Okta vs OneLogin
Why people compare these: IT/security teams compare them when consolidating workforce SSO/MFA and deciding how much governance and integration depth they need long-term.
The real trade-off: Okta is the governance-heavy, best-of-breed workforce IAM; OneLogin is a workforce IAM alternative when you want SSO/MFA without maximizing ecosystem depth.
Common mistake: Teams compare by headline pricing and ignore rollout cost: policy ownership, app-by-app onboarding, and switching cost once every app depends on the IdP.
At-a-glance comparison
Okta ↗
Okta is an enterprise identity provider for workforce SSO, MFA, and lifecycle management. It’s the default choice when governance and centralized policy matter more than building custom identity…
- ✓ Centralized SSO across many SaaS apps with policy control
- ✓ Strong MFA and adaptive access controls (risk/device context)
- ✓ Lifecycle management workflows reduce manual joiner/mover/leaver work
OneLogin ↗
OneLogin is workforce IAM for SSO and MFA across SaaS apps, often evaluated as an alternative to Okta or Entra in mixed enterprise environments. It’s a fit when governance and centralized workforce…
- ✓ Workforce SSO across common SaaS apps with directory integrations
- ✓ MFA options suitable for standard enterprise security baselines
- ✓ Admin-centric workflows designed for IT/security ownership
Where each product pulls ahead
These are the distinctive advantages that matter most in this comparison.
Okta advantages
- ✓ Mature governance and admin/audit controls for compliance-heavy orgs
- ✓ Broad integration catalog for mixed enterprise environments
- ✓ Strong patterns for delegated administration and policy at scale
OneLogin advantages
- ✓ Workforce SSO/MFA focus for baseline identity consolidation
- ✓ Often evaluated as a simpler alternative in workforce IAM shortlists
- ✓ Good fit when you can scope requirements to SSO/MFA first
Pros & Cons
Okta
Pros
- + You need strong governance patterns and mature admin/audit controls
- + You have a heterogeneous SaaS estate and need broad integrations
- + You need delegated administration and consistent policy at scale
- + Identity is mission-critical and you want mature support/SLA options
- + You expect requirements to expand (lifecycle, access reviews, audits)
Cons
- − Costs rise as you add modules (MFA, lifecycle, governance) beyond base SSO
- − Can be overkill for a single product’s customer login needs
- − SSO to legacy/internal apps may require additional connector work
- − Multi-tenant customer identity (CIAM) is not its default strength
- − Admin complexity grows with policy depth and org sprawl
- − Migration from legacy directories can be operationally heavy
- − Vendor lock-in increases as more apps depend on Okta policies
OneLogin
Pros
- + Your workforce needs are primarily SSO + MFA across common SaaS apps
- + You want a simpler operational footprint for baseline IAM needs
- + You can accept fewer advanced governance workflows initially
- + You have clear ownership for policies and onboarding processes
- + You want an Okta alternative to evaluate alongside Entra
Cons
- − Not designed for product-embedded customer CIAM use cases
- − Governance maturity varies by org needs (access reviews/lifecycle depth)
- − Integration depth depends on your SaaS estate and attribute mapping needs
- − Policy complexity can become operational debt without ownership
- − Switching costs increase once many apps depend on the IdP
- − Advanced enterprise requirements may push evaluation toward Okta/Entra
- − Migration/cutover still requires careful planning to avoid SSO outages
Which one tends to fit which buyer?
These are conditional guidelines only — not rankings. Your specific situation determines fit.
- → Pick Okta if: you’re buying workforce IAM as a governance system, not just SSO.
- → Pick OneLogin if: you need workforce SSO/MFA and prefer a simpler fit, with governance depth evaluated against your requirements.
- → The cost is mostly operational: onboarding apps, mapping attributes, and enforcing policy consistently across teams.
- → The trade-off: governance depth and ecosystem maturity vs baseline IAM simplicity—not a feature checklist.
Sources & verification
We prefer to link primary references (official pricing, documentation, and public product pages). If links are missing, treat this as a seeded brief until verification is completed.