PAIRING · MEASURED SIDE BY SIDE
Microsoft Entra ID Governance vs Orchid Security: reach beyond the IdP and IGA
The short answer
On our default weights Orchid Security scores higher overall, 8.24 against 6.15 out of 10. Entra ID Governance scores higher on Executes changes itself, Machine, service and agent accounts and Pricing transparency; Orchid scores higher on Unmanaged app discovery, Accounts inside the app, Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM, Orchestrates through the existing stack and Audit evidence. They sit in different layers (Governance add-on to an identity provider and Discovery and orchestration layer), so many teams run both.
Orchid names Microsoft among its integrations. Entra ID Governance documents connectors and a CSV path for apps it can be pointed at; Orchid documents discovering the apps and accounts that were never pointed at anything.
Source: Orchid Security homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: governing users of apps that don't support provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026
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 | Orchid | 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. | 9.5 States it discovers SaaS, cloud, on-prem, legacy and custom-built applications automatically, including unmanaged ones. | Orchid |
| 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. | 9.0 Maps how identity works inside each application and surfaces local user activity, orphaned accounts, shadow authentication paths and privilege drift. | Orchid |
| 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. | 9.0 Describes bringing unmanaged on-prem, legacy and custom-built applications under IAM, IGA, PAM and audit control; the collection method is not detailed on the pages reviewed. | Orchid |
| 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. | 9.5 Feeds identity context into the IAM, IGA, PAM and ITSM tools in place: names Microsoft, SailPoint, Saviynt and CyberArk, ServiceNow and Jira ticketing, a SailPoint partnership since August 2026, and reports privileged accounts to the Discovered Accounts queue in Idira Privilege Cloud. | Orchid |
| Executes changes itself | 12% | 8.0 Lifecycle workflows before start, at status change and at departure, plus HR-driven provisioning. | 4.5 Does not describe itself as a provisioning engine; provisioning and revocation run in the IGA, IdP or ticketing tool it feeds. | Entra ID Governance |
| Machine, service and agent accounts | 10% | 8.0 Entra Agent ID is generally available, and workload identities are priced and governed in Entra. | 7.5 Detects hardcoded accounts and credentials and lists guardrails for autonomous identity as a use case; dedicated agent identity features are not detailed. | Entra ID Governance |
| Audit evidence | 10% | 7.0 Review decisions and assignments are recorded in Entra; no framework-mapped evidence pack described. | 8.5 Continuous, application-level identity evidence mapped to SOX, PCI, HIPAA, GDPR and NIS2; every discovery, policy and action recorded. | Orchid |
| Pricing transparency | 6% | 9.5 $7.00 per user per month, paid yearly, published, on top of Entra ID P1 or P2. | 6.0 Lists one package on AWS Marketplace (Orchid Fundamental, 30 applications, $250,000.00 per 12 months); other terms by private offer; no pricing page on its own site. | Entra ID Governance |
| Total | 100% | 6.15 | 8.24 | Orchid |
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
- 9.5
- INAPP
- Accounts inside the app
- 9.0
- NOAPI
- Reach into apps without APIs or SCIM
- 9.0
- ORCH
- Orchestrates through the existing stack
- 9.5
- EXEC
- Executes changes itself
- 4.5
- NHI
- Machine, service and agent accounts
- 7.5
- EVID
- Audit evidence
- 8.5
- PRICE
- Pricing transparency
- 6.0
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 | Orchid |
|---|---|---|
| Unsanctioned SaaS | Not documented Discovery of apps outside Entra not described in the governance docs reviewed | Documented Discovers SaaS and cloud applications, including unmanaged ones |
| On-prem and legacy apps | Documented ECMA connector host, LDAP and SQL for on-prem apps | Documented Discovers on-prem and legacy applications |
| Custom-built apps | Partial REST, SOAP and PowerShell connectors; CSV path otherwise | Documented Discovers custom-built applications |
| Local accounts in apps | Partial Account discovery shows app users not matched to Entra users | Documented Local user activity and orphaned accounts inside apps; publishes an Orphan and Local Accounts report |
| Service accounts and hardcoded credentials | Partial Workload identities priced and governed in Entra; hardcoded credentials in apps not described | Documented Hardcoded accounts and credentials detected |
| AI agents | Documented Entra Agent ID generally available | Partial Guardrails for autonomous identity listed as a use case; detail not reviewed |
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.
Orchid Security
Pricing
AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: Orchid Fundamental (Continuous IAM Assurance, Discovery & Readiness, 30 applications) $250,000.00 per 12 months; 24- and 36-month options are also listed. The listing offers custom pricing by private offer. No pricing page on orchid.security.
Source: AWS Marketplace: Orchid Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 · Source: orchid.security/pricing (returns 404) · Read 11 Oct 2026
Deployment
SaaS, per its AWS Marketplace listing. Whether the platform itself can run on-prem is not stated on the pages reviewed.
Which should you choose?
Choose Entra ID Governance if
- you need a published price before talking to sales
- you want the tool itself to provision and revoke access
Choose Orchid if
- finding applications nobody connected is the first problem
- you want to keep your current IdP, IGA and ticketing tools and feed them
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher overall, Microsoft Entra ID Governance or Orchid Security?
On our default weights Orchid Security scores higher overall, 8.24 against 6.15 out of 10.
Where does Microsoft Entra ID Governance score higher than Orchid Security?
Entra ID Governance scores higher on Executes changes itself (8.0 against 4.5), Machine, service and agent accounts (8.0 against 7.5) and Pricing transparency (9.5 against 6.0).
Can Microsoft Entra ID Governance and Orchid Security be used together?
Often, yes. They sit in different layers (Governance add-on to an identity provider; Discovery and orchestration layer), and each one's pages describe working with existing identity tools.