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Cybersecurity · head to head

HID Global vs Ping Identity

HID Global logo

HID Global

Cybersecurity

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ping Identity logo

Ping Identity

Cybersecurity

Enterprise identity for workforce and customers, with a 5,000 user floor

From
$3/month
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.; Ping Identity workforce pricing carries a 5,000 user annual minimum, so an organisation with 800 staff pays for 5,000 and the effective per user cost is over six times the list rate.
  • They diverge on capability: HID Global covers Physical access readers, Ping Identity covers Single sign-on.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where HID Global and Ping Identity differ
AttributeHID GlobalPing Identity
Starting priceOn request$3/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Windows

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 HID Global

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

Only in Ping Identity

  • Single sign-on
  • Adaptive MFA
  • Identity orchestration
  • API access management
  • Directory services
  • Flexible deployment
  • ForgeRock capabilities

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 Ping Identity
  • A government agency needing card issuance and PKI credentials under a national identity programmenot Ping Identity
  • A hospital consolidating access control, visitor screening and clinician authentication onto one credentialnot Ping Identity
  • An organisation retiring cloneable legacy proximity cards after a physical penetration test found them trivially copiednot Ping Identity

Ping Identity

  • A bank that must keep identity data on premises in one country while running SaaS identity elsewherenot HID Global
  • An airline or telco with tens of millions of customer identities needing a directory that holds that scalenot HID Global
  • An enterprise assembling authentication journeys that call several external verification and risk vendorsnot HID Global
  • An existing ForgeRock customer deciding what its upgrade path looks like under Ping ownershipnot 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.

Ping Identity

  • Workforce pricing carries a 5,000 user annual minimum, so an organisation with 800 staff pays for 5,000 and the effective per user cost is over six times the list rate.
  • Adaptive multi-factor authentication is in the Plus tier only, doubling the per user price for a capability many buyers assume is standard in a modern identity platform.
  • ForgeRock no longer exists as an independent product, so customers who chose it specifically to avoid Ping now face a roadmap set by the vendor they did not pick.
  • Thoma Bravo ownership across both merged companies means the commercial priority is margin, and buyers report firmer renewal negotiations than they saw before 2022.
  • The portfolio has overlapping components from three product lineages, so scoping a deployment requires vendor architects and the licensing conversation is more complicated than the price list implies.

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

Ping Identity

$3/month
  • PingOne for Workforce Essential$3/month
    • Minimum 5,000 users billed annually
    • Single sign-on and directory services
    • OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML and SCIM
  • PingOne for Workforce Plus$6/month
    • Minimum 5,000 users billed annually
    • Everything in Essential
    • Adaptive multi-factor authentication
  • PingOne for Customers Essential$35000/year
    • Flat annual fee
    • No-code identity orchestration
    • Unified customer profiles
  • PingOne for Customers Plus$50000/year
    • Flat annual fee
    • Everything in Essential
    • Adaptive MFA and device management

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 Ping Identity if

  • You need single sign-on.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want adaptive mfa.
Ping Identity review

Questions people ask

Is HID Global or Ping Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. HID Global starts at On request and Ping Identity at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HID Global or Ping Identity?
HID Global starts at On request and Ping Identity at $3/month.
Does HID Global or Ping Identity run on more platforms?
HID Global runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android. Ping Identity runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
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 Ping Identity is typically brought in for.
What can HID Global do that Ping Identity cannot?
HID Global covers Physical access readers, Mobile access, Seos credential technology, Card issuance. Ping Identity covers Single sign-on, Adaptive MFA, Identity orchestration, API access management.

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.

Ping Identity: Can I still buy ForgeRock?

Not as a separate product. Ping acquired ForgeRock in 2023 and the capabilities are sold within the Ping portfolio. Existing customers should ask about the specific migration path for their components.

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.

Ping Identity: What is the real minimum spend?

PingOne for Workforce Essential is 3 USD per user per month with a 5,000 user annual minimum, so roughly 180,000 USD a year before anything else.

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.

Ping Identity: Is MFA included?

Basic authentication policies are in Essential. Adaptive MFA and passwordless require the Plus tier at 6 USD per user per month.

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