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Cybersecurity · head to head

Ping Identity vs pnpm

Ping Identity logo

Ping Identity

Cybersecurity

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

From
$3/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
pnpm logo

pnpm

Developer Tools

Fast, disk space efficient package manager

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only pnpm has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; pnpm requires command-line proficiency to use
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ping Identity and pnpm actually diverge.

Attributes where Ping Identity and pnpm differ
AttributePing Identitypnpm
Starting price$3/monthFree
Pricing modelPer user per monthUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, WindowsLinux, Windows, macOS
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Ping Identity

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

Only in pnpm

Nothing recorded that Ping Identity does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Ping Identity

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

pnpm

  • Installing dependencies faster than npm in monorepo workspacesnot Ping Identity
  • Sharing common dependencies across multiple projects to save disk spacenot Ping Identity
  • Preventing dependency version conflicts in workspace environmentsnot Ping Identity
  • Managing workspaces with many interdependent packagesnot Ping Identity

Where each one falls short

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

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.

pnpm

  • Requires command-line proficiency to use
  • Community-driven support only

Pricing, plan by plan

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

pnpm

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the pnpm review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Ping Identity if

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

Choose pnpm if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS.
pnpm review

Questions people ask

Is Ping Identity or pnpm better?
Neither clearly leads. Ping Identity starts at $3/month and pnpm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ping Identity or pnpm?
pnpm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month for Ping Identity and Free for pnpm.
Does Ping Identity or pnpm run on more platforms?
Ping Identity runs on Web, Linux, Windows. pnpm runs on Linux, Windows, macOS.
Can I use pnpm for free?
Yes. pnpm has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ping Identity starts at $3/month.
What is Ping Identity best used for?
Ping Identity is most often used for a bank that must keep identity data on premises in one country while running saas identity elsewhere, an airline or telco with tens of millions of customer identities needing a directory that holds that scale, an enterprise assembling authentication journeys that call several external verification and risk vendors, an existing forgerock customer deciding what its upgrade path looks like under ping ownership. Of those, a bank that must keep identity data on premises in one country while running saas identity elsewhere and an airline or telco with tens of millions of customer identities needing a directory that holds that scale are not what pnpm is typically brought in for.
What can Ping Identity do that pnpm cannot?
Ping Identity covers Single sign-on, Adaptive MFA, Identity orchestration, API access management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

pnpm: Is pnpm free and open source?

Yes. pnpm is free and open source software developed for Node.js. Version 10 and 11 are currently available.

Source
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.

pnpm: How does pnpm save disk space?

pnpm uses a content-addressable store with hard linking and symlinks to avoid duplication. All files are saved in a single place on disk and hard-linked to individual projects, dramatically reducing storage requirements compared to npm.

Source
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.

pnpm: Is pnpm faster than npm?

Yes. pnpm performs installation in three stages: dependency resolution, directory structure calculation, and linking. Packages are fetched and linked as soon as possible, making it significantly faster than npm's sequential approach.

Source
pnpm: Does pnpm support monorepos?

Yes. pnpm has built-in support for monorepositories. You can create a workspace using pnpm-workspace.yaml to unite multiple projects in a single repository.

Source
pnpm: How does pnpm handle node_modules differently than npm?

pnpm uses symlinks to add only direct dependencies to node_modules root, preventing accidental access to undeclared dependencies. This encourages more explicit dependency management compared to npm's flattened node_modules structure.

Source
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