Why are people looking for CyberArk alternatives in 2026?

Mostly because of ownership rather than capability. Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition on 11 February 2026, paying 45 dollars in cash plus 2.2005 Palo Alto shares per CyberArk share, then retired the CyberArk brand on 12 May 2026 and relaunched the portfolio as Idira, with customer-visible changes from 31 May. Buyers who selected CyberArk precisely because it was a neutral specialist rather than part of a platform vendor no longer have that, and platform consolidation pressure at renewal is a reasonable thing to plan for.

Is CyberArk still called CyberArk?

No. Products are now Idira Privileged Access Manager, Idira Secrets Hub (formerly Conjur), Idira Certificate Manager (formerly Venafi), Idira Endpoint Privilege Manager and Idira Secure AI Agents. The cyberark.com press and investor pages redirect to Palo Alto Networks, and several documentation paths return 404. Expect Idira branding on quotes, contracts and documentation even though most of the market still says CyberArk.

What is the closest like-for-like alternative to CyberArk?

Delinea. It is now the largest independent PAM vendor, covers credential vaulting, privileged session management, just-in-time access and cloud entitlements, and reached FedRAMP High authorization for Secret Server on 8 July 2026, which opens US public sector work. It acquired StrongDM in March 2026, closing much of its historical weakness in developer-facing infrastructure access. The honest gap: at the very top of the enterprise market, for the broadest and most complex privileged estates, CyberArk still goes further in breadth and auditor recognition.

Does the FedRAMP authorization transfer under the Idira rebrand?

Unclear, and federal buyers should verify before relying on it. CyberArk announced FedRAMP High Authority to Operate for Endpoint Privilege Manager and Workforce Identity in March 2024, but the CyberArk FedRAMP documentation pages now return 404 following the migration to Palo Alto Networks, and we could not confirm the authorization transferred. Check the FedRAMP Marketplace directly. Delinea's Secret Server FedRAMP High authorization from July 2026 is current and verifiable by comparison.

Are there security reasons to reconsider?

There are CVEs worth knowing, though none is known to be exploited. CVE-2025-49831 scored 9.8 and allowed an IAM authenticator bypass in Conjur OSS below 1.22.1. In June 2026 three more landed against the rebranded products: CVE-2026-45177 (9.1, identity-verification bypass in Idira Secrets Manager SaaS Edge), CVE-2026-45176 (8.9) and CVE-2026-45178 (8.4). No CyberArk, Conjur, Venafi or Idira entry appears in the CISA KEV catalog as of September 2026. For context, Delinea disclosed four critical Secret Server flaws in September 2026, all affecting on-premises only, so neither vendor is clean here.

What if I only need infrastructure access, not credential vaulting?

Then most of what you would pay CyberArk for is overhead. Teleport is the remaining independent specialist for short-lived certificate-based access to servers, clusters and databases, and is dramatically lighter to run. StrongDM covered the same ground but is now owned by Delinea, so it is no longer an independent option. Be clear which problem you have: vault-first suites assume privileged accounts exist and must be controlled, while infrastructure-access tools aim to eliminate standing credentials entirely.

What about cost-sensitive or smaller deployments?

Keeper Security extends from password management into privileged access and is generally the most cost-effective option below a few hundred privileged users. ManageEngine PAM360 targets the same cost-conscious segment. Neither matches the session isolation and governance depth of the enterprise suites, which is exactly why they are cheaper. One Identity Safeguard is worth a look if you also want identity governance from the same vendor, though note One Identity announced a separation from Quest Software in June 2026 and the post-separation owner has not been disclosed.

Tools

CyberArk Alternatives: 6 PAM Options Compared

CyberArk is now Idira, inside Palo Alto Networks, and the vendor neutrality many buyers chose it for is gone. Six alternatives compared on depth, operational weight and ownership.

By SWI Community TeamUpdated 2026-09-2010 min read

Key takeaways

Palo Alto Networks completed its CyberArk acquisition on 11 February 2026 and retired the brand on 12 May 2026, relaunching the portfolio as Idira.
Buyers who chose CyberArk specifically for vendor neutrality no longer have it, which is the single most common reason renewals are being reconsidered.
Delinea is now the largest independent PAM vendor and the closest like-for-like, having acquired StrongDM in March 2026 to close its developer-access gap.
If modern infrastructure access rather than credential vaulting is the actual requirement, Teleport is the remaining independent specialist and a much lighter deployment.

The most common reason to evaluate CyberArk alternatives in 2026 is not a capability gap. It is that CyberArk no longer exists as an independent vendor.

Palo Alto Networks completed the acquisition on 11 February 2026 and retired the brand on 12 May 2026, relaunching the portfolio as Idira. For organisations that chose CyberArk specifically because it was a neutral specialist rather than part of a larger platform, the reason for that choice is gone.

That does not make it the wrong product. It is still the deepest privileged access platform available. But it changes what you are buying, and it is a fair thing to reprice at renewal.

Start by naming which problem you have

The two halves of this category are not substitutes.

