Iden vs Entra ID Governance
A detailed guide to Iden vs Entra ID Governance: coverage, control, cost, and when each solution fits your stack.
10 min read · Last updated April 2026
Microsoft owns the directory enterprise IT runs on: AD, M365, Entra SSO. The governance layer is a different story. Non-Microsoft SaaS, contractors, service accounts, 90%+ of your stack without SCIM. None of it covered well.
Entra ID Governance also comes with two separate tax layers: E5 tax to unlock governance features and SCIM tax for every SaaS. This guide covers what each does well, where it breaks, and how to choose.
When to choose Entra ID Governance
Entra ID Governance works if your stack is genuinely Microsoft-first and you’re already on the tier that unlocks it. Fewer teams fit that description than Microsoft’s sales motion implies.
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Your whole stack runs on Microsoft. M365, Teams, SharePoint, Azure. Native governance with no extra vendor.
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You're already on E5. The Governance step-up is $4/user/mo. Low bar if you're already there.
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Basic certifications are enough - Microsoft apps, a handful of SCIM-ready SaaS, two reviewer levels maximum.
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Dedicated Microsoft identity engineer on staff. Someone who owns the Entra model and keeps it current.
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Contractors and external partners are minimal. No complex guest lifecycle, no large partner population.
When to choose Iden
Most IT teams hit Entra ID Governance’s edges faster than expected. If you’ve tried to govern Notion or Salesforce through Entra and ended up building Logic Apps or just accepting the gap, you already know.
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More than half your stack is non-Microsoft SaaS. Notion, Figma, Salesforce, GitHub Standard. Entra can't govern them.
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Contractors. Entra treats them as B2B guests with no lifecycle - and charges $0.75/guest/mo for any governance action since January 2026.
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You're on E3, not E5. The upgrade is $21/user/mo more - higher per user than Iden's full price, before the SCIM tax.
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SOD enforcement across more than a few Microsoft apps, or across systems Entra can't see.
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Service accounts, API keys, OAuth grants. Entra needs a separate $3/workload SKU - which still doesn't cover managed identities.
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Audit logs beyond 30 days. Entra defaults to 30. SOC 2, HIPAA, or SOX evidence means building an Azure Monitor pipeline yourself.
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Internal tools, legacy systems, or homegrown apps. Entra has no path to them. Iden builds connectors in 48 hours.
Already on Entra SSO? Entra keeps handling authentication and MFA. Iden handles governance on top. Different tools, different jobs.
Where they differ
That’s where the overlap ends. Outside the Microsoft ecosystem, coverage, control, and cost are where the gaps show up.
1. Iden covers your entire stack. SCIM or not.
Microsoft governs what’s in Entra. M365, Teams, SharePoint, and apps with SCIM on an enterprise plan. Across the ~300 apps most IT teams run, fewer than 4% include SCIM on a standard plan. The other 96% are on their own.
Iden uses 180+ connectors. SCIM where available, API-based where not, custom-built for everything else. Internal tools, legacy systems, homegrown apps - all covered. First 15 apps in under an hour. Anything not in the catalog, Iden builds a connector in 48 hours.
Iden connects to apps Entra can't reach. Notion, Figma, Linear, GitHub Standard, and 100+ more.
Entra has no path to internal tools or legacy systems. Iden builds SCIM++ connectors in 48 hr or less.
Running Entra SSO, Okta, Google Workspace, or some mix? Iden sits on top. No migration required.
Service accounts, API keys, OAuth grants, AI agents. Same dashboard as your people.
Coverage gets you connected. Control is where the governance actually happens - and where Entra ID Governance’s limits start to compound.
2. Controls that go deeper than Entra’s.
Entra governs at group and access package level. Not entitlements. Access reviews tell you whether someone is in a group - not what they can actually do inside the app. That limit carries through to certifications, SOD, everything downstream.
On-prem AD group tasks don’t work in Lifecycle Workflows. Only cloud-native groups are supported. If your on-prem AD is still the source of truth for app authorization, that gap is yours to manage.
Audit logs default to 30 days. Custom reports mean exporting to Azure Data Explorer - KQL expertise, separate infrastructure, ongoing maintenance. For SOC 2, HIPAA, or SOX, you need that pipeline built before the audit, not during it.
Iden governs at the entitlement level. Long-term audit retention included. Contractor and NHI lifecycle native - no Logic Apps, no B2B guest workarounds.
The capability gaps are one thing. Cost is where they show up twice - once on your Microsoft invoice, once at every SaaS renewal.
