JumpCloud vs Okta 2026: Directory Plus Devices or Pure SSO?

A small business that needs to manage laptops and logins in one tool should choose JumpCloud; one that already manages devices elsewhere and wants the cheapest serious single sign-on should choose Okta. Okta Starter costs $6 per user a month, billed annually, with a $1,500 yearly minimum. JumpCloud's SSO package is $11 per user a month on annual billing, and its device packages start at $9.

Prices were read on JumpCloud's pricing page and Okta's pricing page on October 19, 2026. The two are often shortlisted together, but they answer different questions. JumpCloud is a directory that also manages Mac, Windows and Linux machines; Okta is an identity platform that leaves device management to another vendor.

	JumpCloud	Okta Workforce Identity
Entry SSO price	$11 per user a month billed annually, $13 monthly (SSO package)	$6 per user a month (Starter), billed annually only
Device management	Yes, from $9 per user a month (Device Management package)	No MDM product on its price list; Device Access is a login add-on
Minimum spend	None printed	$1,500 a year
Monthly billing	Yes, on every package	No, all suites billed annually
Free option	30-day trial	30-day trial
Best for	IT teams of one running devices and identity together	Teams with an MDM already, or a growing SaaS stack

Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 104 identity and access tools as of October 19, 2026, and 59% of them offer a free tier (identity and access statistics). Neither JumpCloud nor Okta is in that group; both sell a trial instead. Okta is listed as an alternative to 49 other tools, third of 103 in the category, so it is the benchmark most buyers hold JumpCloud against.

What each one sells

JumpCloud sells three public packages and a long a la carte menu. The packages are built around device management: Device Management covers MDM, patching, software deployment and remote access; the SSO package covers directory, MFA, SSO, user lifecycle and a password manager; Device Identity Management joins MDM to directory and MFA. Three larger bundles, Platform Essentials (capped at 300 users), Platform and Platform Prime, are sold through sales with no public price.

Okta sells suites that share one license count. Starter includes SSO, MFA, Universal Directory and 5 Workflows. Essentials at $17 adds Adaptive MFA, Privileged Access, Lifecycle Management, Access Governance and 50 Workflows, and Core Essentials at $14 sits between the two for teams that skip the advanced compliance features. Professional and Enterprise are quote-only and add Device Access, Identity Threat Protection, API Access Management and Access Gateway.

The split matters for a small company with one IT person. JumpCloud replaces two tools, the identity provider and the MDM. Okta replaces one and expects you to bring the other.

Plan by plan prices

Plan	Annual billing	Monthly billing	What it includes
JumpCloud Device Management	$9 per user/mo	$11 per user/mo	MDM, System Insights, patch and software management, Remote Access
JumpCloud SSO	$11 per user/mo	$13 per user/mo	Cloud Directory, MFA, SSO, User Lifecycle Management, Password Manager, Directory Insights
JumpCloud Device Identity Management	$13 per user/mo	$15 per user/mo	Device management plus directory, MFA and identity management for devices
JumpCloud Platform Essentials, Platform, Prime	Contact sales	Contact sales	Full bundles; Platform Essentials stops at 300 users
Okta Starter	$6 per user/mo	Not offered	SSO, MFA, Universal Directory, 5 Workflows
Okta Core Essentials	$14 per user/mo	Not offered	Middle suite without the advanced compliance features
Okta Essentials	$17 per user/mo	Not offered	Adds Adaptive MFA, Privileged Access, Lifecycle Management, Access Governance
Okta Professional, Enterprise	Quote only	Not offered	Device Access, Identity Threat Protection, API Access Management

JumpCloud also sells each feature alone: most products cost $3 per user a month billed annually or $4 monthly, while MDM and passwordless login (JumpCloud Go) are $5 annually and $6 monthly. JumpCloud says annual billing saves up to 18%, so a team confident of its headcount for a year should commit to the annual term. Okta says almost all of its products can be bought individually or added to a suite, but prints no price for them.

The yearly bill for 10, 25 and 100 users

The totals below are our arithmetic on the printed annual per-user rates: rate times users times 12. They exclude tax, support plans and negotiated discounts. "SSO plus devices" on JumpCloud means the SSO package plus MDM bought a la carte, $16 per user a month together.

Need	Users	JumpCloud	Okta
SSO and MFA only	10	$1,320 (SSO package)	$1,500 (Starter at the yearly minimum)
SSO and MFA only	25	$3,300	$1,800 (Starter)
SSO and MFA only	100	$13,200	$7,200 (Starter)
SSO plus device management	10	$1,920	Starter at the minimum, plus a separate MDM
SSO plus device management	25	$4,800	$1,800 plus a separate MDM
SSO plus lifecycle automation	25	$3,300 (in the SSO package)	$5,100 (Essentials)

At ten users JumpCloud is the cheaper SSO, because Okta's yearly minimum turns Starter into $12.50 per user a month. From about 21 users the minimum stops binding, and Okta Starter is the lower bill for pure SSO at every size above that.

The device rows change the picture, because JumpCloud prices the whole job while Okta's figure covers only identity, and the MDM you pair it with adds its own per-device or per-user fee. Our best MDM software ranking prices the usual partners. At 25 users, Okta Starter stays cheaper only if that MDM costs less than about $10 per user a month, on our arithmetic.

Lifecycle automation reverses the order again. JumpCloud includes User Lifecycle Management in its SSO package, while Okta keeps Lifecycle Management for Essentials or sells it as an add-on to Starter. A team that wants accounts created and removed automatically pays $5,100 at Okta Essentials list price for 25 users against $3,300 on JumpCloud.

