Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Delinea vs Descope

Delinea logo

Delinea

Cybersecurity

Privileged access management from the merged Thycotic and Centrify

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Descope logo

Descope

Cybersecurity

No-code drag-and-drop authentication platform.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Descope has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Delinea the Thycotic and Centrify lineages are integrated unevenly, so buying the full portfolio means running consoles and agents that do not share one administrative model as cleanly as the marketing suggests.; Descope free tier capped at 7,500 MAU; Pro tier at 10,000 MAU, Growth tier at 25,000 MAU, forcing migration to Enterprise for larger organisations
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Delinea and Descope actually diverge.

Attributes where Delinea and Descope differ
AttributeDelineaDescope
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Linux, macOSWeb, iOS, Android, API

Identical on both: 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 Delinea

  • Secret Server
  • Privileged session recording
  • Privilege Manager
  • Server PAM
  • Discovery
  • DevOps secrets
  • Behaviour analytics

Only in Descope

Nothing recorded that Delinea does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Delinea

  • An organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotatednot Descope
  • A mid-market IT team that abandoned a heavier PAM rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeksnot Descope
  • A company removing local administrator rights from every workstation after a ransomware incidentnot Descope
  • An audit finding that shared service account passwords are stored in a spreadsheet and used by contractorsnot Descope

Descope

  • Organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom developmentnot Delinea
  • Companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, AI agents) in single platformnot Delinea
  • Multi-tenant B2B2C SaaS applications requiring per-organisation identity policiesnot Delinea
  • Teams building passwordless-first authentication experiencesnot Delinea
  • Healthcare and regulated industries requiring HIPAA-compliant identity managementnot Delinea

Where each one falls short

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

Delinea

  • The Thycotic and Centrify lineages are integrated unevenly, so buying the full portfolio means running consoles and agents that do not share one administrative model as cleanly as the marketing suggests.
  • Modules are licensed separately by different units, per privileged user for the vault and per endpoint for privilege management, which makes total cost hard to model and easy to underestimate at scale.
  • Delinea does not publish rates, so buyers benchmark against third party and public sector listings; expect list prices to be negotiable by a wide margin, which means the first quote is not the price.
  • Thoma Bravo ownership since 2021 has coincided with firmer renewal pricing, and buyers with a single-vendor PAM estate have little leverage once credentials are inside the vault.
  • Migrating out of a privileged access vault is a genuinely hard project because every automated process that fetches a secret has to be repointed, so the switching cost is real and the vendor knows it.

Descope

  • Free tier capped at 7,500 MAU; Pro tier at 10,000 MAU, Growth tier at 25,000 MAU, forcing migration to Enterprise for larger organisations
  • HIPAA compliance only available in Growth tier ($799/mo) and above; not included in lower-priced plans
  • No-code UI builder provides pre-built flows but still requires custom frontend development for fully-branded authentication experiences
  • All paid tiers billed annually; no monthly billing option for commitment-free flexibility
  • Bot protection features available only in Growth tier and above

Pricing, plan by plan

Delinea

On request
  • Secret Server$undefined/year
    • Priced per privileged user, tiered by edition
    • Cloud or on premises deployment
    • Session recording in higher editions
  • Privilege Manager$undefined/year
    • Priced per endpoint
    • Local admin rights removal and application elevation
    • Licensed separately from Secret Server
  • Server PAM$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed server or per privileged user
    • Just-in-time server access
    • Licensed separately

Descope

Free
  • Free ForeverFree
    • 7,500 monthly active users
    • Basic authentication
    • Community support
  • Pro$249/month
    • 10,000 monthly active users
    • Custom domains
    • CI/CD integration
  • Growth$799/month
    • 25,000 monthly active users
    • Bot protection
    • Fine-grained authorisation
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly active users
    • Tiered discounts
    • Premium support with dedicated CS engineer

Which should you pick?

Choose Delinea if

  • You need secret server.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want privileged session recording.
Delinea review

Choose Descope if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Descope review

Questions people ask

Is Delinea or Descope better?
Neither clearly leads. Delinea starts at On request and Descope at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Delinea or Descope?
Descope has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Delinea and Free for Descope.
Does Delinea or Descope run on more platforms?
Delinea runs on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS. Descope runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use Descope for free?
Yes. Descope has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Delinea starts at On request.
What is Delinea best used for?
Delinea is most often used for an organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotated, a mid-market it team that abandoned a heavier pam rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeks, a company removing local administrator rights from every workstation after a ransomware incident, an audit finding that shared service account passwords are stored in a spreadsheet and used by contractors. Of those, an organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotated and a mid-market it team that abandoned a heavier pam rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeks are not what Descope is typically brought in for.
What can Delinea do that Descope cannot?
Delinea covers Secret Server, Privileged session recording, Privilege Manager, Server PAM.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Delinea: Is Delinea the same as Thycotic?

Delinea is the merged company formed from Thycotic and Centrify in 2021. Secret Server is the former Thycotic product; the server access products come from Centrify.

Descope: Can I build custom authentication flows without code?

Yes. Descope's drag-and-drop workflow interface allows you to construct and modify signup, login, MFA and SSO flows without code changes.

Source
Delinea: Is pricing published?

Not by Delinea. Public sector frameworks have listed Secret Server Cloud around 348 GBP per user per year, which is a reference point, not a quote.

Descope: Does Descope support AI agent authentication?

Yes. Descope supports building identity journeys for AI agents and MCP servers, including scoped OAuth tokens and delegation chains.

Source
Delinea: Does one licence cover endpoints and servers?

No. Secret Server, Privilege Manager and Server PAM are separately licensed on different units. Scope all three if your requirement spans them.

Descope: Is Descope HIPAA compliant?

HIPAA compliance is available in Growth tier and above, starting at $799/month.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Delinea

More on Descope

Keep looking

Other head to heads