3. Two taxes: E5 tax + SCIM tax.
Entra ID Governance runs about $13/user/mo - P2 plus the Governance step-up, or P1 plus the full add-on. That’s before either tax hits.
Most mid-market companies are on M365 E3, not E5. E3 includes Entra P1 - no PIM, no full access reviews, no Lifecycle Workflows. Getting governance means upgrading to E5. That’s a $21/user/mo delta.
More per user than Iden’s full price.
Then the SCIM tax. ~70% of your stack locks SCIM behind enterprise tiers. Once you’re on an enterprise IdP, every vendor that supports SCIM knows it and prices accordingly. This is on top of the E5 cost you already absorbed.
E5 Tax: M365 E3 → E5 to unlock governance
E3 includes Entra P1. To get PIM, Lifecycle Workflows, and full access reviews, you need E5 - or P2 plus the Governance add-on. The difference: ~$21/user/mo.
Before the SCIM tax. Before guest billing. Before Workload ID Premium for service accounts.
Iden: $7.50/user/mo. No E5 required.
SCIM Tax: then the SaaS upgrades hit
~70% of your stack locks SCIM behind enterprise plans. You upgrade just to automate provisioning - on top of the E5 upgrade you already paid.
On a 300-person team, the Figma upgrade alone is +$22,200/year. Just for automated provisioning.
Iden works on standard plans. No upgrades required.
Then guest billing: $0.75/guest/mo, Azure-billed, since January 2026. Service accounts: separate SKU. Workload ID Premium at $3/workload/mo. Not in E5 or Entra Suite.
Iden starts at $7.50/user/mo. No E5 tax. No SCIM tax. No guest tax. No NHI SKU tax.
* P2 ($9) + Governance step-up ($4), or P1 ($6) + full Governance add-on ($7).
What practitioners say about Entra ID
“The biggest problem is that the solution cannot be used as the only IGA today. It just doesn't have a front-end. It has a great back-end with many functions, API integration, etc., but the front-end is missing.”
“Reporting capabilities are very poor. It is important to have all possible reports and be able to build new custom reports inside of the product. This is not the case today.”
“The solution lacks the feature to work well with third-party applications.”
“If you want to conduct access review of database-based applications, then you cannot do that.”
“In hybrid environments, a governance gap arises: rights in the cloud are tightly regulated, but not transparent locally, and recertification remains a manual effort.”
What Iden customers say
“We govern Notion, Figma, Linear, and our internal tools. All in one place. Entra couldn't touch half of them.”
“The E5 upgrade to unlock governance would've cost us more per user than Iden. That was an easy decision.”
“We finally have deeper access reviews. Not just 'is this person in the access package' but what they can actually do inside the app.”
“Our contractors finally have a real lifecycle. Not just a guest account someone forgets to delete.”
How to choose between Iden and Entra ID Governance
Depends on your stack, your license, and your team. Entra works if you’re genuinely Microsoft-first and already on E5. Iden fits everything else.
Want the full breakdown?
The complete feature-by-feature comparison: Coverage, Control, and Cost in one reference document. Every Entra ID Governance hard limit, every Iden capability, side by side. Useful for vendor evaluations, internal presentations, and budget conversations.
Download the comparison PDFNo form. Direct download.
A few things worth saying directly
We're already on Entra for SSO. Does this replace it?
No. Entra keeps doing SSO and MFA. Iden handles governance on top - non-Microsoft apps, contractors, service accounts. Different tools, different jobs.
We're on E5. Why not just use the Governance add-on?
If your stack is pure Microsoft, worth trying. When you hit non-Microsoft SaaS, contractors, or service accounts you need to govern, you'll find the gaps. Iden governs what Entra can't reach.
What about our on-prem Active Directory?
Iden governs on-prem systems natively, including AD. Entra's Lifecycle Workflow group tasks don't work for groups synced from on-prem AD. Cloud-native groups only.
How does Iden handle B2B guests - contractors and partners?
For Iden, it's just another identity and so you get native lifecycle management and governance without the $0.75/guest/mo extra.
What does implementation actually look like?
Iden's onboarding team handles it. First 15 apps in under an hour. Roll out in batches. Custom connectors shipped in 48 hr. Your team doesn't touch it.
We have a SOC 2 audit in 3 months. Is that enough time?
Yes. Most customers are audit-ready within 2 weeks of go-live. Evidence in real-time - not capped at 30 days or locked behind an Azure Monitor pipeline you need to build first.