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Cybersecurity · head to head

BigID vs Entrust Identity as a Service

BigID logo

BigID

Cybersecurity

Data discovery and classification across cloud, on-premise and unstructured stores

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Entrust Identity as a Service logo

Entrust Identity as a Service

Cybersecurity

Workforce and customer authentication from a certificate authority

From
$2/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: BigID pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.; Entrust Identity as a Service the application integration catalogue is smaller than that of the dedicated identity vendors, so uncommon SaaS applications more often need custom SAML configuration rather than a template.
  • They diverge on capability: BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Entrust Identity as a Service covers Multi-factor authentication.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigID and Entrust Identity as a Service actually diverge.

Attributes where BigID and Entrust Identity as a Service differ
AttributeBigIDEntrust Identity as a Service
Starting priceOn request$2/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
PlatformsWeb, API, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 BigID

  • Structured and unstructured scanning
  • Identity correlation
  • Data security posture management
  • Access intelligence
  • Privacy request support
  • Retention and minimisation
  • AI data controls
  • Policy and remediation workflow

Only in Entrust Identity as a Service

  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Single sign-on
  • Adaptive authentication
  • Passwordless login
  • Credential lifecycle
  • Derived PIV credentials
  • Directory integration

What people use each for

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

BigID

  • A bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migrationnot Entrust Identity as a Service
  • A privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s recordsnot Entrust Identity as a Service
  • A security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker doesnot Entrust Identity as a Service
  • A company building retrieval augmented AI that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a modelnot Entrust Identity as a Service

Entrust Identity as a Service

  • A government agency needing derived mobile credentials from an existing PIV smart card estatenot BigID
  • A bank that must support hardware tokens for corporate treasury users alongside push authentication for staffnot BigID
  • An organisation already buying Entrust certificates that wants credential issuance and authentication from one vendornot BigID
  • A defence supplier required to use certificate-based authentication that mainstream cloud identity products handle poorlynot BigID

Where each one falls short

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

BigID

  • Pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.
  • Scanning large unstructured estates is slow and computationally expensive, so most organisations sample rather than scan everything, which reintroduces uncertainty into the very question they bought the tool to settle.
  • Classification accuracy on messy unstructured content requires tuning, and out of the box false positives on things like reference numbers create a large triage backlog that a small governance team cannot clear.
  • It discovers and reports but does not remediate, so realising value requires a separate process and often separate tooling to actually delete, restrict or move the data it flags.
  • It is built for large enterprises and both the price and the administrative overhead are disproportionate below a few thousand employees, where a lighter DSPM tool covers the security use case for far less.

Entrust Identity as a Service

  • The application integration catalogue is smaller than that of the dedicated identity vendors, so uncommon SaaS applications more often need custom SAML configuration rather than a template.
  • Developer experience for customer identity use cases is behind the specialists, and teams building consumer signup flows will find the APIs and documentation less complete.
  • Advanced capabilities including adaptive authentication and credential management sit above the published entry price, so the two dollar figure rarely reflects what a regulated buyer actually spends.
  • There are two overlapping products, Identity as a Service and Identity Enterprise, and choosing wrongly at the start means a migration later rather than a licence change.
  • Identity governance, access certification and privileged access are not covered, so an organisation with audit-driven access review requirements needs a second vendor alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

BigID

On request
  • BigID Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by number of data sources and data volume
    • Discovery and classification core
    • Optional DSPM, access intelligence and AI security modules licensed separately

Entrust Identity as a Service

$2/month
  • Workforce Standard$2/month
    • Multi-factor authentication
    • Single sign-on
    • Directory integration
  • Higher tiers$undefined/month
    • Adaptive risk-based authentication
    • Certificate and smart card credential management
    • Derived PIV credentials

Which should you pick?

Choose BigID if

  • You need structured and unstructured scanning.
  • You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
  • You also want identity correlation.
BigID review

Choose Entrust Identity as a Service if

  • You need multi-factor authentication.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want single sign-on.
Entrust Identity as a Service review

Questions people ask

Is BigID or Entrust Identity as a Service better?
Neither clearly leads. BigID starts at On request and Entrust Identity as a Service at $2/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigID or Entrust Identity as a Service?
BigID starts at On request and Entrust Identity as a Service at $2/month.
Does BigID or Entrust Identity as a Service run on more platforms?
BigID runs on Web, API, Self-hosted. Entrust Identity as a Service runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux.
What is BigID best used for?
BigID is most often used for a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration, a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records, a security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker does, a company building retrieval augmented ai that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a model. Of those, a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration and a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records are not what Entrust Identity as a Service is typically brought in for.
What can BigID do that Entrust Identity as a Service cannot?
BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Identity correlation, Data security posture management, Access intelligence. Entrust Identity as a Service covers Multi-factor authentication, Single sign-on, Adaptive authentication, Passwordless login.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BigID: What does BigID cost?

It is quoted by data source count and volume. Reported contracts run from roughly 15,000 to 175,000 US dollars a year, and add-on modules such as AI security posture are licensed on top.

Entrust Identity as a Service: Is MFA included or extra?

Multi-factor authentication is included in the workforce bundles rather than sold separately, which is not true of every competitor. Adaptive risk-based authentication sits in higher tiers.

BigID: Does it handle unstructured data?

Yes, and that is its main advantage. It classifies data in files and shares and correlates findings back to individuals, not just to data types.

Entrust Identity as a Service: Does it do identity governance?

No. Access certification, role mining and joiner-mover-leaver governance require a separate product such as SailPoint or Saviynt.

BigID: Will it delete the data it finds?

Not by itself in most deployments. It identifies and routes findings; deletion and remediation happen through your own processes or connected systems.

Entrust Identity as a Service: Why choose this over Okta or Entra ID?

Almost always because of PKI, smart cards or derived credentials. Without that requirement the mainstream platforms are the stronger general purpose choice.

BigID: Is it a privacy tool or a security tool?

Both are sold from the same discovery core. Buyers increasingly come from security wanting data security posture management rather than from legal wanting privacy.

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