What's the best SSO and IAM software for your company in 2026?
Often, the one you're already paying for. Check what your productivity suite includes before you buy another tool.
SSO (single sign-on) lets your people log in once and open every app. IAM (identity and access management) goes further: it creates accounts when someone joins, enforces MFA, and shuts off every access the day they leave. Here's the short answer.
You pay for Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Microsoft Entra ID P1 is already included, so start there. You want the biggest catalog of ready-made app integrations: Okta, from $6 per user per month with a $1,500 yearly minimum. You want identities and laptops in one console: JumpCloud, $11 per user per month on its annual SSO package.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
The best SSO software for your situation
P1 included in Business Premium, otherwise $7 per user per month
Biggest integration catalog8,000+ integrations, from $6 per user per month
Identities and devices togetherSSO package $11 annual, device management $9
Tight budget, SSO plus MFASSO included from Essentials at $3 per user per month
Teams on Google WorkspaceFree SAML SSO, Premium at $6 per user per month annual
Open source with paid supportFree open source, Enterprise at $5 per user per month
8 SSO and IAM tools side by side
Read the "what's included" column before the score. Two tools at the same price rarely cover the same ground: one includes automatic account provisioning, the other sells it as an add-on. Also count service accounts and suspended users, which some vendors bill like any other seat.
| Best for | What's included | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Entra ID | Best SSO for Microsoft 365 shops | SSO and MFA on Free, conditional access from P1 | 4.4/5 | Free; P1 $7 | ✓ | Teams of 20 to 500 on Microsoft 365 | Visit → |
| 2 | Okta Workforce Identity | Best catalog of ready-made integrations | SSO, MFA and directory on Starter; lifecycle management on Essentials | 4.3/5 | From $6, $1,500/yr minimum | — | Growing companies with lots of non-Microsoft SaaS | Visit → |
| 3 | JumpCloud | Best for managing identities and devices together | SSO, MFA and password manager in the SSO package | 4.1/5 | SSO $11 annual | — | Teams of 20 to 300 without a Microsoft directory | Visit → |
| 4 | Cisco Duo | Best price for SSO and MFA | SSO included from Essentials, alongside MFA | 4.1/5 | From $3; free for 10 users | ✓ | Small teams that want to lock down logins first | Visit → |
| 5 | Google Cloud Identity | Best SSO for Google Workspace teams | SAML SSO and 2-Step Verification; provisioning on Premium | 4.0/5 | Free; Premium $6 annual | ✓ | Teams on Google Workspace | Visit → |
| 6 | authentik | Best open source with paid support | OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM and RADIUS in the free version | 3.9/5 | Free; Enterprise $5 | ✓ | Small technical teams that self-host | Visit → |
| 7 | Ping Identity | Best for large, demanding organizations | Full platform: shared cloud, dedicated cloud or self-hosted | 3.8/5 | Quote only | — | Mid-market and enterprise, regulated industries | Visit → |
| 8 | Keycloak | Best self-hosted open-source SSO | SSO, OIDC, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, LDAP and Active Directory | 3.7/5 | Free (you pay hosting) | ✓ | Engineering teams and app vendors | Visit → |
Prices read on each vendor's official pricing page in 2026, in US dollars, per user per month unless stated, before tax. Where scores tie, order follows fit for a small team without a dedicated security staff.
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
How we compared and scored these tools
Most top results for this query are review directories or vendor-written lists, often with stale numbers (JumpCloud's old free tier still shows up). Some come from vendors ranking their own category without saying so. We compared eight tools on their official pricing and documentation pages, then checked those facts against what admins report on forums and review sites.
We left out tools with no readable price on their official page and no clear quote-only statement: OneLogin and ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus are covered below, outside the ranking. Auth0 isn't ranked either: it handles your customers' logins, not your employees'. Password managers and privileged access tools are a different category.
- Ease of rolloutHow long it takes to connect the first apps and enroll your people without a dedicated identity team.20%
- Pricing clarityA public price, few must-have add-ons sold separately, no hidden minimum, no billing for inactive accounts.20%
- Security and MFAMFA, access rules based on device or location, passwordless login. That's the point of the tool, so it weighs the most.25%
- Catalog and provisioningHow many apps connect out of the box over SAML or OIDC, and whether accounts are created and removed automatically (SCIM).20%
- Support and upkeepWhat the vendor handles for you, and what's left on your plate every month: updates, backups, monitoring.15%
No affiliate link changes a score or a rank.
Microsoft Entra ID
Entra ID is the directory behind Microsoft 365. If your company has Microsoft accounts, it already has an Entra ID tenant, whether anyone set it up on purpose or not. The Free edition gives you unlimited SSO, MFA and self-service password reset.
