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Cybersecurity · head to head

Delinea vs Google Authenticator

Delinea logo

Delinea

Cybersecurity

Privileged access management from the merged Thycotic and Centrify

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Authenticator logo

Google Authenticator

Cybersecurity

Free TOTP two-factor authentication app that gained optional cloud sync in 2023

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Authenticator 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.; Google Authenticator enabling cloud sync moves the security boundary for your 2FA codes to your Google account, so a compromised Google account can expose the same codes syncing was meant to protect.
  • They diverge on capability: Delinea covers Secret Server, Google Authenticator covers TOTP code generation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Delinea and Google Authenticator actually diverge.

Attributes where Delinea and Google Authenticator differ
AttributeDelineaGoogle Authenticator
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree, no in-app purchases
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Linux, macOSiOS, Android

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 Google Authenticator

  • TOTP code generation
  • QR code setup
  • Optional Google account sync
  • Offline generation
  • Manual entry

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 Google Authenticator
  • A mid-market IT team that abandoned a heavier PAM rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeksnot Google Authenticator
  • A company removing local administrator rights from every workstation after a ransomware incidentnot Google Authenticator
  • An audit finding that shared service account passwords are stored in a spreadsheet and used by contractorsnot Google Authenticator

Google Authenticator

  • Someone setting up two-factor authentication on a website that asks for a TOTP appnot Delinea
  • A user who wants codes to survive a lost or replaced phone via account syncnot Delinea
  • Someone who prefers a simple, free, single-purpose authenticator over a password manager's built-in onenot Delinea
  • A person migrating between phones who wants existing 2FA codes to transfer automaticallynot 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.

Google Authenticator

  • Enabling cloud sync moves the security boundary for your 2FA codes to your Google account, so a compromised Google account can expose the same codes syncing was meant to protect.
  • It has no built-in backup export in a portable format, so moving away from Google Authenticator to another app usually means resetting 2FA on every individual service.
  • It lacks organisational features such as folders, search or notes that some competing authenticator apps offer for people managing many accounts.
  • There is no desktop app, so codes must be read off a phone screen when logging in from a computer.
  • If sync is off and the phone is lost without a separate backup, all codes are unrecoverable and every linked account needs its 2FA reset through account recovery.

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

Google Authenticator

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited accounts and codes
    • Optional Google account cloud sync
    • No ads

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 Google Authenticator if

  • You need totp code generation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want qr code setup.
Google Authenticator review

Questions people ask

Is Delinea or Google Authenticator better?
Neither clearly leads. Delinea starts at On request and Google Authenticator at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Delinea or Google Authenticator?
Google Authenticator has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Delinea and Free for Google Authenticator.
Does Delinea or Google Authenticator run on more platforms?
Delinea runs on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS. Google Authenticator runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Google Authenticator for free?
Yes. Google Authenticator 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 Google Authenticator is typically brought in for.
What can Delinea do that Google Authenticator cannot?
Delinea covers Secret Server, Privileged session recording, Privilege Manager, Server PAM. Google Authenticator covers TOTP code generation, QR code setup, Optional Google account sync, Offline generation.

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.

Google Authenticator: Does Google Authenticator cost anything?

No, it is free with no subscription or in-app purchases.

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.

Google Authenticator: Is cloud sync safe?

Google documents it as protected by your Google account security. Whether that is an acceptable trade-off versus device-only storage is debated; you can turn sync off if you prefer local-only codes.

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.

Google Authenticator: Can I export my codes to another app?

There is no official bulk export; moving to a different authenticator typically requires re-adding each account from its setup page.

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