Microsoft Entra ID review covering Free, P1, P2 and Suite pricing, single sign-on, conditional access, and how it compares to Okta and other IAM tools.
Microsoft Entra ID is Microsoft's cloud identity and access management platform, formerly known as Azure Active Directory. Microsoft announced the rename on July 11, 2023, rolling it out across products through the rest of that year, while stating explicitly that pricing and functionality were unchanged, only the name.
Entra ID acts as the centralized identity layer for Microsoft 365, Azure, and thousands of third-party SaaS applications, authenticating users once and enforcing access policies everywhere through single sign-on rather than requiring separate credentials per app.
Core capabilities available even on the free tier include single sign-on for up to 10 cloud apps per user, multi-factor authentication, self-service password change, and B2B collaboration for inviting external partners into a tenant. Paid tiers unlock Conditional Access, which grants or restricts access based on signals like device compliance, location, and calculated risk.
Entra ID P2 adds Identity Protection, which uses machine learning to flag risky sign-ins and accounts and feeds those risk scores into Conditional Access policies, plus Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time elevation of administrative access instead of standing admin rights, and access reviews for periodic recertification of who has access to sensitive resources.
Entra ID Free is included with any Microsoft online business service and covers up to 500,000 directory objects, SSO for up to 10 cloud apps per user, and basic sign-in reports. Entra ID P1 (roughly $6 to $7/user/month) adds Conditional Access and hybrid self-service password reset, while Entra ID P2 (roughly $9 to $10/user/month) adds Identity Protection and Privileged Identity Management.
Microsoft Entra Suite bundles P2 with additional security add-ons for around $12/user/month. Many enterprises already have P1 or P2 included through Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licensing respectively, since Entra ID P1 is bundled into E3 and P2 is bundled into E5.
Yes, Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID starting July 11, 2023; Microsoft stated that pricing and functionality were unchanged, only the name.
Yes, Entra ID Free is included with any Microsoft online business service and supports up to 500,000 directory objects and SSO for up to 10 cloud apps per user.
P1 adds Conditional Access and hybrid self-service password reset; P2 adds everything in P1 plus Identity Protection and Privileged Identity Management (PIM).
As of 2026, P1 costs roughly $6 to $7 per user per month and P2 costs roughly $9 to $10 per user per month, with a Microsoft Entra Suite bundle around $12 per user per month.
Microsoft 365 E3 includes Entra ID P1 and Microsoft 365 E5 includes Entra ID P2, so many enterprise customers already have a paid tier through existing licensing.
The main competitors are Okta, Ping Identity, and Google Cloud Identity.