P1 is where it gets interesting, at $7 per user per month. It adds conditional access: allow or block a sign-in based on the device or where it comes from. It also adds passwordless sign-in and hybrid identity with an on-premises Active Directory. Here's the part many small businesses miss: P1 comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Plenty of teams pay for it and never switch it on.
The app gallery lists thousands of apps ready for SSO. Automatic provisioning runs on SCIM 2.0, but not every gallery app supports it, so check each one. Admins say the same thing in reviews: easy if you're all-in on Microsoft, confusing once you try to work out which license tier unlocks what, and P2 feels pricey for a small team.
- P1 included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Conditional access from P1
- Unlimited SSO even on Free
- ✓Nothing to buy if you have Business Premium
- ✓Fine-grained access rules from P1
- ✓Syncs with on-prem Active Directory
- ✗License tiers are hard to decode
- ✗SCIM provisioning missing for some apps
- ✗P2 is steep for small teams
The first stop for any Microsoft 365 business. Before you buy anything, check whether your licenses already include P1.
Okta Workforce Identity
Okta is the independent identity specialist, and its edge is still the catalog: more than 8,000 prebuilt integrations. If your stack doesn't live entirely inside Microsoft, most of your apps will connect in a few clicks.
Pricing starts at $6 per user per month on Starter, which covers SSO, MFA and Universal Directory. Lifecycle Management (automatic account creation and removal) and adaptive MFA are add-ons on that tier. You need Essentials at $17 to get both, plus 50 Workflows automations. Everything is billed annually with a $1,500 contract minimum, so a 15-person team pays the minimum, not 15 times $6.
Admins put it bluntly: the most expensive option, but extraordinarily easy to use, and it just works. They also complain about pressure to add modules and about being billed per Okta user, service accounts included. Okta also had two security incidents, in 2022 and 2023, the second one hitting its support system. If you're thinking of leaving, our guide to switching from Okta covers the options.
- 8,000+ prebuilt integrations
- 50 Workflows included in Essentials
- Widely seen as the easiest admin console here
- ✓Connects almost any SaaS app
- ✓Independent of your productivity suite
- ✓Strong adaptive MFA
- ✗$1,500 yearly minimum
- ✗Lifecycle management is an add-on on Starter
- ✗Bills climb as modules stack up
The best catalog at the highest price. Pick it if your app stack is wide and mostly outside Microsoft, and budget for Essentials from day one.
JumpCloud
JumpCloud calls itself a cloud directory. It manages employee accounts, SSO into apps and the computers themselves, with LDAP and RADIUS modules for gear that can't speak SSO. That mix is what sets it apart from Okta.
The SSO package costs $11 per user per month billed annually, $13 monthly, and bundles MFA and a password manager. Device Management alone is $9, both together $13, and à la carte modules start at $3. One thing many comparison sites still get wrong: JumpCloud is no longer free for new accounts, since 2024. The old 10-user free tier only survives for accounts opened before that, which long-time users noticed and didn't love.
Reviews praise how much it covers but mention a steep learning curve, lots of clicks for advanced policies and thin reporting. Value for money is the lowest-rated item in user reviews. Another trap: suspended users are billed, so clean up before every renewal.
- Directory, SSO and device management in one console
- LDAP and RADIUS for legacy gear
- Monthly billing available
- ✓Cloud directory with LDAP and RADIUS modules from $3
- ✓Device management in the same plan
- ✓À la carte modules to start small
- ✗No free tier for new accounts
- ✗Suspended users are billed
- ✗Console takes time to learn
A strong pick for a non-Microsoft team that also needs to manage laptops. Compare it against Okta plus a separate device management tool.
Cisco Duo
Duo, from Cisco, started as an MFA tool and now offers SSO in its paid plans. The pitch is price: SSO is included from Essentials at $3 per user per month, the lowest public price with SSO in this ranking.
The Free edition covers 10 users, but without SSO, so it's really for protecting a few logins with MFA. Above Essentials, Advantage costs $6 and Premier $9 per user per month. Licenses come in packs of 10 under 100 users, then 25, so a 32-person team pays for 40.
The catch is the catalog. Duo has neither Okta's library nor Microsoft's gallery, and it doesn't replace a full directory. It fits a small business that wants solid MFA everywhere and SSO for a dozen apps.
- SSO included from $3
- Free MFA for 10 users
- Three clear paid tiers: $3, $6, $9
- ✓Cheapest option with SSO
- ✓Very simple MFA app
- ✓Easy to pilot with a small group
- ✗No SSO on the Free edition
- ✗Licenses sold in packs
- ✗Thinner catalog and provisioning
The cheapest way into real SSO. For full account lifecycle, you'll want a directory alongside it.
