Microsoft Entra ID Governance vs Orchid Security
ILM Reference editors · Editorial assessment · Published 2026-09-28
Orchid Security scores higher overall on our weights: 74/100 against 64/100 for Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Microsoft Entra ID Governance wins three of the seven criteria (JML automation, certification campaign depth and pricing transparency) and Orchid Security wins four (disconnected-app coverage, orphan and local account discovery, audit evidence and works alongside existing IdP and IGA). On disconnected-app coverage, the heaviest-weighted criterion, Orchid Security leads 92 to 50.
- Lifecycle coverage score
- 64 / 100
- Rank of 9
- 5
- Category
- Identity governance and administration (IGA)
- Designation
- Best value for Microsoft-centric estates
- Lifecycle coverage score
- 74 / 100
- Rank of 9
- 1
- Category
- Identity orchestration and discovery
- Designation
- Top pick: disconnected-app and local-account coverage
Scores are an editorial assessment of public vendor material. See Editorial method.
How do Microsoft Entra ID Governance and Orchid Security score on each criterion?
| Criterion (weight) | Microsoft Entra ID Governance | Orchid Security | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disconnected-app coverage (22) | 50 | 92 | Orchid Security |
| Orphan and local account discovery (18) | 55 | 90 | Orchid Security |
| JML automation (15) | 80 | 45 | Microsoft Entra ID Governance |
| Certification campaign depth (12) | 72 | 30 | Microsoft Entra ID Governance |
| Audit evidence (13) | 70 | 85 | Orchid Security |
| Works alongside existing IdP and IGA (12) | 50 | 95 | Orchid Security |
| Pricing transparency (8) | 95 | 60 | Microsoft Entra ID Governance |
| Lifecycle coverage score | 64 | 74 | Orchid Security |
Read the reasons for each score
- Disconnected-app coverage
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Documents a manual path for apps without provisioning: export users to CSV, match them to Entra users, review, then remove or ticket; ECMA connector host covers some on-prem apps.
- Orchid Security: States it discovers SaaS, cloud, on-prem, legacy and custom-built applications and brings unmanaged ones under IAM, IGA, PAM and audit control.
- Orphan and local account discovery
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Account discovery shows app users that do not match any Entra ID user.
- Orchid Security: Surfaces local user activity, hardcoded accounts and orphaned accounts inside applications; publishes an Orphan & Local Accounts report.
- JML automation
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Lifecycle workflows before start, during status changes and at departure.
- Orchid Security: Does not describe itself as a provisioning engine; JML execution stays in the IGA or IdP it feeds.
- Certification campaign depth
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Recurring access reviews with AI-powered suggestions; denied users lose the app role assignment.
- Orchid Security: No certification campaign module described; reviews run in the governance platform.
- Audit evidence
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Review decisions and assignments are recorded in Entra; no framework-mapped evidence pack described.
- Orchid Security: Continuous, application-level identity evidence mapped to SOX, PCI, HIPAA, GDPR and NIS2; every discovery, policy and action recorded.
- Works alongside existing IdP and IGA
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Requires Entra ID P1 or P2; strongest when Entra is the identity provider.
- Orchid Security: Positioned to augment existing tools; lists Microsoft, SailPoint, Saviynt and CyberArk integrations and is a SailPoint Technology Alliance Partner (August 2026).
- Pricing transparency
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: $7.00 per user per month, paid yearly, published.
- Orchid Security: No pricing page on its own site (/pricing returns 404). AWS Marketplace lists Orchid Fundamental (Continuous IAM Assurance, Discovery and Readiness, 30 applications) at $250,000.00 per 12 months, with 24- and 36-month options and custom pricing by private offer.
What does each tool do?
Microsoft's governance add-on for lifecycle workflows, access reviews and entitlement management, priced per user.
Category Identity governance and administration (IGA)
Discovers unmanaged applications, maps how identity works inside them, and feeds that context to the IAM, IGA and PAM tools you already run.
