Okta
The neutral identity fabric for workforce, customer, and AI agents
What is Okta?
Okta is the workforce and customer identity platform behind SSO, MFA, lifecycle management, identity governance, privileged access, and (now generally available) identity for AI agents. The Workforce Identity Cloud handles employees and contractors while Customer Identity Cloud (the former Auth0) serves end users. Hitachi runs roughly 480,000 users on it and Wyndham serves 100 million end customers through it.
Security, compliance, trust, identity, privacy, and risk management platforms for businesses.
See the full Security & Compliance guide to compare more tools, buyer criteria, and related workflows.
Use cases to evaluate
SSO and adaptive MFA across hundreds of SaaS apps for a distributed workforce
Automated joiner-mover-leaver provisioning via Lifecycle Management and Workflows
Securing non-human and AI agent identities with the new agent-focused product
Post-acquisition identity consolidation and zero-trust app onboarding
Fit to evaluate
Enterprises with 1,000+ employees and a multi-cloud SaaS-heavy stack
CISOs implementing zero-trust who want a neutral IdP rather than a cloud-bundled one
Regulated industries needing governance, PAM, and ITDR in one identity fabric
B2C and B2B platforms wanting Customer Identity at Wyndham-scale traffic
Business fit
Right for you if you have a heterogeneous SaaS stack and need a vendor-neutral identity provider that integrates with thousands of apps without forcing you into one cloud's ecosystem. Strong choice when you need to combine SSO with downstream governance, PAM, and lifecycle automation. Skip if you are an all-Microsoft shop where Entra ID licenses are already paid for and meet your needs. Also skip if your annual identity spend would fall below the $1,500 workforce minimum.
How to evaluate Okta
Use this category when security reviews, compliance evidence, or access controls are slowing deals or operations.
Confirm the exact workflow
Map Okta to one concrete workflow first, such as sso and adaptive mfa across hundreds of saas apps for a distributed workforce. Avoid buying before the owner, trigger, output, and success metric are clear.
Check category fit
Compare evidence collection, access controls, integrations, and audit workflows.
Compare practical alternatives
Shortlist Okta against Vanta, Drata, Secureframe so the decision is based on fit, effort, and workflow ownership rather than brand recognition alone.
Validate cost and rollout effort
Workforce: Starter Suite $6/user/month, Core Essentials $14, Essentials $17 (most popular), Professional and Enterprise are custom; all billed annually with a $1,500 annual minimum. Customer Identity Enterprise base platform is $3,000/month billed annually; B2C and B2B suites are custom. Also confirm implementation time, support needs, and whether the technical setup matches your team.
Compare Okta with alternatives
Use this quick comparison before booking demos or moving data into a new system.
| Primary workflow | SSO and adaptive MFA across hundreds of SaaS apps for a distributed workforce, Automated joiner-mover-leaver provisioning via Lifecycle Management and Workflows |
|---|---|
| Best-fit team | Enterprises with 1,000+ employees and a multi-cloud SaaS-heavy stack, CISOs implementing zero-trust who want a neutral IdP rather than a cloud-bundled one |
| Implementation effort | Technical setup and maintenance profile |
| Pricing check | Published pricing |
| Closest alternatives | VantaDrataSecureframeSprinto |
Okta pricing
| Model | Published pricing |
|---|---|
| Snapshot | Workforce: Starter Suite $6/user/month, Core Essentials $14, Essentials $17 (most popular), Professional and Enterprise are custom; all billed annually with a $1,500 annual minimum. Customer Identity Enterprise base platform is $3,000/month billed annually; B2C and B2B suites are custom. |
| Checked |
Common questions about Okta
What is Okta?
Okta is the workforce and customer identity platform behind SSO, MFA, lifecycle management, identity governance, privileged access, and (now generally available) identity for AI agents. The Workforce Identity Cloud handles employees and contractors while Customer Identity Cloud (the former Auth0) serves end users. Hitachi runs roughly 480,000 users on it and Wyndham serves 100 million end customers through it.
What is Okta used for?
Common use cases: SSO and adaptive MFA across hundreds of SaaS apps for a distributed workforce; Automated joiner-mover-leaver provisioning via Lifecycle Management and Workflows; Securing non-human and AI agent identities with the new agent-focused product; Post-acquisition identity consolidation and zero-trust app onboarding.
How much does Okta cost?
Workforce: Starter Suite $6/user/month, Core Essentials $14, Essentials $17 (most popular), Professional and Enterprise are custom; all billed annually with a $1,500 annual minimum. Customer Identity Enterprise base platform is $3,000/month billed annually; B2C and B2B suites are custom.
Who is Okta best for?
Okta fits Enterprises with 1,000+ employees and a multi-cloud SaaS-heavy stack, CISOs implementing zero-trust who want a neutral IdP rather than a cloud-bundled one, Regulated industries needing governance, PAM, and ITDR in one identity fabric, B2C and B2B platforms wanting Customer Identity at Wyndham-scale traffic. Right for you if you have a heterogeneous SaaS stack and need a vendor-neutral identity provider that integrates with thousands of apps without forcing you into one cloud's ecosystem. Strong choice when you need to combine SSO with downstream governance, PAM, and lifecycle automation. Skip if you are an all-Microsoft shop where Entra ID licenses are already paid for and meet your needs. Also skip if your annual identity spend would fall below the $1,500 workforce minimum.
What are alternatives to Okta?
Common alternatives to Okta include Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, Sprinto, Thoropass, OneTrust.