Round 1: device management. JumpCloud wins

JumpCloud's packages cover MDM, patch management, software management, remote access and device monitoring, sold per user. That is the main reason Mac-first and mixed-OS startups shortlist it: one console enrolls the laptop, pushes the OS patch and enforces the login.

Okta's pricing page lists no MDM product. Device Access, an add-on below Professional, extends Okta's passwordless login to desktops; it does not deploy software or patches. Okta buyers pair it with a separate MDM, which means two consoles, two contracts and an integration to maintain.

Round 2: SSO depth and app catalog. Okta wins

Okta is the identity specialist, and its suites show it. Starter's 5 Workflows grow to 50 on Essentials and unlimited flows above that, Adaptive MFA scores each sign-in for risk, and the higher suites add Identity Threat Protection and Identity Security Posture Management. A company whose stack is mostly SaaS apps, with dozens of integrations to provision, gets more depth per dollar from Okta.

JumpCloud covers SSO, MFA and Conditional Access, but its risk-based and zero-trust controls sit in Platform Prime or the a la carte list. For a 15-app startup the gap rarely shows; for a 200-app company with audit requirements, it does.

Round 3: pricing flexibility. JumpCloud wins

JumpCloud sells monthly billing on every package, has no printed minimum and lets a buyer assemble only the features needed at $3 to $5 each. It bills on the first of each month for the previous month, and suspended users still count as billable, which is a detail to watch during offboarding.

Okta bills every suite annually, requires a minimum yearly spend for Workforce Identity, and adds licenses across the whole suite rather than one product at a time, with exceptions for Workflows, Privileged Access and machine-to-machine tokens. That model is simpler at scale and rigid for a ten-person company.

Round 4: legacy and network access. JumpCloud wins for offices

JumpCloud sells Cloud LDAP and Cloud RADIUS at $3 per user a month each on annual billing, which covers office Wi-Fi, VPNs and older apps that cannot speak SAML. A small office with a NAS and a Wi-Fi network gets those without a server closet. Okta reaches on-premises apps through Access Gateway on its Enterprise suite, which is quote-only.

Round 5: governance and privileged access. Okta wins

Okta Essentials includes Access Governance and Privileged Access, with one Privileged Access Resource Unit covering two privileged users. JumpCloud offers Access Requests at $5 per user a month a la carte but publishes no governance suite at a list price. A company facing SOC 2 or ISO 27001 access reviews gets those controls at a printed price only from Okta.

Who should pick which

Pick JumpCloud if you are a 10 to 150 person company with one or two IT people, run Macs or a mix of Mac, Windows and Linux, and want devices, directory, SSO and Wi-Fi access in one console. Monthly billing and no minimum suit a company that is still growing into its tooling. Our JumpCloud review and JumpCloud pricing breakdown cover each package in detail.

Pick Okta if devices are already managed by Intune, Kandji or another MDM, your stack is mostly SaaS, and you have more than about 20 users so the minimum stops mattering. Plan for Essentials once lifecycle automation and access reviews become requirements. See the Okta review and Okta pricing for the suite detail.

Look elsewhere if neither fits. Okta vs Microsoft Entra ID covers Microsoft 365 shops, Duo vs Okta covers buyers who only need MFA, and the Okta alternatives and identity and access management tools rankings list the wider field.

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Gotchas that change the bill

• Okta's yearly minimum makes Starter cost more per user than its list price for any team under 21 people.
• JumpCloud's Device Identity Management has no SSO. Despite the name, the top public package pairs devices with directory and MFA; SSO needs the SSO package or the a la carte product.
• JumpCloud bills suspended users. Delete departed accounts rather than suspending them if you want them off the invoice.
• Okta Starter excludes Adaptive MFA and Lifecycle Management. Both are add-ons at a quoted price, or part of Essentials.
• Neither publishes its top tiers. JumpCloud's Platform bundles and Okta's Professional and Enterprise suites are sold by quote.

How we compared them

Plan prices, inclusions and billing terms were read on October 19, 2026, on JumpCloud's pricing page, including its a la carte table and FAQ, and on Okta's pricing page, including its suite comparison and footnotes. Yearly totals are our arithmetic on the printed annual per-user rates. The category figures come from Toolradar's identity and access statistics and tool records as of October 2026. Cyberpresso did not deploy either product for this page.

Cite this: Cyberpresso, "JumpCloud vs Okta 2026: Directory Plus Devices or Pure SSO?", November 2026.

FAQ

Is JumpCloud or Okta cheaper for a small business?

It depends on team size and whether you need device management. For SSO alone, JumpCloud costs less at 10 users because of Okta's yearly minimum, while Okta Starter at $6 per user a month costs less from about 21 users. With device management included, JumpCloud is the only one of the two that prices the whole job.

Does Okta include device management?

No. Okta's pricing page lists no MDM product. Device Access, an add-on below Professional and included from Professional up, extends passwordless Okta login to desktops but does not deploy software or patches.

How much does JumpCloud cost per user?

On annual billing, the Device Management package is $9 per user a month, the SSO package $11 and Device Identity Management $13, or $2 more each on monthly billing. Single products start at $3 per user a month billed annually.

Does Okta have a minimum purchase?

Yes. Okta Workforce Identity requires a $1,500 annual contract minimum, and all suites are billed annually.

Do JumpCloud and Okta have free plans?

Neither has a free plan. Both offer a 30-day free trial, and JumpCloud includes 24x7 Premium Support during its trial.

Which is better for Mac-heavy companies?

JumpCloud, because it manages Mac, Windows and Linux devices and identity in one console. Okta needs a separate MDM for the Macs, though it works well alongside one.

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