Okta Pricing in 2026 and the Alternatives Compared
Okta's per-seat prices for 100 employees, set against seven alternatives, with the yearly bill for each in USD.
For a 100-person company, Duo Essentials is the lowest-priced bundle that applies at that size, at $3 per user per month, or $3,600 a year. Okta Starter costs $6 per user per month, or $7,200 a year, on the same headcount.
Microsoft Entra ID Free costs nothing when you already pay for Microsoft 365 or Azure, but Conditional Access starts at Entra ID P1 at $7 per user per month. Authentik Enterprise is $5 per user per month billed annually, and Keycloak carries no license fee if you run it yourself.
JumpCloud's SSO package at $11 per user per month costs more than Okta Starter. PingOne for Workforce publishes its seat prices only on a 5,000-user annual minimum, so it has no 100-seat price. Prices were verified on vendor pages on 10 October 2026.
Key facts7 tools compared: Microsoft Entra ID, Keycloak, Duo Security, Authentik, JumpCloud, Google…
- 7 tools compared: Microsoft Entra ID, Keycloak, Duo Security, Authentik, JumpCloud, Google Cloud Identity, PingOne for Workforce
- Keycloak (best for: Engineering teams that can run an identity server and want no license line): Free under the Apache-2.0 license; you pay for the servers and admin time that run it.
- Duo Security (best for: Companies that want SSO and MFA for about half the Okta Starter seat price): Free for up to 10 users; paid Essentials, Advantage and Premier seats billed per user per month.
- Authentik (best for: Teams that can host an identity provider and want offboarding built into the paid seat): Open source is free; Enterprise is billed per user, annually, plus a small fee per external user.
Okta's list price is the number to beat, because the seat count sets the bill. Okta suites are sold per user, per month, and billed annually, so the bill rises with every hire.
At 100 employees the Starter suite is $7,200 a year, and Essentials, the top suite with a public price, is $20,400.
Toolradar data: the October 2026 identity and access ranking evaluated 91 tools.
This page prices seven alternatives to Okta at one scenario: 100 employees, the base tier of each suite, 12 months of list price, in USD.
How we ranked: by yearly cost at that scenario, starting with the options that cost nothing, then the paid seats from cheapest to dearest, and ending with the two that publish no 100-seat price.
We did not run a hands-on lab.
Every price comes from a vendor pricing page read on 10 October 2026, and taxes, implementation and admin time are left out.
If the identity provider is one piece of a larger control set, the zero trust platforms guide covers the wider set, and the password manager guide covers the vaults that sit beside it.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Entra ID | Free with Microsoft 365 or Azure; paid P1 and P2 seats are billed yearly per user. | Companies already paying for Microsoft 365 or Azure that need SSO and MFA first |
| Keycloak | Free under the Apache-2.0 license; you pay for the servers and admin time that run it. | Engineering teams that can run an identity server and want no license line |
| Duo Security | Free for up to 10 users; paid Essentials, Advantage and Premier seats billed per user per month. | Companies that want SSO and MFA for about half the Okta Starter seat price |
| Authentik | Open source is free; Enterprise is billed per user, annually, plus a small fee per external user. | Teams that can host an identity provider and want offboarding built into the paid seat |
| JumpCloud | SSO package billed annually per user, with a higher monthly rate; 30-day free trial, no free plan listed. | Companies that want device management and sign-in in one product and accept a higher seat |
| Google Cloud Identity | Free edition covers 50 user licenses by default; premium is billed through Google Workspace. | Companies already on Google Workspace that can ask Google for more free licenses as they grow |
| PingOne for Workforce | Essential and Plus seats on an annual contract with a 5,000-user minimum. | Enterprises of 5,000 users or more that want workforce SSO and MFA |
Pricing read from each vendor's own published pricing page, checked Oct 2026. Every vendor here publishes a price.
Best for: Companies already paying for Microsoft 365 or Azure that need SSO and MFA first
PricingFree with Microsoft 365 or Azure; paid P1 and P2 seats are billed yearly per user.
Best for: Engineering teams that can run an identity server and want no license line
PricingFree under the Apache-2.0 license; you pay for the servers and admin time that run it.
Best for: Companies that want SSO and MFA for about half the Okta Starter seat price
PricingFree for up to 10 users; paid Essentials, Advantage and Premier seats billed per user per month.
Best for: Teams that can host an identity provider and want offboarding built into the paid seat
PricingOpen source is free; Enterprise is billed per user, annually, plus a small fee per external user.
Best for: Companies that want device management and sign-in in one product and accept a higher seat
PricingSSO package billed annually per user, with a higher monthly rate; 30-day free trial, no free plan listed.
Best for: Companies already on Google Workspace that can ask Google for more free licenses as they grow
PricingFree edition covers 50 user licenses by default; premium is billed through Google Workspace.
Best for: Enterprises of 5,000 users or more that want workforce SSO and MFA
PricingEssential and Plus seats on an annual contract with a 5,000-user minimum.
What it is
An Okta alternative is an identity provider that signs staff into their apps with single sign-on, checks each login with multifactor authentication, and keeps a user directory. Okta sells this as suites priced per user.
