SSO Showdown 2026: Entra ID vs Okta vs Google Identity

SSO comparisons used to be about features. That era’s basically over.

In 2026, most identity stacks can do “SSO + MFA + app catalogue.” The real separation shows up later, when the organisation has to answer awkward questions like:

• Who approved that bypass that’s still live six months later?
• Why does access behave differently on unmanaged laptops vs corporate devices?
• Why did the bill jump right after “one small security improvement”?

And right now, the identity world is shifting fast toward phishing-resistant sign-in (passkeys) and stronger session protection, not just “add MFA and call it a day.” [2][6]

This article breaks the decision down the way it plays out in real operations: stack fit, conditional access patterns, pricing levers, and the “new baseline” of phishing-resistant sign-in + session resilience.

Quick Verdict

Microsoft Entra ID usually wins when the organisation already lives in Microsoft 365, Windows management, and the Microsoft security stack. The licensing story is also the most familiar in Microsoft shops: P1, P2, and a suite layer above that. [1]

Okta is typically the cleanest pick for mixed environments that want a neutral identity layer across SaaS apps, multiple device ecosystems, and non-Microsoft-heavy realities. Okta’s packaging is suite-based, and it tends to make the commercial model easy to explain to stakeholders, even if final pricing often becomes “talk to sales” at scale. [5][10]

Google Cloud Identity is underrated when the organisation is deeply in Google Workspace and Chrome-managed endpoints. The identity experience can be very smooth in that ecosystem, and Google has been pushing hard on account takeover defence with passkeys and session binding. [6][7][8]

What Changed in 2026: The “Baseline” Moved

1) Passkeys are now a real rollout path, not a lab experiment

Microsoft is explicitly adding synced passkeys support (from Apple/Google credential providers) and enabling granular passkey rollouts using group-based “passkey profiles.” [2][3] Google has also pushed passkeys for Workspace and framed them as a direct response to account takeover patterns. [6]

2) Session protection is becoming as important as login protection

Attackers don’t always “break in” at login. Sometimes they steal a session token or cookie and walk in after the fact. Google’s Device Bound Session Credentials (DBSC) is designed to make that harder by binding sessions to devices, and it can be enforced through Context-Aware Access. [6][7]

3) Everyone is selling “outcomes,” but ops still determines success

Okta’s reporting shows workforce MFA adoption reaching 70%, while phishing-resistant methods are rising quickly, including FastPass. [4] The direction is clear: sign-in needs to be stronger, and it also needs to be usable. Ops teams still do the hard part: policy design, exception control, lifecycle automation, and steady-state review.

The 3 Tools in Plain English

Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)

Entra is identity built for the Microsoft ecosystem. It’s often the “default” identity provider when Microsoft 365 is already the productivity backbone.

Best at: tight integration with Microsoft 365, Windows/Entra-joined device strategies, and Conditional Access as the enforcement brain for modern workplace access. Entra is also investing heavily in passkeys and admin control over how passkeys are rolled out. [2][3]

Where teams get surprised: identity sprawl across multiple tenants, exceptions that accumulate inside Conditional Access, and licensing upgrades when risk-based protection or governance features become non-negotiable.

**Best fit: **organisations standardised on Microsoft 365 that want identity to behave like an extension of the Microsoft operating model.

Pricing signal (public): Entra ID P1 and P2 have clearly published list pricing, and Entra Suite is positioned as a bundled layer above the basics. [1]

Okta Workforce Identity

Okta is often chosen when identity needs to sit above a messy SaaS world without assuming Microsoft is the centre of gravity.

**Best at: **cross-ecosystem SSO consistency, strong identity posture across heterogeneous app estates, and a clean “identity layer” story when the organisation is not all-in on a single productivity vendor.

Where teams get surprised: the bill is shaped by packaging, suites, and scale. Okta sells Workforce Identity as suites billed annually, which simplifies buying, but it also means “what’s included” becomes the most important procurement conversation. [5][10]

**Best fit: **mixed stacks, multi-platform environments, or organisations that want identity decisions to stay decoupled from a single productivity suite roadmap.

