# delinea-vs-beyondtrust Source: https://startwithidentity.com/compare/delinea-vs-beyondtrust/ Last updated: 2026-10-16 License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL. --- ## The honest comparison [Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/delinea/) and [BeyondTrust](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/beyondtrust/) are the two vendors most shortlists reach for when [CyberArk](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/cyberark/) (now Idira, part of Palo Alto Networks) is judged too heavy. They turn up on the same shortlist often, with similar mid-market to enterprise reach and similar quote-based commercial models. Our rubric ties them on seven of ten dimensions. BeyondTrust takes the other three. It scores 4.5 against 4.0 on authorization, on governance and audit, and on deployment flexibility, and 4.5 against 4.3 overall. That is worth stating plainly rather than balancing away: Delinea does not lead a single scored dimension here. Its case rests on things the rubric does not capture, chiefly a lighter operational footprint and the direction of its acquisitions. Those acquisitions are the real story of the last two years. Delinea, backed by TPG since 2021, announced its acquisition of Fastpath in February 2024 for governance modules and then [completed its acquisition of StrongDM](https://delinea.com/news/delinea-acquires-strongdm-to-secure-ai-with-continuous-authorization) on 5 March 2026 for just-in-time runtime authorization over cloud-native infrastructure. [Delinea's own site](https://delinea.com/) now presents the result as an identity security control plane for human, machine, and AI identity, with Secret Server and Fastpath modules under one platform. BeyondTrust moved earlier and narrower, [acquiring Entitle](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/04/16/2863806/0/en/beyondtrust-acquires-entitle-strengthening-privileged-identity-security-platform-with-paradigm-shifting-just-in-time-access-and-identity-governance.html) on 16 April 2024 for cloud just-in-time access and self-serve requests across more than 150 integrations, and has otherwise defended a position it already held. That position is endpoint privilege management, which is the part of this comparison a matrix does not show. Standing local administrator rights are a routine enabler of ransomware, and BeyondTrust's ability to strip them while still allowing approved elevation is the capability buyers most often name when they pick it. Its Remote Support heritage gives it the better story for recording and controlling third-party vendor access too, which is a distinct problem from privileged access for employees. ## When Delinea wins - You want vaulting, governance, and runtime authorization under one roadmap rather than assembled from separate vendors - Secret Server's approachability matters because the team running this is small and not full-time on PAM - Cloud-native and ephemeral infrastructure is a growing share of the estate, which is what the [StrongDM](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/strongdm/) acquisition was bought to cover - Access review and change tracking through Fastpath modules would otherwise be a separate governance purchase ## When BeyondTrust wins - Removing standing local admin rights across endpoints is the security outcome the program is funded for - Third-party and vendor remote access needs recording and control, which is BeyondTrust's Remote Support heritage - The scorecard carries weight in your decision, and BeyondTrust takes authorization, governance and audit, and deployment flexibility - Buying a settled platform beats buying one still absorbing an acquisition that closed in March 2026 ## Pricing Both are quote-based and both score 3.0 on pricing transparency, a tie. Delinea prices across vaulting, session management, and cloud privilege modules with SaaS and self-hosted options, and StrongDM is now sold through Delinea as well; ask explicitly how the two are licensed together, because that packaging is new. BeyondTrust prices modularly across password and session management, endpoint privilege, and remote access, and the endpoint privilege module is often the largest line for a large workforce. Neither publishes a number, so count endpoints, privileged accounts, and third-party users before the first call and model it in the [TCO calculator](https://startwithidentity.com/tools/tco-calculator/). ## Verdict Choose [BeyondTrust](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/beyondtrust/) when endpoint privilege management or controlled third-party remote access is the reason the project exists, and when you want the option our rubric scores higher. Choose [Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/delinea/) when you want a single roadmap across vaulting, governance, and cloud runtime access, and can accept an integration that is still recent. Our assessment is that this decision usually follows the estate rather than the scorecard: a large managed-endpoint fleet points to BeyondTrust, a fast-growing cloud estate points to Delinea. For the enterprise tier see [CyberArk vs BeyondTrust](https://startwithidentity.com/compare/cyberark-vs-beyondtrust/), for the cloud-access angle see [StrongDM vs CyberArk](https://startwithidentity.com/compare/strongdm-vs-cyberark/), and browse the [PAM category](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/).