Okta vs Microsoft Entra ID 2026: Per-User Cost and Fit

Choose Microsoft Entra ID if your company already runs on Microsoft 365, because Entra ID P1 is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and E3, and P2 in E5. Choose Okta if your identity layer has to sit neutrally across Google, Microsoft and hundreds of SaaS apps. On list price alone, Okta Starter is $6 per user a month against $7 for Entra ID P1, and Entra ID P2 at $10 undercuts Okta Essentials at $17.

Every price here was read on Okta's pricing page and Microsoft's Entra pricing page on 19 October 2026, and every plan on both is billed annually. Our view: for a Microsoft shop the real comparison is not one seat price against another, it is a new Okta contract against a license you may already own. Okta earns its premium where the estate is mixed and the identity team wants one control plane that is not tied to the productivity suite.

Toolradar data: Okta is listed as an alternative to 49 other tools on Okta's Toolradar profile, #3 of 103 in the Identity & Access category, and its Starter price sits exactly at that category's median, as of October 2026. Toolradar is the software directory we run.

At a glance

Okta also requires a $1,500 annual contract minimum for Workforce Identity, a floor Microsoft does not publish for Entra. That rule changes the math for small teams, as the cost table below shows.

What each vendor actually sells

Okta sells identity as suites. Starter is the SSO and MFA core with a directory; Essentials adds the controls that most security teams ask for after year one: adaptive, risk-aware MFA, privileged access, joiner-mover-leaver automation through Lifecycle Management and access reviews through Access Governance. The Workflows count (5 on Starter, 50 on Essentials) caps how many no-code identity automations you can run.

Microsoft sells Entra in layers on top of a tenant you already have. The free tier, included with any Microsoft 365 or Azure subscription, already covers MFA and unlimited SSO to SaaS apps. P1 adds Conditional Access, the policy engine most security teams treat as non-negotiable. P2 adds ID Protection, which feeds sign-in and user risk into those policies, and the Entra Suite adds network access controls and full governance.

The practical consequence: a Microsoft 365 Business Premium or E3 customer already owns P1, so the incremental cost of Entra for SSO and Conditional Access is zero. An E5 customer already owns P2. Okta in those tenants is a second identity bill on top of one already paid for.

How much do Okta and Entra ID cost per year?

We priced three team sizes on each vendor's list price, billed annually, before any negotiated discount or Microsoft 365 bundle.

Okta Starter beats Entra ID P1 by $1 per user a month once the minimum stops binding, which happens at 21 users. Even with the minimum, Okta Starter is the cheaper of the two from 18 users; at 17 or fewer, P1 wins, and a 10-person team pays almost twice as much on Okta Starter as on P1.

At the next level up the order flips. Entra ID P2 costs $84 per user a year less than Okta Essentials, so a 200-user organization saves $16,800 a year on list price by taking P2. The two plans are not identical, though: Okta Essentials includes lifecycle automation and privileged access in one suite, while Microsoft spreads full governance across P2 and the Entra Suite.

The Entra Suite line is the most expensive on the sheet because it needs a P1 license underneath it. It buys network access controls (a zero trust replacement for VPN plus internet filtering) that Okta does not sell in these suites, so compare it with your VPN and secure web gateway spend, not with Okta.

Where Okta wins

Okta wins when identity has to be independent of any one productivity suite. A company running Google Workspace for email, Slack for chat and a long tail of SaaS apps gets a neutral directory and SSO layer from Okta, with no reason to adopt a Microsoft tenant just for identity.

It also wins on packaging for mid-market security teams. Essentials puts adaptive MFA, privileged access, lifecycle management and access reviews in one SKU at one price, which is simpler to budget and audit than Microsoft's split across P1, P2 and the Entra Suite. And Okta offers a free trial on Starter, so a team can test SSO and MFA flows before signing.

The weaknesses are cost and contract shape. The yearly contract minimum makes Okta the expensive option for teams of 17 or fewer, every suite is billed annually, and Professional and Enterprise are quote-only. Okta is also an additional identity provider for any organization that already has Entra ID through Microsoft 365, which means two systems to secure and monitor.

