Microsoft Entra ID or Okta: which identity platform should we use?

Key facts

• Every Microsoft 365 tenant already has Entra ID, even when Okta is the primary identity provider.
• Conditional Access needs Entra ID P1, which is in Business Premium, E3 and E5.
• Okta is vendor-neutral and has a large prebuilt app integration catalog.
• Windows Entra join and Intune compliance work most directly with Entra ID.
• Running both is common, but every extra layer adds sign-in paths to secure and support.

The short comparison

Entra ID and Okta are both mature cloud identity platforms. They overlap on the core jobs: a user directory, single sign-on to SaaS apps, multifactor authentication and automated provisioning. They differ in where they sit. Entra ID is part of Microsoft 365 and is tightly tied to Windows, Intune and Microsoft security tools. Okta is an independent identity company whose platform is built to connect many vendors' apps with no single home ecosystem.

The table shows stable, high-level differences. Plan contents change, so confirm current details with each vendor before you buy.

When Entra ID is the better fit

For a Microsoft-centric company, Entra ID removes a federation hop. Users sign in to Windows, Microsoft 365 and gallery SaaS apps against the same directory, and Conditional Access can require a compliant or Entra joined device before granting access.

• Most of your work happens in Microsoft 365: Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive.
• You manage Windows devices with Intune or plan to move from Group Policy to Intune.
• You already own Entra ID P1 or P2 through Business Premium, E3 or E5 and want to use what you pay for.
• You want device compliance, sign-in risk and app access in one policy engine.
• You want one fewer vendor and one fewer admin console to secure.

When Okta is the better fit

Okta is a strong, widely used platform. If it is already working and your Microsoft footprint is modest, replacing it to save a license line may cost more in project effort and user disruption than it returns.

• Your critical apps are spread across many vendors and Microsoft 365 is one app among many.
• You run Google Workspace or a mixed Mac and Windows fleet without a Microsoft device strategy.
• You have a deliberate policy of keeping identity independent from your productivity suite vendor.
• You already run Okta well, with mature provisioning and policies, and the team knows it.
• You rely on prebuilt integrations in Okta's catalog that you would otherwise need to build.

What running both looks like

Many organizations federate Microsoft 365 to Okta. In that model, Okta authenticates users and Entra ID still holds the Microsoft 365 objects, licenses and device registrations. That works, but it means two policy engines, two sets of logs and two places where an attacker might find a gap.

If you run both, decide which platform is authoritative for MFA, where Conditional Access or sign-on policy is enforced, and how break-glass accounts work if the federation path fails. Keep at least two cloud-only emergency admin accounts in Entra ID that do not depend on the external identity provider.

Moving from Okta to Entra ID

Consolidation is usually done in stages, not one cutover. A typical sequence is: inventory every app connected to Okta, rebuild SSO and provisioning in Entra ID for the highest-value apps, register users for Entra MFA or passkeys, move Microsoft 365 from federated to managed authentication with a staged rollout group, then retire Okta app by app.

The work is driven by the number of apps, how many use custom SAML claims or provisioning, and how many users need to re-register MFA. Discovery sets the schedule.

• Export the Okta app list and rank apps by users and business impact.
• Map Okta policies to Conditional Access policies before moving users.
• Use Entra staged rollout to pilot managed sign-in with a small group.
• Communicate the MFA re-registration step clearly, with help desk coverage.

How Accred Consulting approaches it

Accred Consulting starts with discovery of your app inventory, Microsoft 365 licensing, device management and current Okta or Entra policies, then gives a clear recommendation. Accred works in the Microsoft side: if Entra ID is the right fit, our US-based specialists rebuild SSO and provisioning, design Conditional Access, pilot passkeys or MFA registration and move authentication in stages. If you keep Okta, we harden the Entra ID side of the federation. The proposal sets a fixed price, scope and timeline, and handover includes documentation and knowledge transfer.

Track record: 475+ client projects, 2,000+ migration workstreams and 210,000+ users migrated by a US-based team. Company facts · Case studies

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