Softwr

Government · head to head

Azure Government vs Beyond Identity

Azure Government logo

Azure Government

Government

Trusted Cloud for Government

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Beyond Identity logo

Beyond Identity

Cybersecurity

Phishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Azure Government restricted to US government entities, their solution providers and contractors handling government data, with Microsoft validating eligibility first; Beyond Identity it is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Azure Government and Beyond Identity actually diverge.

Attributes where Azure Government and Beyond Identity differ
AttributeAzure GovernmentBeyond Identity
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Azure Government

  • FedRAMP High Authorized
  • DOD IL5 Approved
  • Isolated Datacenters
  • Hybrid Cloud
  • AI & ML Services
  • Microsoft 365
  • Dynamics 365
  • Power Platform

Only in Beyond Identity

  • Device-bound credentials
  • Continuous device posture
  • No shared secrets
  • Identity provider integration
  • Secure developer signing
  • Administrator policy engine

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Azure Government

  • Hosting US government workloads in dedicated domestic datacentresnot Beyond Identity
  • Systems needing FedRAMP High, DoD IL2 to IL5, CJIS or ITAR authorisationnot Beyond Identity
  • State, local and tribal government cloud servicesnot Beyond Identity
  • Contractors processing controlled government datanot Beyond Identity

Beyond Identity

  • An organisation that suffered a breach through MFA push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineerednot Azure Government
  • A software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patchesnot Azure Government
  • A firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systemsnot Azure Government
  • A security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on topnot Azure Government

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Azure Government

  • Restricted to US government entities, their solution providers and contractors handling government data, with Microsoft validating eligibility first
  • A narrower service catalogue than commercial Azure
  • New features arrive later than in the commercial regions
  • Pricing is not published and runs through federal contract vehicles such as JWCC, GSA and NASA SEWP

Beyond Identity

  • It is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • Every device that authenticates needs the platform authenticator installed, which makes onboarding contractors, third parties and shared kiosks awkward and sometimes impossible.
  • Pricing is quoted per user with no published rates, so buyers cannot benchmark it against the increasingly capable passkey support now included in identity provider base licences.
  • Losing all enrolled devices requires an administrative recovery path, and organisations that design that path poorly reintroduce a social-engineering target at the helpdesk.
  • Legacy applications that only speak passwords or older protocols need a federation shim or stay outside the policy, so coverage is rarely complete in an estate with old systems.

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Government

On request
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Virtual Machines
    • Azure SQL
    • Storage

Beyond Identity

On request
  • Secure Access Platform$undefined/year
    • Per-user annual subscription quoted by seat count
    • Deployed alongside an existing identity provider rather than replacing it
    • Device posture integrations with major EDR and MDM vendors included

Which should you pick?

Choose Azure Government if

  • You need fedramp high authorized.
  • You work on Web, Cli, Sdk.
  • You also want dod il5 approved.
Azure Government review

Choose Beyond Identity if

  • You need device-bound credentials.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want continuous device posture.
Beyond Identity review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Government or Beyond Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Government starts at On request and Beyond Identity at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Government or Beyond Identity?
Azure Government starts at On request and Beyond Identity at On request.
Does Azure Government or Beyond Identity run on more platforms?
Azure Government runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Beyond Identity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
What is Azure Government best used for?
Azure Government is most often used for hosting us government workloads in dedicated domestic datacentres, systems needing fedramp high, dod il2 to il5, cjis or itar authorisation, state, local and tribal government cloud services, contractors processing controlled government data. Of those, hosting us government workloads in dedicated domestic datacentres and systems needing fedramp high, dod il2 to il5, cjis or itar authorisation are not what Beyond Identity is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Government do that Beyond Identity cannot?
Azure Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, DOD IL5 Approved, Isolated Datacenters, Hybrid Cloud. Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Continuous device posture, No shared secrets, Identity provider integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Azure Government: How is Azure Government pricing determined?

Azure pricing follows a pay-as-you-go model where you only pay for services you use. Prices vary by product, region, and usage patterns. Committed use discounts and reserved instances can save up to 65% for compute services.

Source
Beyond Identity: Does it replace Okta or Entra ID?

No. It sits in front of them as the authentication method. Budget for both.

Beyond Identity: What happens when a user loses their laptop?

They authenticate from another enrolled device, or go through an administrative recovery flow. Designing that recovery well matters, because it is the weakest point.

Beyond Identity: Is it different from passkeys?

The credential mechanism is similar in spirit. The difference is enforcing device security posture at every authentication, which standard passkeys do not do.

Share

Related pages

More on Azure Government

More on Beyond Identity

Keep looking

Other head to heads