Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

HID Global vs One Identity

HID Global logo

HID Global

Cybersecurity

Physical access control, credential issuance and workforce authentication hardware and software

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
One Identity logo

One Identity

Cybersecurity

Quest-owned identity governance, PAM and Active Directory management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: HID Global sales run through integrators, so the price you get depends on which partner quotes it and there is no published list to negotiate against.; One Identity the portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.
  • They diverge on capability: HID Global covers Physical access readers, One Identity covers Identity Manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HID Global and One Identity actually diverge.

Attributes where HID Global and One Identity differ
AttributeHID GlobalOne Identity
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, Windows, Linux

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 HID Global

  • Physical access readers
  • Mobile access
  • Seos credential technology
  • Card issuance
  • Workforce authentication
  • Visitor management

Only in One Identity

  • Identity Manager
  • Safeguard
  • Active Roles
  • OneLogin
  • Password Manager
  • syslog-ng
  • Starling connectors

What people use each for

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

HID Global

  • An enterprise moving from plastic badges to phone-based credentials without replacing every reader in the estatenot One Identity
  • A government agency needing card issuance and PKI credentials under a national identity programmenot One Identity
  • A hospital consolidating access control, visitor screening and clinician authentication onto one credentialnot One Identity
  • An organisation retiring cloneable legacy proximity cards after a physical penetration test found them trivially copiednot One Identity

One Identity

  • An organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises Active Directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level controlnot HID Global
  • A government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud servicenot HID Global
  • A manufacturer with SAP and Active Directory needing provisioning governed under one certification processnot HID Global
  • An enterprise consolidating Active Directory after an acquisition and needing automated account lifecycle across both forestsnot HID Global

Where each one falls short

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

HID Global

  • Sales run through integrators, so the price you get depends on which partner quotes it and there is no published list to negotiate against.
  • Mobile credentials are charged per identity as an ongoing fee, which converts a one-off card cost into a recurring per-employee subscription that budgets rarely anticipate.
  • Large estates run mixed generations of readers, so a credential upgrade is a multi-year hardware programme and the software licence is a small fraction of the true cost.
  • Legacy credential technologies still widely deployed have documented cloning weaknesses, and HID commercial interest in selling the replacement does not remove your exposure in the interim.
  • The portfolio spans hardware, firmware and several acquired software products, so integration between HID own components is less consistent than the single-vendor pitch implies.

One Identity

  • The portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.
  • Identity Manager implementations are customisation-heavy and commonly run over a year, with the services spend exceeding the licence cost in the first year.
  • Quest has changed private equity ownership more than once since the Dell separation, and buyers should ask directly about product investment commitments before signing a multi-year deal.
  • Product documentation and support sit behind a customer portal, which makes independent evaluation before purchase harder than with vendors that publish openly.
  • The cloud-native and developer experience trails the pure-play identity vendors, so organisations moving decisively to SaaS applications find the on premises heritage becomes a constraint rather than an asset.

Pricing, plan by plan

HID Global

On request
  • HID Access and Identity Products$undefined/year
    • Hardware, credentials and software quoted through channel partners
    • Credential costs charged per card or per mobile identity
    • Reader hardware and installation quoted separately

One Identity

On request
  • Identity Manager$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed identity
    • On premises or hosted
    • Access certification and provisioning
  • Safeguard$undefined/year
    • Priced per privileged user or per appliance
    • Hardened appliance option for session management
    • Licensed separately from Identity Manager
  • Active Roles$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed Active Directory account
    • Delegated administration and automated provisioning
    • Licensed separately

Which should you pick?

Choose HID Global if

  • You need physical access readers.
  • You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want mobile access.
HID Global review

Choose One Identity if

  • You need identity manager.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want safeguard.
One Identity review

Questions people ask

Is HID Global or One Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. HID Global starts at On request and One Identity at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HID Global or One Identity?
HID Global starts at On request and One Identity at On request.
Does HID Global or One Identity run on more platforms?
HID Global runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android. One Identity runs on Web, Windows, Linux.
What is HID Global best used for?
HID Global is most often used for an enterprise moving from plastic badges to phone-based credentials without replacing every reader in the estate, a government agency needing card issuance and pki credentials under a national identity programme, a hospital consolidating access control, visitor screening and clinician authentication onto one credential, an organisation retiring cloneable legacy proximity cards after a physical penetration test found them trivially copied. Of those, an enterprise moving from plastic badges to phone-based credentials without replacing every reader in the estate and a government agency needing card issuance and pki credentials under a national identity programme are not what One Identity is typically brought in for.
What can HID Global do that One Identity cannot?
HID Global covers Physical access readers, Mobile access, Seos credential technology, Card issuance. One Identity covers Identity Manager, Safeguard, Active Roles, OneLogin.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HID Global: Do we have to replace readers to use mobile credentials?

Often yes, at least in part. Reader capability determines which credential technologies work, and that hardware cost dominates the business case.

One Identity: Is One Identity the same company as Quest?

Yes. One Identity is Quest Software's identity and access management business unit, not a separate vendor.

HID Global: Are mobile credentials cheaper than cards?

Not necessarily. Cards are a one-off cost per employee, mobile identities are typically a recurring charge, so the crossover depends on staff turnover.

One Identity: Does it include privileged access?

Safeguard provides it, but it is licensed separately from Identity Manager. Neither includes the other.

HID Global: Can we buy directly from HID?

Generally not for access control deployments. Products are sold and installed through channel partners, so partner selection is part of the buying decision.

One Identity: Why choose this over SailPoint or Saviynt?

Almost always because of Active Directory depth via Active Roles or an appliance requirement for privileged sessions. For cloud-first estates the specialists are the stronger choice.

Share

Related pages

More on HID Global

More on One Identity

Keep looking

Other head to heads