For the authenticator app side of MFA, see the authenticator apps guide.
The Starter suite at $6 includes single sign-on, MFA, Universal Directory and 5 workflows. Essentials at $17 adds Adaptive MFA, Lifecycle Management, Access Governance and Privileged Access.
Core Essentials sits at $14 on Okta's list. Professional and Enterprise are quote-only, so the public numbers stop at Essentials.
A cheaper alternative has to cover the same job on the same headcount.
The LastPass alternatives guide applies that test to password vaults, where a free plan can stop at one device type.
Why it matters
Okta's suites are billed annually and carry a $1,500 annual contract minimum, which matters mainly for small teams. At 100 seats the seat price is the bill. Every seat that stays active bills at the same rate, so a leaver who is never removed keeps costing money.
Offboarding costs money on some products too.
JumpCloud's pricing page says a suspended user stays billable as a normal user, so a leaver who is suspended but kept in the system still takes a seat.
Put a hardware key on the identity admin account, since that login can change the rest of the tenant.
The YubiKey review covers one common option. Break-glass accounts need their own controls. Keep the recovery credentials for the identity provider in a secrets management tool, and not in the same tenant the identity provider protects.
Key features to look for
Pricing
Prices were checked on vendor pricing pages on 10 October 2026, in USD. Okta's figures come from its pricing page. The table lists list prices per user per month.
Each yearly bill below multiplies that rate by 100 employees and 12 months.
At 100 employees, Okta Starter comes to $7,200 a year and Essentials to $20,400. Duo Essentials is $3,600, Authentik Enterprise $6,000, Microsoft Entra ID P1 $8,400, Entra ID P2 $12,000, and the JumpCloud SSO package $13,200.
Entra ID Free costs no license fee when a Microsoft 365 or Azure subscription is already in place.
Entra ID P2 with Governance lands on the same bill as Okta Essentials, though the feature sets differ. Duo Premier at $9 comes to $10,800.
The JumpCloud product stack of Cloud Directory, SSO and MFA, listed separately, adds to $9, still above Okta Starter's rate.
At 10 users, Okta's $1,500 annual contract minimum is more than double the $720 that 10 Starter seats cost, so a small company pays the minimum.
Duo Free covers 10 users at no charge. PingOne for Workforce has no 100-seat price because its footnote sets a 5,000-user minimum, and Google Cloud Identity's pricing page gives no premium per-user figure.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Entra ID Free | $0 | Included with Microsoft 365 or Azure: MFA and unlimited SSO for SaaS apps |
| Keycloak | Free | Apache-2.0 license; hosting and admin time are the cost |
| Duo Free | $0 | Up to 10 users at no charge |
| Duo Essentials | $3/user/mo | Single sign-on, phishing-resistant MFA, Duo Directory and unlimited applications |
| Authentik Open Source | Free | Community support through GitHub and Discord only |
| Authentik Enterprise | $5/user/mo | Billed annually, plus a fee per external user; scheduled offboarding |
| Okta Starter | $6/user/mo | SSO, MFA, Universal Directory and 5 workflows; annual contract minimum |
| Duo Advantage | $6/user/mo | Middle paid tier, between Essentials and Premier |
| Microsoft Entra ID P1 | $7/user/mo | Adds Conditional Access; billed yearly |
| Microsoft Entra ID Governance | $7/user/mo | Add-on for P1 or P2 customers, billed yearly |
| Okta Core Essentials | $14/user/mo | Listed between Starter and Essentials on Okta's pricing page |
| Duo Premier | $9/user/mo | Highest paid Duo tier |
| Okta Essentials | $17/user/mo | Adds Adaptive MFA, Lifecycle Management and Access Governance |
| Microsoft Entra ID P2 | $10/user/mo | Adds risk-based access and privileged identity management; billed yearly |
| JumpCloud SSO package | $11/user/mo | SSO and MFA access plus password manager; billed annually |
| Google Cloud Identity Free | Free | 50 user licenses by default, more on request at no cost |
| PingOne for Workforce Essential | $3/user/mo | Annual contract with a 5,000-user minimum |
| PingOne for Workforce Plus | $6/user/mo | Higher tier; annual contract with a 5,000-user minimum |
The bottom line
Duo Essentials is the lowest-priced bundle that applies at 100 users, when the need is single sign-on, MFA and a directory.
Microsoft Entra ID is the free starting point for a company that already pays for Microsoft 365 or Azure, and P1 at $7 is the seat to price once Conditional Access becomes a requirement.
Choose Authentik Enterprise at $5 when a team can run its own identity server and wants scheduled offboarding inside the seat price.
Choose Keycloak when the license line must be zero and the team will carry the hosting cost itself.
Keep Okta when Adaptive MFA, Lifecycle Management and Access Governance are the requirement, and budget Essentials at $20,400 a year for 100 people rather than the Starter bill.
Choose JumpCloud for device management and sign-in in one product, and price its stack line by line rather than the package.
For the wider stack, see the hardware security keys guide and the MDM software guide.
Cite this: Cyberpresso, "Okta Pricing 2026 and Okta Alternatives Compared", October 2026.
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