**Industry signal: **Okta reports workforce MFA adoption at 70%, and highlights strong growth in phishing-resistant authenticators year over year. [4]

Google Cloud Identity (for Google Workspace ecosystems)

Cloud Identity is most compelling when Google Workspace is the centre of work, and Chrome-managed endpoints are part of the security plan.

**Best at: **Google-first environments where identity, device posture, and Workspace access controls can work together. Google’s recent security messaging strongly emphasises passkeys and stronger post-auth protections through DBSC. [6][7]

Where teams get surprised: outside the Google ecosystem, organisations may find themselves rebuilding context and posture signals that are “free” when everything is already in Google-managed land.

Best fit: Workspace-centric organisations that want a coherent path to passkeys and session binding as part of everyday access. [6][7]

Pricing signal (public): Cloud Identity has free and premium editions, and Google documents billing plan comparisons publicly, including flexible vs annual options. [8][9]

What Actually Matters When Choosing (The 4 Lenses)

Lens 1: Stack fit

Identity succeeds when it aligns with where users work, where devices are managed, and how applications are deployed. If the organisation’s working day is Microsoft 365 plus Windows-managed endpoints, Entra often reduces integration friction simply because so many dependencies are already in place.

If work happens across a wide mix of SaaS and multiple device platforms, Okta’s neutrality can reduce vendor gravity. The identity layer stays consistent even when app stacks change. If the organisation lives in Google Workspace and is serious about Chrome-managed posture, Cloud Identity can feel less like an add-on and more like the native control plane.

The practical question here is simple: where does identity need to “feel native” every day?

Lens 2: Conditional access patterns (and how to stop policy sprawl)

Conditional access is not the policy. It’s the enforcement engine. The policy is what the organisation agrees is normal, what is exceptional, and how exceptions die.

Most identity stacks collapse because of three predictable forces:

1. Legacy apps that can’t meet modern auth expectations. 2. Contractors and short-term access that outlive the contract. 3. Convenience exceptions that start as “just this once.”

A sustainable baseline usually has these behaviours:

• Admin accounts are protected differently from normal accounts.
• Risky sign-ins are not treated like normal sign-ins.
• Access has a lifecycle: joiner, mover, leaver is automated and audited.

Exceptions have owners, expiry dates, and review cadence.

This is also where 2026’s baseline shift matters. “MFA everywhere” is no longer the finishing line. The new direction is phishing-resistant sign-in (passkeys) plus improved session controls, so the exception model must work for both authentication and post-auth access. [2][6][7]

Lens 3: Pricing levers (the bill changes later, not on day 1)

Most budgets don’t blow up from “buying SSO.” They blow up from the third meeting after go-live, when security or audit requirements tighten and the organisation realises which capabilities are tier-gated.

Entra example: public list pricing is clear at the plan level (P1, P2, and Suite), and Microsoft positions Suite as a bundled set across identity protection, governance, and access capabilities. [1]

Okta example: Workforce Identity is sold as suites billed annually, with public starting points for Starter and Essentials, while higher tiers typically move to custom quoting. [5]

Google Cloud Identity example: Google documents Cloud Identity pricing and billing plan comparisons publicly, including flexible vs annual approaches. [8][9]

A useful way to think about pricing is not “cost per user.” It’s “what triggers a step-up.” Common triggers include:

• Risk-based controls becoming mandatory.
• Identity governance and access review requirements expanding.
• Device posture and session protections being enforced more broadly. [7][9]

Lens 4: Phishing-resistant sign-in + session resilience

This is the big one in 2026.

Microsoft is actively expanding passkey support, including synced passkeys and group-based passkey profiles for controlled rollouts. [2][3]

Google is framing passkeys and DBSC as a response to account takeover threats, and provides admin-facing controls to enforce DBSC via Context-Aware Access. [6][7]

Okta’s data-driven reporting shows MFA adoption climbing while phishing-resistant methods rise quickly, reinforcing that the market is moving toward stronger, more user-friendly authenticators. [4]

This lens matters because it reshapes what “good enough” looks like. Identity decisions that ignore passkeys and session protection increasingly age badly.

