These three tools all live under "Security," but they solve almost entirely different problems. Kinde is customer identity and access management (CIAM) for…
Freemium · From Free (up to 10,500 MAU); Pro from $25/month
Best for: Product teams and startups that need to build login, user management, and monetization directly into a SaaS application via API/SDK.
Freemium · From Free (Premium plans from around $59.99/year)
Best for: Consumers and small businesses that need dedicated malware/virus detection and removal, plus optional VPN and identity protection.
Freemium · From Free
Best for: IT and security teams managing employee identity, SSO, and conditional access across a Microsoft-centric or hybrid cloud environment.
| Kinde | Malwarebytes | Microsoft Entra ID | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Security | Security | Security |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free (up to 10,500 MAU); Pro from $25/month | Free (Premium plans from around $59.99/year) | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not documented | Not documented | Yes |
| Platforms | Not documented | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | Web |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Not documented | Not documented | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Not documented | Yes |
Two different meanings of "identity"
Kinde handles customer-facing identity for a product you build — logins, user profiles, and billing for your own SaaS. Microsoft Entra ID handles workforce identity — the people inside an organization who need SSO and conditional access to internal and cloud apps. They're both "identity platforms" in name but serve opposite sides of the identity market.
Kinde, Microsoft Entra ID
Malwarebytes isn't an identity tool at all
Malwarebytes is endpoint protection: antivirus and anti-malware detection for consumers, plus business endpoint security through its ThreatDown line. It solves a completely different problem than either Kinde or Entra ID — removing threats already on a device rather than controlling who can log into what.
Malwarebytes
Entry pricing across the three
Kinde is free up to 10,500 monthly active users before Pro pricing starts at $25/month. Microsoft Entra ID has a free tier. Malwarebytes offers a free scan tier with Premium plans starting around $59.99/year. All three are accessible to try without a purchase, but they're priced around completely different metrics (MAUs, seats/tenants, and devices, respectively).
Kinde, Malwarebytes, Microsoft Entra ID
Complementary, not competitive
A single company could reasonably run Microsoft Entra ID for employee SSO, Malwarebytes or ThreatDown for endpoint malware protection, and Kinde for their own product's customer login — all simultaneously, since none of them replace the others.
Kinde, Malwarebytes, Microsoft Entra ID
| Feature | Kinde | Malwarebytes | Microsoft Entra ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in billing/monetization for your own product | Available | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Single sign-on (SSO) for workforce apps | Not documented | Unavailable | Available |
| Multi-factor authentication / conditional access | Not documented | Unavailable | Available |
| Anti-malware / antivirus detection | Unavailable | Available | Unavailable |
| VPN / identity-protection add-ons | Unavailable | Available | Unavailable |
| Feature | Kinde | Malwarebytes | Microsoft Entra ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier available | Available | Available | Available |
| Published entry-level paid price | Available | Available | Not documented |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
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Not really. Kinde is built for developers adding login, user management, and billing to their own product (customer identity/CIAM). Microsoft Entra ID is built for IT teams managing SSO and conditional access for employees across an organization's cloud apps (workforce identity/IAM). They target different buyers and different problems, even though both are "identity" platforms.
No. Malwarebytes is anti-malware and antivirus software focused on detecting and removing threats on a device, plus VPN and identity-protection add-ons for consumers. It doesn't manage user logins, SSO, or access control the way Kinde or Entra ID do — the two categories are complementary, not overlapping.
All three have a free entry point: Kinde is free up to 10,500 monthly active users, Microsoft Entra ID has a free tier, and Malwarebytes offers a free scan tier with Premium starting around $59.99/year. Kinde's paid tier starts lowest at $25/month once you outgrow the free MAU limit.
Likely yes, since they solve different problems. A SaaS company might use Kinde to handle login and billing for its own product, Microsoft Entra ID to manage employee access to internal systems, and Malwarebytes or its ThreatDown business line to protect endpoints from malware — none of these choices are mutually exclusive.
Kinde, since it's purpose-built for developers who need to add authentication, user management, and billing to a product they're building, rather than managing internal employee access or scanning for malware.
Microsoft Entra ID, since it provides SSO, MFA, and conditional access for an organization's workforce and cloud apps. Many of those same teams would pair it with Malwarebytes or ThreatDown for endpoint-level malware protection, since Entra ID doesn't do threat detection itself.
Read the full Kinde review · Read the full Malwarebytes review · Read the full Microsoft Entra ID review