Google Cloud Identity
Cloud Identity is the identity layer under Google Workspace. It can act as the identity provider for your third-party apps, so people open Slack or the CRM with their Google account over SAML. 2-Step Verification and security keys come with both editions.
Free is enough to get SSO going. Premium costs $7.20 per user per month on the Flexible plan, or $6 per license on an annual plan, and adds automatic provisioning into apps plus a 99.9% uptime SLA. Without Premium, every offboarding is a manual job in each app.
Admin opinions split. It works well for small businesses and schools, but many find it too light beyond that, without the access rules Entra ID or Okta offer. If you're weighing the two suites, our guide to switching from Google Workspace compares them.
- Free SAML SSO with Google accounts
- Security keys on both editions
- 99.9% SLA on Premium
- ✓No extra tool on Workspace
- ✓Free edition already useful
- ✓Cheap annual Premium
- ✗Provisioning is Premium only
- ✗Fewer access rules than Entra or Okta
- ✗Weak fit outside Google
The obvious pick on Google Workspace while your needs stay simple. Move to Premium as soon as offboarding gets messy.
authentik
authentik is an open-source identity provider, younger than Keycloak and known for being easier to run. The free version already covers OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos and a proxy mode that protects apps with no SSO support. The team has spoken out against the "SSO tax" and keeps those protocols in open source.
The free version comes with community support only. Enterprise costs $5 per internal user per month, billed annually, and $0.02 per external user. Service accounts are free, the opposite of Okta. Enterprise Plus starts at $20,000 a year.
On self-hosting forums, authentik keeps coming up as the sweet spot between Keycloak (complete, heavy) and lighter tools. It's still software you install, patch and back up yourself. Without someone to own it, a hosted tool ends up cheaper.
- SCIM and RADIUS in the free version
- Free service accounts on Enterprise
- Proxy mode for apps without SSO
- ✓Free with no user cap
- ✓Easier to run than Keycloak
- ✓Affordable Enterprise tier
- ✗Hosting and patching are on you
- ✗Community support only on free
- ✗App connections to configure yourself
The best open-source pick for a small technical team. Move to Enterprise once it becomes critical.
Ping Identity
Ping Identity targets large organizations. Its platform covers SSO, MFA and access management in three forms: a multi-tenant cloud (PingOne), a dedicated cloud (Advanced Identity Cloud) or software you host yourself. That deployment flexibility is rare.
Ping publishes no prices. Its pricing page says cost depends on the number and type of identities, and a quote follows. Ping also runs a FedRAMP environment for US public-sector buyers. For a small business, the buying cycle looks like a full project, usually with an integrator.
We rank it for one reason: if your company scales fast, or a parent company asks you to align with its stack, Ping is one of the names that will come up. For 50 people, Entra ID, Okta or JumpCloud get you there faster and cheaper.
- Shared cloud, dedicated cloud or self-hosted
- Employee and customer identity on one platform
- FedRAMP environment available
- ✓Very flexible deployment
- ✓Covers enterprise-grade needs
- ✓Strong on access management
- ✗No public pricing
- ✗Long projects, often with an integrator
- ✗Oversized for a small business
An enterprise choice. A small business only looks at it when a customer or parent company requires it.
Keycloak
Keycloak is the reference open-source identity server, licensed Apache 2.0 and now a CNCF incubating project. It handles SSO, OIDC, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0, connects to LDAP or Active Directory and supports two-factor authentication.
The license costs nothing. The real price is the server, the upgrades, the backups and the person who can fix a broken realm (Keycloak's configuration unit) on a Friday night. One admin summed up DIY Keycloak as "a nightmare". Others find it solid once it's running.
For a small business with no developers, Keycloak isn't the right starting point. For an app vendor or an engineering team, it's the most complete tool here. If you want it without running it, managed Keycloak hosts exist, including the European provider Cloud-IAM.
- Apache 2.0, no per-user cost
- Full OIDC, OAuth 2.0 and SAML 2.0
- CNCF incubating project
- ✓Most complete open-source option
- ✓No vendor lock-in
- ✓Large community
- ✗Heavy to operate
- ✗Console built for engineers
- ✗No support without a provider
Great for an engineering team. Without one, pick a managed host or another tool.
How to choose your SSO and IAM software
The per-user price is one line on the bill. What really costs you is the must-have add-ons, the pricier plans your apps demand before they accept SSO, and the time to run it all. Six things to check before you sign.