**A Practical Implementation Path **

A clean rollout rarely starts with tooling. It starts with a short operational agreement:

• Which identity system is the source of truth for users and groups?
• Who owns exceptions?
• What is the monthly review rhythm?

Then the build becomes straightforward:

1. Inventory the app estate and classify “modern auth-ready” vs “legacy troublemakers.” 2. Turn on automated provisioning where possible (SCIM or equivalent), and make leaver flows non-negotiable. 3. Pilot conditional access with a small cohort, then expand with documented patterns. 4. Introduce phishing-resistant authenticators (passkeys, platform capabilities) in controlled phases. [2][3][6] 5. Add session resilience controls where the ecosystem supports it, especially for high-risk apps. [7]

This is where an ops partner can matter. Not because identity is mysterious, but because most organisations don’t have spare cycles for months of exception triage, app-by-app cleanup, and integration edge cases. ArkStack’s Enterprise Application & Platform work typically lives in that zone: integration, governance, platform support, and keeping the steady state clean once the initial rollout momentum fades.

Closing: The “Best” SSO Isn’t The One With The Longest Feature List

Picking an SSO platform is the part everyone remembers. Living with it is the part that decides whether it was a good choice. After go-live, reality kicks in. New apps get added. Contractors come and go. One exception turns into three. Someone copies an old policy because it’s “close enough”, and now access behaves differently depending on which app, which device, which group. That’s how identity quietly turns into support tickets, audit prep, and late fixes during busy weeks. This is where ArkStack fits, and it’s not a vague “digital transformation” promise. It’s the steady work that keeps identity from getting messy: integrating apps properly, tightening conditional access so it stays consistent, automating joiner-mover-leaver flows, and doing the routine clean-up that most teams don’t have time to stay on top of. Passkeys and stronger session protections are raising the bar too, which makes that upkeep even more important, not less. [2][6][7] In 2026, the “best” SSO isn’t the one that demos well. It’s the one that still looks disciplined six months later.

References

[1] Microsoft. (n.d.). Microsoft Entra plans and pricing. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-sg/security/business/microsoft-entra-pricing 

[2] Microsoft. (2025, November 18). How to enable synced passkeys (FIDO2) in Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft Learn. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/authentication/how-to-authentication-synced-passkeys 

[3] Microsoft. (2025, August 12). How to enable passkey (FIDO2) profiles in Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft Learn. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/authentication/how-to-authentication-passkey-profiles 

[4] Okta. (2025, December 9). The Secure Sign-in Trends Report 2025. Okta Newsroom. https://www.okta.com/newsroom/articles/secure-sign-in-trends-report-2025/ 

[5] Okta. (n.d.). Plans and pricing. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://www.okta.com/pricing/ 

[6] Google Workspace. (2025, July 30). Defending against account takeovers from today’s top threats with passkeys and DBSC. https://workspace.google.com/blog/identity-and-security/defending-against-account-takeovers-top-threats-passkeys-and-dbsc 

[7] Google Workspace Admin Help. (n.d.). Prevent cookie theft with session binding (beta). Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://support.google.com/a/answer/15956470?hl=en 

[8] Google Cloud. (n.d.). Cloud Identity pricing. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://cloud.google.com/identity/pricing 

[9] Google Cloud. (n.d.). Compare Cloud Identity billing plans. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://docs.cloud.google.com/identity/docs/how-to/compare-cloud-identity-billing-plans 

[10] Okta. (2025, March 9). A new way to buy Okta: Simplified solution pricing to unlock Workforce Identity. Okta Blog. https://www.okta.com/blog/product-innovation/a-new-way-to-buy-okta-simplified-solution-pricing-to-unlock-workforce-identity/