HEAD-TO-HEAD · FACTS ONLY, NO SCORES

Microsoft Entra vs Silverfort: IAM jobs, prices and limits side by side

Short answer

Microsoft documents detection through Defender for Identity and ID Protection in P2; Silverfort documents inline blocking of attacks such as Pass-the-Hash and Kerberoasting and lists Entra ID among the platforms its agent discovery reads. Both cover directory and SSO, privileged access and threat detection. Only Microsoft Entra covers lifecycle and IGA and app coverage.

By The Access Desk · Best IAM Tools · Published 2026-10-08

Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial profiles, no scores; we did not run the products.

How do they compare job by job?

Coverage as described on each vendor's own pages, read in September 2026 and updated 11 October 2026. Not a score.
Job	Microsoft Entra	Silverfort
J1Directory and SSO	Documented Entra ID Free includes MFA and SSO; the app gallery lists thousands of applications; Conditional Access comes with P1; phishing-resistant methods include passkeys and FIDO2 security keys. Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra application gallery · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Conditional Access overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra authentication methods · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partial Universal MFA for legacy apps, command-line tools and OT with zero agents and zero code changes; Silverfort is not a directory or SSO provider. Source: Silverfort homepage · Read 29 Sep 2026
J2Lifecycle and IGA	Documented Entra ID Governance: lifecycle workflows before start, on status change and at leave, access reviews, entitlement management, and HR-driven provisioning from Workday and SAP SuccessFactors. Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: HR-driven provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources No lifecycle management described on the pages reviewed. Source: Silverfort homepage · Read 29 Sep 2026
J3App coverage	Partial Account discovery shows app users who do not match an Entra ID user. For apps without provisioning, the documented path is a CSV export, matching, an access review and an optional ServiceNow ticket. Source: Microsoft Learn: governing existing users in an application · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: applications that do not support provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
J4Privileged access	Partial Privileged Identity Management (PIM) needs Microsoft Entra ID Governance or Entra ID P2 licences, per Microsoft's licensing page; feature detail is not in our sources. Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance licensing fundamentals · Read 11 Oct 2026	Partial Non-human identity protection for AD and cloud service accounts: a behavioral baseline per account and virtual fences. Its Enterprise package adds Privileged Access Security with just-in-time access. Source: Silverfort: non-human identity security · Read 29 Sep 2026 · Source: Silverfort pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
J5Threat detection	Documented Defender for Identity detects identity-based attacks across on-premises Active Directory, Entra ID and other IAM such as Okta; ID Protection and risk-based Conditional Access come with P2. Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026	Documented Detects brute force, password spraying, credential stuffing, Pass-the-Hash, Pass-the-Ticket, Kerberoasting and DCSync, and can block, challenge with MFA or terminate the session inline, before authentication completes. Source: Silverfort: identity threat detection and response · Read 29 Sep 2026

Can you run both in one stack?

They overlap on threat detection, so most stacks would use one of them for that job and the other only for the jobs it adds.

What do they cost and how are they deployed?

Microsoft Entra

Pricing: Per user per month, paid yearly: Entra ID Free; P1 $7.00; P2 $10.00; ID Governance $7.00 (requires P1 or P2); Entra Suite $12.00 (requires P1); Workload ID $3.00 per workload identity. P1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and Business Premium, P2 in Microsoft 365 E5. Defender for Identity needs EMS E5 or A5, Microsoft 365 E5 (E5, A5, G5), Microsoft 365 E5, A5, G5 or F5 Security, Microsoft 365 F5 Security and Compliance, or a standalone Defender for Identity licence; the standalone price is not stated.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender for Identity sensor prerequisites · Read 11 Oct 2026
Deployment: Microsoft cloud service; on-premises apps provisioned through the ECMA connector host; Defender for Identity uses sensors on identity infrastructure.
Source: Microsoft Learn: application provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026
Integrations: Thousands of gallery applications; provisioning by SCIM 2.0, LDAP, SQL, REST, SOAP, PowerShell and ECMA connectors.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra application gallery · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: application provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026
Certifications: Not covered in our sources

