Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Delinea vs Windscribe

Delinea logo

Delinea

Cybersecurity

Privileged access management from the merged Thycotic and Centrify

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
W

Windscribe

Cybersecurity

VPN and firewall service with a generous free data tier and a customizable Build-A-Plan option

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Windscribe 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.; Windscribe free tier's 10GB cap still requires email confirmation and social sharing to unlock, unlike some no-strings-attached competitors.
  • They diverge on capability: Delinea covers Secret Server, Windscribe covers Firewall / default block.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Delinea and Windscribe actually diverge.

Attributes where Delinea and Windscribe differ
AttributeDelineaWindscribe
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Linux, macOSwindows, mac, linux, ios, android, web

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 Windscribe

  • Firewall / default block
  • Unlimited simultaneous devices
  • Build-A-Plan
  • R.O.B.E.R.T. content blocker
  • Static IP and port forwarding add-ons

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

Windscribe

  • Running a free VPN across unlimited personal devicesnot Delinea
  • Buying access to just a few specific server locations cheaplynot Delinea
  • Blocking ads and trackers at the DNS level while browsingnot Delinea
  • Preventing IP leaks with a default-block firewall rulenot 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.

Windscribe

  • Free tier's 10GB cap still requires email confirmation and social sharing to unlock, unlike some no-strings-attached competitors.
  • Build-A-Plan's low cost only covers selected locations, so broad global coverage still requires the full Pro plan.
  • Server speeds and streaming reliability are inconsistent compared to larger premium VPN providers.
  • Customer support is primarily ticket/community-based rather than live chat for lower tiers.

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

Windscribe

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10GB of data per month with confirmed email
    • 10 server countries
    • Unlimited devices
  • Build-A-Plan$3/month
    • Pay per selected server location ($1/location)
    • $3 minimum purchase
    • Unlimited data on selected locations
  • Pro$9/month
    • Unlimited data
    • 69+ countries
    • $69/year on annual billing

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 Windscribe if

  • You need firewall / default block.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android, web.
  • You also want unlimited simultaneous devices.
Windscribe review

Questions people ask

Is Delinea or Windscribe better?
Neither clearly leads. Delinea starts at On request and Windscribe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Delinea or Windscribe?
Windscribe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Delinea and Free for Windscribe.
Does Delinea or Windscribe run on more platforms?
Delinea runs on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS. Windscribe runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android, web.
Can I use Windscribe for free?
Yes. Windscribe 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 Windscribe is typically brought in for.
What can Delinea do that Windscribe cannot?
Delinea covers Secret Server, Privileged session recording, Privilege Manager, Server PAM. Windscribe covers Firewall / default block, Unlimited simultaneous devices, Build-A-Plan, R.O.B.E.R.T. content blocker.

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.

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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Delinea

More on Windscribe

Keep looking

Other head to heads