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Government · head to head

Azure Government vs Ping Identity

Azure Government logo

Azure Government

Government

Trusted Cloud for Government

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Ping Identity logo

Ping Identity

Cybersecurity

Enterprise identity for workforce and customers, with a 5,000 user floor

From
$3/month
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; Ping Identity workforce pricing carries a 5,000 user annual minimum, so an organisation with 800 staff pays for 5,000 and the effective per user cost is over six times the list rate.
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Ping Identity covers Single sign-on.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Azure Government and Ping Identity differ
AttributeAzure GovernmentPing Identity
Starting priceOn request$3/month
Pricing modelusage-basedPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkWeb, Linux, Windows
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Ping Identity

  • Single sign-on
  • Adaptive MFA
  • Identity orchestration
  • API access management
  • Directory services
  • Flexible deployment
  • ForgeRock capabilities

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 Ping Identity
  • Systems needing FedRAMP High, DoD IL2 to IL5, CJIS or ITAR authorisationnot Ping Identity
  • State, local and tribal government cloud servicesnot Ping Identity
  • Contractors processing controlled government datanot Ping Identity

Ping Identity

  • A bank that must keep identity data on premises in one country while running SaaS identity elsewherenot Azure Government
  • An airline or telco with tens of millions of customer identities needing a directory that holds that scalenot Azure Government
  • An enterprise assembling authentication journeys that call several external verification and risk vendorsnot Azure Government
  • An existing ForgeRock customer deciding what its upgrade path looks like under Ping ownershipnot 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

Ping Identity

  • Workforce pricing carries a 5,000 user annual minimum, so an organisation with 800 staff pays for 5,000 and the effective per user cost is over six times the list rate.
  • Adaptive multi-factor authentication is in the Plus tier only, doubling the per user price for a capability many buyers assume is standard in a modern identity platform.
  • ForgeRock no longer exists as an independent product, so customers who chose it specifically to avoid Ping now face a roadmap set by the vendor they did not pick.
  • Thoma Bravo ownership across both merged companies means the commercial priority is margin, and buyers report firmer renewal negotiations than they saw before 2022.
  • The portfolio has overlapping components from three product lineages, so scoping a deployment requires vendor architects and the licensing conversation is more complicated than the price list implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Government

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

Ping Identity

$3/month
  • PingOne for Workforce Essential$3/month
    • Minimum 5,000 users billed annually
    • Single sign-on and directory services
    • OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML and SCIM
  • PingOne for Workforce Plus$6/month
    • Minimum 5,000 users billed annually
    • Everything in Essential
    • Adaptive multi-factor authentication
  • PingOne for Customers Essential$35000/year
    • Flat annual fee
    • No-code identity orchestration
    • Unified customer profiles
  • PingOne for Customers Plus$50000/year
    • Flat annual fee
    • Everything in Essential
    • Adaptive MFA and device management

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 Ping Identity if

  • You need single sign-on.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want adaptive mfa.
Ping Identity review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Government or Ping Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Government starts at On request and Ping Identity at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Government or Ping Identity?
Azure Government starts at On request and Ping Identity at $3/month.
Does Azure Government or Ping Identity run on more platforms?
Azure Government runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Ping Identity runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
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 Ping Identity is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Government do that Ping Identity cannot?
Azure Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, DOD IL5 Approved, Isolated Datacenters, Hybrid Cloud. Ping Identity covers Single sign-on, Adaptive MFA, Identity orchestration, API access management.

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
Ping Identity: Can I still buy ForgeRock?

Not as a separate product. Ping acquired ForgeRock in 2023 and the capabilities are sold within the Ping portfolio. Existing customers should ask about the specific migration path for their components.

Ping Identity: What is the real minimum spend?

PingOne for Workforce Essential is 3 USD per user per month with a 5,000 user annual minimum, so roughly 180,000 USD a year before anything else.

Ping Identity: Is MFA included?

Basic authentication policies are in Essential. Adaptive MFA and passwordless require the Plus tier at 6 USD per user per month.

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