Credential vaulting and session control is what auditors recognise: vault the privileged accounts, isolate and record the sessions, produce the evidence. Delinea, BeyondTrust and One Identity Safeguard all play here.

Infrastructure access aims at the opposite outcome: issue short-lived certificates so standing credentials never exist. Teleport is the remaining independent specialist. This is lighter, better liked by engineers, and not what a bank examiner expects to see.

Buying the wrong half is the expensive mistake, not picking the wrong vendor within a half.

The closest like-for-like: Delinea

Now the largest independent PAM vendor, with FedRAMP High for Secret Server since July 2026 and over 400 million dollars in reported ARR. Its March 2026 acquisition of StrongDM closes much of its historical developer-access gap. Where it still trails is the very largest, most complex estates, and auditor familiarity at that tier.

Read CyberArk vs Delinea for the direct comparison.

Breadth without the platform: BeyondTrust

Comparable enterprise range, with stronger secure remote access and endpoint privilege management. A genuine alternative if unified remote access matters as much as vaulting. See CyberArk vs BeyondTrust.

Cost-conscious: Keeper and ManageEngine

Keeper Security and ManageEngine PAM360 are materially cheaper and materially shallower. Below a few hundred privileged users that trade usually makes sense.

Before you decide

Reduce standing privilege before buying anything. A vault protecting 400 permanent admin accounts is a smaller win than removing 300 of them, and it changes what you need from any of these. See the full CyberArk review and the PAM tools scorecard.

Frequently asked questions

Why are people looking for CyberArk alternatives in 2026?: Mostly because of ownership rather than capability. Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition on 11 February 2026, paying 45 dollars in cash plus 2.2005 Palo Alto shares per CyberArk share, then retired the CyberArk brand on 12 May 2026 and relaunched the portfolio as Idira, with customer-visible changes from 31 May. Buyers who selected CyberArk precisely because it was a neutral specialist rather than part of a platform vendor no longer have that, and platform consolidation pressure at renewal is a reasonable thing to plan for.
Is CyberArk still called CyberArk?: No. Products are now Idira Privileged Access Manager, Idira Secrets Hub (formerly Conjur), Idira Certificate Manager (formerly Venafi), Idira Endpoint Privilege Manager and Idira Secure AI Agents. The cyberark.com press and investor pages redirect to Palo Alto Networks, and several documentation paths return 404. Expect Idira branding on quotes, contracts and documentation even though most of the market still says CyberArk.
What is the closest like-for-like alternative to CyberArk?: Delinea. It is now the largest independent PAM vendor, covers credential vaulting, privileged session management, just-in-time access and cloud entitlements, and reached FedRAMP High authorization for Secret Server on 8 July 2026, which opens US public sector work. It acquired StrongDM in March 2026, closing much of its historical weakness in developer-facing infrastructure access. The honest gap: at the very top of the enterprise market, for the broadest and most complex privileged estates, CyberArk still goes further in breadth and auditor recognition.
Does the FedRAMP authorization transfer under the Idira rebrand?: Unclear, and federal buyers should verify before relying on it. CyberArk announced FedRAMP High Authority to Operate for Endpoint Privilege Manager and Workforce Identity in March 2024, but the CyberArk FedRAMP documentation pages now return 404 following the migration to Palo Alto Networks, and we could not confirm the authorization transferred. Check the FedRAMP Marketplace directly. Delinea's Secret Server FedRAMP High authorization from July 2026 is current and verifiable by comparison.
Are there security reasons to reconsider?: There are CVEs worth knowing, though none is known to be exploited. CVE-2025-49831 scored 9.8 and allowed an IAM authenticator bypass in Conjur OSS below 1.22.1. In June 2026 three more landed against the rebranded products: CVE-2026-45177 (9.1, identity-verification bypass in Idira Secrets Manager SaaS Edge), CVE-2026-45176 (8.9) and CVE-2026-45178 (8.4). No CyberArk, Conjur, Venafi or Idira entry appears in the CISA KEV catalog as of September 2026. For context, Delinea disclosed four critical Secret Server flaws in September 2026, all affecting on-premises only, so neither vendor is clean here.
What if I only need infrastructure access, not credential vaulting?: Then most of what you would pay CyberArk for is overhead. Teleport is the remaining independent specialist for short-lived certificate-based access to servers, clusters and databases, and is dramatically lighter to run. StrongDM covered the same ground but is now owned by Delinea, so it is no longer an independent option. Be clear which problem you have: vault-first suites assume privileged accounts exist and must be controlled, while infrastructure-access tools aim to eliminate standing credentials entirely.
What about cost-sensitive or smaller deployments?: Keeper Security extends from password management into privileged access and is generally the most cost-effective option below a few hundred privileged users. ManageEngine PAM360 targets the same cost-conscious segment. Neither matches the session isolation and governance depth of the enterprise suites, which is exactly why they are cheaper. One Identity Safeguard is worth a look if you also want identity governance from the same vendor, though note One Identity announced a separation from Quest Software in June 2026 and the post-separation owner has not been disclosed.

Last reviewed September 20, 2026By SWI Community TeamSuggest a correction How we research

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