3.0
- INAPP
- Accounts inside the app
- 5.0
- NOAPI
- Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM
- 3.0
- ORCH
- Orchestrates through the existing stack
- 5.0
- EXEC
- Executes changes itself
- 8.0
- NHI
- Machine, service and agent accounts
- 8.0
- EVID
- Audit evidence
- 7.0
- PRICE
- Pricing transparency
- 3.0
Each sector is one criterion. The longer the engraved sector, the higher the editorial score. Sectors are equal width, so the picture shows the shape of a tool's reach, not its weighted total.
Which parts of the estate does each document?
| Zone | Entra ID Governance | Okta |
|---|---|---|
| Unsanctioned SaaS | Not documented Discovery of apps outside Entra not described in the governance docs reviewed | Not documented Discovery of unconnected SaaS not described |
| On-prem and legacy apps | Documented ECMA connector host, LDAP and SQL for on-prem apps | Not documented On-prem and legacy apps not described |
| Custom-built apps | Partial REST, SOAP and PowerShell connectors; CSV path otherwise | Not documented Custom-built apps not described |
| Local accounts in apps | Partial Account discovery shows app users not matched to Entra users | Not documented Local or orphaned accounts inside apps not described |
| Service accounts and hardcoded credentials | Partial Workload identities priced and governed in Entra; hardcoded credentials in apps not described | Not documented Service accounts and hardcoded credentials not described |
| AI agents | Documented Entra Agent ID generally available | Documented Okta for AI Agents and shadow agent scanning in ISPM |
What do they cost?
Microsoft Entra ID Governance
Pricing
$7.00 per user per month, paid yearly. Requires Microsoft Entra ID P1 ($7.00) or P2 ($10.00). Microsoft Entra Suite $12.00 per user per month. Workload ID $3.00 per workload identity per month.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Deployment
Microsoft cloud service, with an on-prem connector host for provisioning.
Okta Identity Governance
Pricing
No price on the Identity Governance page. Workforce Identity suites listed from $6 to $17 per user per month; Identity Governance priced on inquiry, with a $1,500 annual minimum.
Source: Okta pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Deployment
Part of the Okta identity platform.
Which should you choose?
Choose Entra ID Governance if
- you need a published price before talking to sales
- many of your applications have no API or SCIM endpoint
Choose Okta if
- you want the tool itself to provision and revoke access
- service accounts, workload identities and AI agents are in scope
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher overall, Microsoft Entra ID Governance or Okta Identity Governance?
On our default weights Microsoft Entra ID Governance scores higher overall, 6.15 against 5.10 out of 10.
Where does Microsoft Entra ID Governance score higher than Okta Identity Governance?
Entra ID Governance scores higher on Unmanaged app discovery (3.5 against 3.0), Accounts inside the app (5.5 against 5.0), Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM (6.5 against 3.0) and Pricing transparency (9.5 against 3.0).
Can Microsoft Entra ID Governance and Okta Identity Governance be used together?
Often, yes. They sit in different layers (Governance add-on to an identity provider; Governance add-on to an identity provider), and each one's pages describe working with existing identity tools.