# IAM Platforms Compared: Five Scored Side by Side

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-iam-platforms/
Last updated: 2026-09-20
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

---

This is a side-by-side scorecard rather than a shopping list. Five workforce [IAM](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-iam/) platforms scored against one rubric.

## Where this category splits

**Vendor-neutral platforms** integrate with everything and favour no ecosystem. That neutrality is the product, and it is what you pay for. It matters in genuinely heterogeneous, multi-cloud estates.

**Ecosystem-native platforms** come bundled with licensing you may already hold and integrate natively with one stack. If you are Microsoft-centric, you are very likely paying twice by not using what you own.

**Deployment shape** disqualifies before price does. SaaS-only platforms cannot serve air-gapped or strict on-premises requirements at any budget. Check this first.

## What none of them solve

Authorization beyond role and group assignment is thin across every platform in this category. If you need relationship-based or attribute-based permissions inside your applications, that is a separate purchase, not a reason to switch identity provider. See [open-source authorization service](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-7-open-source-authorization-tools/).

## How to read these scores

Every vendor is scored on the same [10-dimension rubric](https://startwithidentity.com/methodology/). Scores are comparative within the category, not absolute. They do not price your deployment, do not measure fit with your existing stack, and do not predict vendor stability, which in identity has mattered more than features lately.

## Where to go next

For the full field, see [top 10 enterprise IAM platforms](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-10-enterprise-iam-platforms-2026/). For self-hosted options, see [top 10 open-source IAM solutions](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-10-open-source-iam-solutions/). For the evaluation process, see [how to choose an IAM platform](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/buyer-guides/how-to-choose-an-iam-platform/). To browse every profile, see the [IAM vendor directory](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/iam/).