Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued) vs. Google Authenticator

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft's Azure Multi-Factor Authentication was an MFA solution acquired with PhoneFactor in 2012. From 2018 it is no longer available as a standalone product. This functionality is now provided by Microsoft Entra ID.N/A
Google Authenticator
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Google Authenticator is a mobile authentication app.N/A
Pricing
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)Google Authenticator
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)Google Authenticator
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)Google Authenticator
Best Alternatives
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)Google Authenticator
Small Businesses
WatchGuard AuthPoint
WatchGuard AuthPoint
Score 9.1 out of 10
WatchGuard AuthPoint
WatchGuard AuthPoint
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo
Score 9.5 out of 10
Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo
Score 9.5 out of 10
Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)Google Authenticator
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(51 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(7 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(8 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (Discontinued)Google Authenticator
Likelihood to Recommend
Discontinued Products
If your solution falls within their standard use case or you have Office 365 - then it makes total sense. If you need a lot of customization or have a really specific business process that causes you to deviate from the standard flow it usually makes more sense to create a custom solution
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Google
Logging into my work accounts is where Google Authenticator works best. Also, I had a personal account get hacked. I had an account created to book hotels, but someone was constantly resetting my password. To prevent further hacking attempts, I set up Google Authenticator. I do not believe it would be appropriate for banking accounts.
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Pros
Discontinued Products
  • Ease of use
  • Interoperability
  • Industry standard
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Google
  • One strength is in how it checks identity to stop unwanted people from getting access.
  • Another strength is in cutting down on the frustration of users for the authentication process.
  • With the pandemic and needing to work away from the office it also provided additional security in keeping our network/infrastructure safe.
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Cons
Discontinued Products
  • It can be difficult to work with when deviating off the standard use cases
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Google
  • I once performed a factory reset of my smartphone which had Google Authenticator. I didn't have a backup for the device. When I restored my phone with the same google account, I was not able to restore the authenticator app settings. I had to add all the keys back into the app to use it. This is cumbersome, but I understand it is set up this way for security reasons.
  • I don't like the ease with which it lets you delete a key. If I accidentally delete a key, I am doomed to get my 2FA key reset, unless I still have the QR code saved somewhere.
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Likelihood to Renew
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
It works as intended, easy to setup, free and gives you another level of security against any unwanted access or cyber attacks
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Usability
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
It's as easy as opening the app and what I need it for is there. I don't have to fumble with other accounts or getting something else to open it for me. I have all the access that I need for the use of the app within seconds and I can get access to the info that I need.
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Reliability and Availability
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
In terms of availability, I had not experienced any issues with outages or the product not working when needed
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Performance
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
The performance of google Authenticator is good and I have not experienced any slow downs
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Support Rating
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
I have found Google’s support to be hit or miss. There are times when they are very responsive, and I get my issue resolved quickly, and there are times where a response from them takes weeks. There is no in-between. But my support experience with this particular product is nonexistent because I have not had a problem with it yet. Hopefully, we do not have any problems with it either.
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Implementation Rating
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
It was easy to implement and it went very smoothly. No issues
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Alternatives Considered
Discontinued Products
Honestly, they are very similar as is much of their offerings. It really comes down to which ecosystem are you already invested in? It doesn't make a lot of sense to try and interop with every cloud vendor - pick one and use them. While there used to be substantial differences in the cloud platforms, they are at basic parity now
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Google
First, Google Authenticator meets the security requirements which should be considered "table stakes". Second, simplicity is critical. Many users don' understand why they are setting up MFA (or they just don't care), and so adding additional complications to their day-to-day is always challenging. When it is simple, it makes life a lot easier. Finally, trust (due to the brand name recognition, primarily) removes any notion of "what is this?" that the user may have from being required to install something on their personal device for work purposes.
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Scalability
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Google
The product doesn’t have any features of tools that can help it scale
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Return on Investment
Discontinued Products
  • Overall, it's a really good value compared to building a custom solution that you have to maintain
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Google
  • More secure data = less worried about a data breach.
  • Takes longer to log in, and if I don't have my phone then I have to go looking for it, so it really makes it so that you can't be without your phone, which in certain instances is annoying or not possible and can hold up work time.
  • Everyone is willing to use the same program because everyone likes Google—makes it easier to manage.
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ScreenShots