Category Identity orchestration and discovery
How do Microsoft Entra ID Governance and Orchid Security compare on pricing and deployment?
| Fact | Microsoft Entra ID Governance | Orchid Security |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $7.00 user/month, paid yearly (requires Entra ID P1 at $7.00 or P2 at $10.00). Entra Suite $12.00 user/month. | AWS Marketplace: Orchid Fundamental (30 applications) $250,000.00 per 12 months; custom pricing by private offer. No pricing page on orchid.security. |
| Deployment | Microsoft cloud service. | SaaS, per its AWS Marketplace listing. Whether the platform itself can run on-prem is not stated. |
How do they handle disconnected applications?
| Tool | Discovery of the app | Account data collection | Leaver action on the app | Method described | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orchid Security | Documented discovers unmanaged SaaS, cloud, on-prem, legacy and custom apps | Documented maps accounts, roles and authentication paths inside the app | Partial feeds context to IAM, IGA and ITSM tools, which act | Discovery and analysis, then orchestration into existing tools | Source: orchid.security/platform · Reviewed Sep 2026 |
| Microsoft Entra ID Governance | Not documented | Manual process export users to CSV and match to Entra users | Manual process access review, then removal or a ServiceNow ticket | Documented manual procedure | Source: learn.microsoft.com not-provisioned users article · Reviewed Sep 2026 |
Source: orchid.security/platform · Reviewed Sep 2026
Source: learn.microsoft.com not-provisioned users article · Reviewed Sep 2026
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Entra ID Governance if HR-driven joiner, mover and leaver automation is the priority, or if access certification campaigns are your main audit deliverable.
Microsoft's governance add-on for lifecycle workflows, access reviews and entitlement management, priced per user.
Choose Orchid Security if you need coverage for applications with no connector, no SCIM endpoint and no SSO integration, or if finding orphan, dormant and local accounts is the priority.
Discovers unmanaged applications, maps how identity works inside them, and feeds that context to the IAM, IGA and PAM tools you already run.
Weights change the answer. Try your own in the calculator.
FAQ
Which is better for identity lifecycle management, Microsoft Entra ID Governance or Orchid Security?
On our rubric Orchid Security scores 74/100 and Microsoft Entra ID Governance 64/100. Orchid Security is ahead mainly on disconnected-app coverage and orphan and local account discovery. Buyers who weight JML automation more heavily may prefer Microsoft Entra ID Governance; the calculator shows how the order changes.
Which handles disconnected applications better, Microsoft Entra ID Governance or Orchid Security?
Orchid Security scores 92 to 50 on disconnected-app coverage. Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Documents a manual path for apps without provisioning: export users to CSV, match them to Entra users, review, then remove or ticket; ECMA connector host covers some on-prem apps. Orchid Security: States it discovers SaaS, cloud, on-prem, legacy and custom-built applications and brings unmanaged ones under IAM, IGA, PAM and audit control.
Do Microsoft Entra ID Governance and Orchid Security publish pricing?
Microsoft Entra ID Governance: $7.00 user/month, paid yearly (requires Entra ID P1 at $7.00 or P2 at $10.00). Entra Suite $12.00 user/month. Orchid Security: AWS Marketplace: Orchid Fundamental (30 applications) $250,000.00 per 12 months; custom pricing by private offer. No pricing page on orchid.security.
Keep reading
Sources
- learn.microsoft.com identity governance overview
- microsoft.com Entra pricing
- learn.microsoft.com apps not provisioned
- learn.microsoft.com existing app users
- orchid.security
- orchid.security/platform
- orchid.security/use-case/grc-audit
- orchid.security/reports/orphan-local-accounts
- orchid.security SailPoint partnership
- AWS Marketplace: Orchid Security
- orchid.security/use-case/identity-access-management-programs
- orchid.security/blog/what-happens-when-you-actually-look-inside-an-app
- orchid.security/costco-story
Reviewed Sep 2026