Silverfort

Pricing: No list price; Silverfort says pricing is based on the size of the organization. Four packages: Core (ISPM, Universal MFA), Plus (adds NHI Security and AI Agent Security), Advanced (adds Authentication Firewall and ITDR), Enterprise (adds Access Intelligence and Privileged Access Security with just-in-time access). Standard support included; Premier support 10% and Diamond 20% of licence cost.
Source: Silverfort pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
Deployment: Available for on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments; Universal MFA described as needing zero agents.
Source: Silverfort pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026 · Source: Silverfort homepage · Read 29 Sep 2026
Integrations: AI agent discovery through read-only APIs across Entra ID, Okta, AWS, Azure and GCP.
Source: Silverfort: AI agent security · Read 29 Sep 2026
Certifications: Not covered in our sources

What are each one's strengths and limits?

Microsoft Entra

Strengths

Published per-user prices for every tier.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Directory, governance and detection from one vendor.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 · Source: Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Defender for Identity · Read 29 Sep 2026
Account discovery for app users who match no Entra ID user.
Source: Microsoft Learn: governing existing users in an application · Read 27 Sep 2026

Limits

ID Governance requires Entra ID P1 or P2.
Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Apps without provisioning rely on a documented manual path (CSV export and matching).
Source: Microsoft Learn: applications that do not support provisioning · Read 27 Sep 2026
Privileged Identity Management needs Entra ID P2 or ID Governance licences, and its feature detail is not in our sources.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra ID Governance licensing fundamentals · Read 11 Oct 2026

Silverfort

Strengths

Responds inline, before the authentication completes.
Source: Silverfort: identity threat detection and response · Read 29 Sep 2026
MFA on legacy, command-line and OT systems.
Source: Silverfort homepage · Read 29 Sep 2026
Service account baselines and virtual fences.
Source: Silverfort: non-human identity security · Read 29 Sep 2026

Limits

No lifecycle or governance features described.
Source: Silverfort homepage · Read 29 Sep 2026
No list price, and ITDR comes in the Advanced package and above.
Source: Silverfort pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026

Which should you look at first?

Microsoft Entra

Look at Microsoft Entra first if you need: lifecycle and IGA.

Microsoft Entra's pages highlight: Published per-user prices for every tier.

Source: Microsoft Entra pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026

Silverfort

Look at Silverfort first if you need: the jobs both cover.

Silverfort's pages highlight: Responds inline, before the authentication completes.

Source: Silverfort: identity threat detection and response · Read 29 Sep 2026

Frequently asked questions

Do Microsoft Entra and Silverfort publish prices?

Microsoft Entra: Per user per month, paid yearly: Entra ID Free; P1 $7.00; P2 $10.00; ID Governance $7.00 (requires P1 or P2); Entra Suite $12.00 (requires P1); Workload ID $3.00 per workload identity. P1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and Business Premium, P2 in Microsoft 365 E5. Defender for Identity needs EMS E5 or A5, Microsoft 365 E5 (E5, A5, G5), Microsoft 365 E5, A5, G5 or F5 Security, Microsoft 365 F5 Security and Compliance, or a standalone Defender for Identity licence; the standalone price is not stated. Silverfort: No list price; Silverfort says pricing is based on the size of the organization. Four packages: Core (ISPM, Universal MFA), Plus (adds NHI Security and AI Agent Security), Advanced (adds Authentication Firewall and ITDR), Enterprise (adds Access Intelligence and Privileged Access Security with just-in-time access). Standard support included; Premier support 10% and Diamond 20% of licence cost.

Do Microsoft Entra and Silverfort overlap?

They overlap on threat detection, so most stacks would use one of them for that job and the other only for the jobs it adds.

How can I compare more than two IAM tools?

Use the side-by-side tool, which shows up to five vendors' job coverage, prices and limits in one table.