Where Microsoft Entra ID wins

Entra wins on cost for Microsoft 365 shops, because the license is often already paid for. Even bought standalone, P1 is within a dollar a month of Okta Starter, and P2 at $10 brings risk-based Conditional Access for well under Okta's Essentials price.

It also wins on depth inside the Microsoft estate. Conditional Access, device filters, token protection and session controls sit in the same tenant as Exchange, SharePoint and Intune, so a policy can check the device and the sign-in risk in one place. Security teams already using Microsoft Defender get one vendor console for identity signals and endpoint signals.

The weaknesses are complexity and concentration. Microsoft's plan structure is harder to read, the governance features you might expect in P2 are partly reserved for the Entra Suite, and putting identity, email and endpoint security with one vendor concentrates risk. Our coverage of the maximum-severity Entra ID flaw Microsoft fixed in its cloud and of passkey lures aimed at Microsoft 365 accounts shows why that concentration matters: one tenant compromise reaches everything.

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Which should you choose?

Pick Entra ID if you are on Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 or E5: you already own P1 or P2, and the work is turning on Conditional Access, not buying a new product. Pick it too if you are a team of 17 users or fewer, where Okta's minimum costs more than P1.

Pick Okta Starter or Essentials if your estate is mixed or Google-first, if you want identity separated from your email and endpoint vendor, or if you want lifecycle management and access reviews packaged in one suite. Okta Starter is the cheaper option from 18 users when you would otherwise buy Entra P1 standalone.

For deeper detail on each side, read our Okta pricing breakdown, the Okta review and our list of Okta alternatives. Our best identity and access management tools ranking covers the wider field, and JumpCloud pricing and Duo pricing cover two cheaper options for small IT teams. Teams weighing Microsoft's security stack more broadly can read our CrowdStrike vs Microsoft Defender comparison and Microsoft Defender for Business review.

How we compared them

Louis Corneloup, founder of Dupple and Toolradar, wrote this comparison for security and IT leads. We read Okta's Workforce Identity plans, suite features and FAQ on Okta's pricing page, and Entra ID Free, P1, P2 and Entra Suite prices and the feature comparison table on Microsoft's Entra pricing page, both on 19 October 2026. Annual costs are our arithmetic from those list prices, before tax, Microsoft 365 bundles and negotiated discounts. Neither vendor's product was deployed for this page; it compares published plans and prices.

FAQ

Should I use Okta or Microsoft Entra ID?

Use Entra ID if you run Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 or E5, since those licenses already include Entra ID P1 or P2. Use Okta if your apps span Google, Microsoft and many SaaS tools and you want a neutral identity layer, or if you want lifecycle management and access governance in one suite.

Is Okta cheaper than Microsoft Entra ID?

Per seat, Okta Starter at $6 a month is $1 cheaper than Entra ID P1 at $7, both billed annually. Okta's yearly contract minimum reverses that for teams of 17 users or fewer, and Entra ID P2 at $10 costs less than Okta Essentials at $17.

Is Microsoft Entra ID free?

Entra ID Free is included with Microsoft cloud subscriptions such as Azure and Microsoft 365, and covers MFA, unlimited single sign-on to SaaS apps, basic reports and cloud self-service password change. Conditional Access needs P1, which costs $7 per user a month standalone.

What does Entra ID P2 add over P1?

P2 adds Microsoft Entra ID Protection: risk-based Conditional Access, real-time sign-in and user risk assessment, risky account detection and risk event investigation. It also adds an identity governance dashboard and partial access reviews and entitlement management, for $10 per user a month, $3 more than P1.

Does Okta have a minimum contract?

Yes. Okta Workforce Identity carries a $1,500 annual contract minimum, and all its suites are billed annually. At Starter's per-user price, that minimum covers about 20 users, so smaller teams pay the floor.

Can I use Okta and Entra ID together?

Many organizations do: a Microsoft 365 tenant always has Entra ID, and Okta can sit in front as the primary identity provider for SSO across other apps. That setup means paying for both and securing two identity systems, so it only makes sense when Okta's cross-platform reach is worth the second bill.

Cite this: Cyberpresso, "Okta vs Microsoft Entra ID 2026: Per-User Cost and Fit", November 2026.

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