Start from the suite you pay for
Workforce IAM or customer identity
Watch for the SSO tax
SCIM: the payoff is offboarding
Count the accounts nobody watches
Tools we left out, and why
- List your apps and note, for each one, the plan that unlocks SSO and the plan that unlocks SCIM.
- Check whether your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace licenses already include an identity provider.
- Count service accounts and suspended users before comparing two quotes.
- Enforce MFA for everyone on day one, admins first.
- Keep two break-glass admin accounts outside SSO, protected by hardware security keys.
- Pilot five apps and ten people before moving the whole team.
Six tips for an SSO setup that lasts
SSO projects rarely fail because of the tool. They fail on a forgotten app, a misread license or an offboarding that leaves access open. These tips come from vendor terms and admin feedback.
Look for P1 in your Microsoft licenses
BudgetOpen the Microsoft 365 admin center and check your licenses. If you see Business Premium or E3, Entra ID P1 is included. You already own conditional access; you just need to turn it on.
- P1 standalone
- $7 per user per month
Check SCIM app by app
OffboardingBefore you choose, open the entry for your top five apps in the Entra gallery or the Okta catalog. Check that automatic provisioning is offered, not just SSO. Provisioning is what closes access on someone's last day.
- Standard
- SCIM 2.0
Do the Okta minimum math
TrapWith a $1,500 yearly minimum and Starter at $6, you pay the minimum up to 20 users. Past that, every add-on multiplies by headcount. Start negotiating 90 to 120 days before renewal, not in the last week.
- Break-even
- 20 users on Starter
Keep two break-glass accounts
SecurityIf your identity provider goes down or locks up, nobody gets in anywhere. Keep two admin accounts outside conditional access rules, protected by hardware keys, and store them in your business password manager.
- How many
- 2 accounts, hardware keys
Clean up before renewal
BillingJumpCloud keeps billing suspended users. Okta bills service accounts. A month before renewal, delete former employees' accounts and consolidate service accounts.
- When
- One month before renewal
Use a proxy for apps with no SSO
CoverageAn internal tool with no SAML or OIDC doesn't have to stay outside. authentik's proxy mode puts a login in front of it, even on the free version. For apps that truly can't be covered, share access through a password manager rather than a spreadsheet.
- Cost
- Free on authentik open source
SSO sorted, next steps
SSO protects sign-ins. Devices, the passwords that stay outside SSO, and your team's habits need their own tools.
Policies, encryption and remote wipe for every device.
Some apps won't accept SSOThe best business password managerSafe sharing for the logins that stay outside SSO.
Your team still clicks on phishingThe best security awareness trainingTrain people to spot fake messages.
SSO and IAM software · FAQ
What's the difference between SSO and IAM?
SSO is a feature: one login that opens all your apps. IAM is the whole discipline: creating accounts, granting the right permissions, enforcing MFA and cutting everything off when someone leaves. A good IAM tool includes SSO; the reverse isn't always true.What's the best SSO for a small business?
It depends on your suite. On Microsoft 365, Entra ID, especially if Business Premium already includes P1. On Google Workspace, Cloud Identity. With neither, JumpCloud if you also manage laptops, or Cisco Duo from $3 per user if MFA is the priority.Is there a free SSO solution?
Yes. Entra ID Free and Cloud Identity Free both do SSO, and Keycloak and authentik are open source. Cisco Duo is free for 10 users, but without SSO. JumpCloud is no longer free for new accounts.Is Entra ID free with Microsoft 365?
The Free edition comes with every subscription. Entra ID P1, which adds conditional access, is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and E3. Without those, P1 costs $7 per user per month, billed annually.How much does SSO cost per user?
From $0 to $17 a month depending on the tool and add-ons. Cisco Duo Essentials is $3, Okta Starter $6 with a $1,500 yearly minimum, Entra ID P1 $7, JumpCloud SSO $11 billed annually. Add what your apps charge to unlock SSO on their side.Okta or Entra ID: which should you pick?
Entra ID if your company runs on Microsoft 365, especially with Business Premium, since P1 is already paid for. Okta if you mix lots of non-Microsoft apps and want the largest ready-made catalog. For a small team, Okta almost always costs more.What is the SSO tax?
It's the markup SaaS vendors charge by keeping SSO for their most expensive plan. Community lists track the apps that do it. Before you buy an identity provider, check each app's own pricing page and add the upgrade cost to your budget.Is open-source SSO safe for a small company?
The software can be: Keycloak is a CNCF incubating project, and authentik offers an Enterprise plan with support. The risk is operations. If nobody patches and backs it up, your single sign-on becomes a single point of failure. Without an engineer, choose a hosted option.