Microsoft Entra ID Governance vs SailPoint Identity Security Cloud
ILM Reference editors · Editorial assessment · Published 2026-09-28
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud scores higher overall on our weights: 68/100 against 64/100 for Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Microsoft Entra ID Governance wins one of the seven criteria (pricing transparency) and SailPoint Identity Security Cloud wins six (disconnected-app coverage, orphan and local account discovery, JML automation, certification campaign depth, audit evidence and works alongside existing IdP and IGA). On disconnected-app coverage, the heaviest-weighted criterion, SailPoint Identity Security Cloud leads 60 to 50.
- Lifecycle coverage score
- 64 / 100
- Rank of 8
- 5
- Category
- Identity governance and administration (IGA)
- Designation
- Best value for Microsoft-centric estates
- Lifecycle coverage score
- 68 / 100
- Rank of 8
- 4
- Category
- Identity governance and administration (IGA)
- Designation
- Best certification campaign depth
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud
Scores are an editorial assessment of public vendor material. See Editorial method.
How do Microsoft Entra ID Governance and SailPoint Identity Security Cloud score on each criterion?
| Criterion (weight) | Microsoft Entra ID Governance | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disconnected-app coverage (22) | 50 | 60 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
| Orphan and local account discovery (18) | 55 | 60 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
| JML automation (15) | 80 | 90 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
| Certification campaign depth (12) | 72 | 92 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
| Audit evidence (13) | 70 | 85 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
| Works alongside existing IdP and IGA (12) | 50 | 60 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
| Pricing transparency (8) | 95 | 20 | Microsoft Entra ID Governance |
| Lifecycle coverage score | 64 | 68 | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
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.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Application Management add-on gives app owners a self-registration portal and integration templates; discovery of unconnected apps is not detailed on the pages reviewed.
- Orphan and local account discovery
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Account discovery shows app users that do not match any Entra ID user.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Lifecycle automation keeps access in sync; dedicated orphan-account discovery is not described on the pages reviewed.
- JML automation
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Lifecycle workflows before start, during status changes and at departure.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Joiner, mover and leaver automation that provisions, adapts and corrects access.
- Certification campaign depth
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Recurring access reviews with AI-powered suggestions; denied users lose the app role assignment.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Manager, Source Owner and Search campaigns, role composition campaigns, and AI-driven certifications that auto-certify low-risk access.
- Audit evidence
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Review decisions and assignments are recorded in Entra; no framework-mapped evidence pack described.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Collects audit evidence automatically and generates audit-ready reports; reports mapped to SOX, PCI DSS and other frameworks.
- Works alongside existing IdP and IGA
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Requires Entra ID P1 or P2; strongest when Entra is the identity provider.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Is the governance platform itself; complements an IdP, and partners with discovery vendors.
- Pricing transparency
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance: $7.00 per user per month, paid yearly, published.
- SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Suites published (Standard, Agentic Business, Agentic Business Plus) without prices.
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)
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud
SailPoint's SaaS identity governance platform for lifecycle automation, certifications and compliance.
Category Identity governance and administration (IGA)
How do Microsoft Entra ID Governance and SailPoint Identity Security Cloud compare on pricing and deployment?
| Fact | Microsoft Entra ID Governance | SailPoint Identity Security Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Suites listed without prices. Contact sales. |
| Deployment | Microsoft cloud service. | SaaS on SailPoint Atlas. |
How do they handle disconnected applications?
| Tool | Discovery of the app | Account data collection | Leaver action on the app | Method described | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SailPoint Identity Security Cloud | Partial app owners self-register apps (Application Management add-on) | Partial integration templates | Not documented for unconnected apps | Self-registration and templates to speed onboarding | Source: sailpoint.com Application Management blog · 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: sailpoint.com Application Management blog · Reviewed Sep 2026
Source: learn.microsoft.com not-provisioned users article · Reviewed Sep 2026
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Entra ID Governance if you need a published price to model the budget before a sales call.
Microsoft's governance add-on for lifecycle workflows, access reviews and entitlement management, priced per user.
Choose SailPoint Identity Security Cloud if access certification campaigns are your main audit deliverable, or if you need coverage for applications with no connector, no SCIM endpoint and no SSO integration.
SailPoint's SaaS identity governance platform for lifecycle automation, certifications and compliance.
Weights change the answer. Try your own in the calculator.
FAQ
Which is better for identity lifecycle management, Microsoft Entra ID Governance or SailPoint Identity Security Cloud?
On our rubric SailPoint Identity Security Cloud scores 68/100 and Microsoft Entra ID Governance 64/100. SailPoint Identity Security Cloud is ahead mainly on certification campaign depth and disconnected-app coverage. Buyers who weight pricing transparency 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 SailPoint Identity Security Cloud?
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud scores 60 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. SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Application Management add-on gives app owners a self-registration portal and integration templates; discovery of unconnected apps is not detailed on the pages reviewed.
Do Microsoft Entra ID Governance and SailPoint Identity Security Cloud 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. SailPoint Identity Security Cloud: Suites listed without prices. Contact sales.
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
- sailpoint.com Identity Security Cloud
- sailpoint.com suites
- documentation.sailpoint.com certifications
- sailpoint.com Application Management blog
- sailpoint.com fundamentals of access certification blog
Reviewed Sep 2026