# cyberark-vs-delinea

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/compare/cyberark-vs-delinea/
Last updated: 2026-09-20
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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## The honest comparison

[CyberArk](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/cyberark/) is the reference implementation of enterprise [privileged access management](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-pam/), scoring 4.7 in our rubric, and it is no longer independent: Palo Alto Networks closed its acquisition on 11 February 2026 and CyberArk continues as a standalone platform inside that portfolio. [Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/delinea/), formed in 2021 from the Thycotic and Centrify merger and owned by TPG, scores 4.3 and competes by covering most of the same ground with less weight.

The feature gap is real but narrower than the price and effort gap. Both vault credentials, broker and record sessions, and manage cloud privilege. CyberArk goes deeper on the hardest cases: sprawling legacy estates, operational technology, and regulatory environments where its certification breadth and auditor familiarity are worth something on their own. Delinea is quicker to stand up and cheaper to run, and it pairs privileged access with workforce password management in a way that suits organizations without a separate password manager.

The decision that actually matters is upstream of both. A PAM program that vaults hundreds of permanent admin accounts is protecting a problem it could have removed. Sizing [zero standing privilege](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/zero-standing-privileges/) first changes which product you need.

## When CyberArk wins

- Fortune 1000 estates with a global privileged footprint across cloud, on-premises, and OT
- Deepest coverage across vaulting, session management, endpoint privilege, and secrets
- Regulatory environments where CyberArk's certifications and auditor recognition reduce friction
- You are already a Palo Alto Networks estate and platform consolidation is the strategy

## When Delinea wins

- Mid-market privileged access where CyberArk is oversized for the estate
- Faster time to value with materially lower operational overhead
- Workforce password management unified with privileged access, avoiding a second vendor
- Cost-sensitive programs where the implementation services line is the deciding factor

## Pricing

Both are quote-based and modular, so list comparisons are not available. CyberArk prices across vaulting, session management, secrets, and cloud privilege, with Privilege Cloud lowering operational cost against self-hosting; budget for implementation services as a real line item, not a rounding error. Delinea prices the same modules across SaaS and self-hosted and is generally positioned as better value with lower running cost.

Model total cost including administrator time, not just licences, with the [TCO calculator](https://startwithidentity.com/tools/tco-calculator/). For most mid-market buyers the operational difference outweighs the licence difference.

## Verdict

For the largest and most regulated privileged estates, [CyberArk](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/cyberark/), with the caveat that you are now buying into Palo Alto Networks' portfolio strategy and should ask how that plays out over your contract term. For mid-market organizations that want privileged access done properly without enterprise overhead, [Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/delinea/). Compare against the rest of the field in [best PAM tools](https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-pam-tools/) and [best PAM for SMB](https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-pam-for-smb/), and see [CyberArk vs BeyondTrust](https://startwithidentity.com/compare/cyberark-vs-beyondtrust/) and [Wallix vs Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/compare/wallix-vs-delinea/). The decision framework is in [how to choose a PAM solution](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/buyer-guides/how-to-choose-a-pam-solution/).