Quick procurement view
| Decision factor | Okta | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | IT teams standardizing SSO and lifecycle access | businesses standardized on Microsoft apps |
| Typical pricing shape | per-user identity pricing | per-user productivity plans |
| Category | Identity and Access Management Software | Cloud Storage Software |
| Best next check | Verify required users, add-ons, data export, and support commitments. | Verify required users, add-ons, data export, and support commitments. |
How to choose
Choose Okta when the buying team values IT teams standardizing SSO and lifecycle access and wants a contract structure aligned with per-user identity pricing. Choose Microsoft 365 when the main need is businesses standardized on Microsoft apps and the team is comfortable reviewing per-user productivity plans.
Before approving either product, compare total cost of ownership, implementation effort, administrator workload, integration dependencies, and renewal notice dates.
Vendor questions
- Which features in the demo are included in the quoted edition?
- What fees appear after the first year?
- How are users, viewers, guests, admins, and API usage counted?
- Can the vendor provide a clean data export before contract end?
Relationship between the options
Adjacent-workflow comparison. The products overlap around a workflow but are not complete substitutes. Confirm which primary job owns the budget before comparing features.
Quoted cost shape: per-user identity pricing.
Quoted cost shape: per-user productivity plans.
Evidence matrix
Replace demonstration impressions with the same evidence request for both vendors. Editable cells stay in the browser and can be printed.
| Decision evidence | Okta | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Application coverage for sso and lifecycle provisioning | ||
| Directory, device, authentication, and privileged-access dependencies | ||
| User, connector, module, and support cost rules | ||
| Break-glass access, audit export, and migration sequencing | ||
| File sync, document creation, external sharing, and collaboration scope | ||
| Retention, legal hold, access controls, and administrator reporting |
Normalize the commercial response
- Use one user and usage forecast for both quotes.
- Separate recurring licenses, usage, implementation, support, dependent tools, and administration.
- Record renewal notice, price change, downgrade, export, and termination-assistance terms.
- Model the expected case and a stress case instead of relying on the first-year headline.
PR97 compares workflows and vendor-published information; it does not assign unverified review scores. Read the methodology.