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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Entra External ID

    Score9.3 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Entra External ID (formerly Azure Active Directory B2C, or alternately, Azure Active Directory External Identities) provides business-to-customer identity as a service. Customers can use their preferred social, enterprise, or local account identities to get single sign-on access to applications and APIs.

    $0

    per month per active users

    Zscaler Private Access

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AZscaler Private Access™ (ZPA) gives users secure access to private apps and OT devices while enabling zero trust connectivity for workloads.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Editions & Modules
    Premium P1 (for More than 50,000 MAU)
    $0.00325
    per month per active users
    Premium P2 (for More than 50,000 MAU)
    $0.01625
    per month per active users
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsA flat fee of $0.03 is billed for each SMS/Phone-based multi-factor authentication attempt.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Zscaler
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    99%
    Would buy again
    84 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    67 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    84 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    59 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    68 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Identity Management
    Comparison of Identity Management features of Microsoft Entra External ID and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Microsoft Entra External ID
    9.4
    3 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Zscaler Private Access
    9.2
    58 Ratings
    5% above category average
    ID-Management Access Control9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    ID Management Single-Sign On (SSO)9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-Factor Authentication9.03 Ratings9.258 Ratings
    Password Management10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Account Provisioning and De-provisioning10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    ID Management Workflow Automation8.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    ID Risk Management9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Endpoint Security
    Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Microsoft Entra External ID and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Microsoft Entra External ID
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    8.8
    27 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings8.827 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence
    Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Microsoft Entra External ID and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Microsoft Entra External ID
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    8.6
    65 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Network Analytics00 Ratings8.961 Ratings
    Threat Recognition00 Ratings9.053 Ratings
    Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.442 Ratings
    Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.255 Ratings
    Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.748 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.245 Ratings
    Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.643 Ratings
    Zero Trust Security
    Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Microsoft Entra External ID and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Microsoft Entra External ID
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    9.1
    78 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Continuous Verification00 Ratings9.171 Ratings
    Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.353 Ratings
    Network Flow Control00 Ratings9.158 Ratings
    Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings9.165 Ratings
    Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings9.264 Ratings
    Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.368 Ratings
    Network Data Encryption00 Ratings9.260 Ratings
    Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings8.752 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Small Businesses
    JumpCloud
    Score9.3 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    OneLogin by One Identity
    Score9.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    RSA Access Manager (Discontinued)
    Score10 out of 10
    Forescout Vistaro Platform
    Score6.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.3
    (9 ratings)
    9.4
    (85 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    9.3
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (80 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Entra External IDZscaler Private Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    In our organisation we use Microsoft Entra External ID primarily to enable non-attenders to remotely login to our tenant and access pre-prepared educational resources. As well as access to tutors, pupils can also communicate with centralised staff who can support them to gain an education. Utilising our external tenant configuration we can develop and deploy our own in house apps to unpin this support intervention.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    Zscaler Private Access works really well in environments setup for FQDNs and where you know what users should/shouldn't be accessing on what ports. You can use Zscaler Private Access to figure out these kinds of features but that doesn't always mean you'll be correct. It also provides a consistent experience for users as they can access their materials anywhere. It also makes the user the last line of defense. If a user's account is compromised then the attacker has access to everything they already did. It doesn't work great in OT environments or Server based environments. Flows have to be initiated from the client and not the server for stuff to behave properly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • One of the things that Microsoft Entra External ID does really well is creating user logins, accounts and profile. It is very easy to create them, manage them and delete them. It is fast and reliant.
    • Limit access or authorization feature. We can allow different levels of authorization and access. So that not all the employees would have access to all the data. Only some relaible employees would have access and power to change anything.
    • Mutli factor authentication feature is also a really good feature to secure data. Even overseas vendors need MFS to login which gives double protection to our data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    • Connecting users remotely with a secure connection. I am a service desk agent who works with end users, and if there is an issue due to ZPA, it's most likely due to configuration. A really good service.
    • Logging, I believe, works well as I troubleshoot end users and can gather extra details for my network admin. IP.zscaler.com, and the debug logs are nice. Additionally, I like how it shows the App policy assigned to the user's machine ECT.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Troubleshooting diagnostic logs effectively requires VS Code
    • Group and role management requires additional effort
    • The programming model (XML) could use some developer experience love
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    • Needs an interface for Support Desk/Help Desk to more easily understand that the problem is a lack of an FQDN or access is not allowed due to policy, not because of a technical shortcoming in ZPA.
    • Documentation of the BC solution is not well-detailed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Zscaler
    When it works - it works incredibly slick. It's only L4 which seems like a downgrade of security from solutions that promote L7.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Entra External ID is an all round solid product, and certainly delivers the solution to our needs well. Through use we found that Pupil's become 'experts in avoidance', if they can forget their login details or indeed their device used for MFA, they will and then use that as the excuse for not accessing/completing their assignments. If more MFA options were available (such as delegated MFA) this would really help iron out our entire end user experiences
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    The environment feels more secure, and we are seeing that users are adapting to it fast. The fact that we have tools to assist the users with their day-to-day access helps, as we can hand it off to the helpdesk without any escalations to the Network team. It is a work in progress for our agency, but we are seeing the benefits from the solution.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    I really enjoy how simple it is to connect this Active Directory with other Microsoft Products to collaborate with colleagues and clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    ZPA is where the bulk of zero-trust access is found. While the functionality for ZIA is excellent, the policy we implement for internet access is more focused on threat prevention and not narrowly scoped access.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Having monthly active users billing was cost-effective.
    • Helped with the IT support that was already managing the Azure platform of the company; this helped to manage the costs better and optimize them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    • We used to get anywhere from 30 to 50 tickets surrounding our previous VPN solution every month. We now average 3-5 tickets regarding remote connectivity, and of those, only 1 or 2 are actual issues with ZPA.
    • Using ZPA Access Policies, we can now block endpoints that have outdated security software from ever connecting to our environment. This was simply not possible with our previous solution.
    • Some of our employee base skews older and had a harder time understanding the change from VPN to Zscaler.
    • There is significantly less downtime with ZPA when compared to other VPN solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Zscaler Private Access Screenshots

    Screenshot of how ZPA provides access for all users while minimizing the attack surface, eliminating lateral movement, and stopping zero day threats. A cloud native service, ZPA can be deployed in just hours to replace legacy remote access tools like VPNs and VDIs.