Okta

Overview

Okta is a provider of cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) solutions, designed to secure and manage digital identities for enterprises. Established in 2009, Okta's platform addresses both workforce and customer identity requirements through distinct product offerings: the Workforce Identity Cloud and the Customer Identity Cloud (Auth0). The Workforce Identity Cloud focuses on enabling secure access for employees and partners to internal and external applications. This includes capabilities such as single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and lifecycle management, which automates user provisioning and deprovisioning across various systems. Organizations utilize these tools to enforce security policies, reduce help desk costs, and improve operational efficiency by centralizing identity administration.

The Customer Identity Cloud, which incorporates the Auth0 acquisition, is designed for developers to embed identity services directly into their customer-facing applications. This platform supports a range of authentication methods, authorization policies, and user management features, allowing businesses to create customized and secure login experiences for their end-users. It is suited for scenarios requiring high scalability, developer-friendly APIs, and support for modern authentication protocols like OIDC and OAuth 2.0. Okta also offers specialized products like Identity Governance for managing access requests and certifications, and Privileged Access for securing administrative accounts and privileged sessions.

Okta's solutions are utilized across various industries to meet compliance requirements, enhance security posture, and improve user experience. The platform integrates with a broad ecosystem of enterprise applications, cloud services, and development tools, providing a cohesive identity layer. With support for numerous SDKs across languages like JavaScript, Python, and Java, developers can implement identity features into their applications. The company maintains a strong focus on security and compliance, holding certifications such as SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS, and adhering to regulations like GDPR and HIPAA. This positions Okta as a comprehensive provider for organizations seeking to manage and secure digital identities at scale.

Key features

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Enables users to access multiple applications with one set of credentials, reducing password fatigue and enhancing security by centralizing authentication. Okta supports thousands of pre-built integrations with enterprise applications and custom SAML/OIDC integrations.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adds an extra layer of security beyond passwords, requiring users to verify their identity using multiple factors (e.g., something they know, something they have, something they are). Okta supports various MFA methods including biometrics, security keys, and push notifications.
• Lifecycle Management: Automates the provisioning and deprovisioning of user accounts across cloud applications and on-premises systems. This streamlines onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring timely access removal and compliance.
• API Security: Protects APIs by enforcing access policies, token validation, and secure authentication mechanisms. Okta provides tools for managing API access, ensuring only authorized applications and users can interact with APIs.
• Universal Directory: A cloud-based directory service that stores and manages user profiles from various sources, including Active Directory, LDAP, and HR systems. It centralizes identity data for consistent access control.
• Access Gateway: Extends Okta's identity management capabilities to on-premises applications, allowing secure access to legacy systems without requiring them to be re-written for cloud environments.
• Identity Governance: Provides tools for managing access requests, certifications, and approvals, ensuring that users have appropriate access privileges and that compliance requirements are met.
• Privileged Access: Secures access to critical infrastructure and administrative accounts by providing just-in-time access, session recording, and granular control over privileged operations.

Pricing

Okta's pricing model varies significantly between its Workforce Identity Cloud and Customer Identity Cloud offerings, with different tiers and features impacting the final cost. Pricing is generally structured on a per-user basis for workforce solutions and based on Monthly Active Users (MAU) for customer identity solutions, often with annual billing. The table below summarizes the starting points for some core services as of May 2026.

For detailed pricing and feature comparisons across various tiers and specific products, organizations are encouraged to consult the official Okta pricing page or contact their sales team for a custom quote, especially for enterprise-level deployments.

Common integrations

• Microsoft Active Directory & Azure Active Directory: Synchronize user identities and groups from on-premises Active Directory or Azure AD to Okta's Universal Directory for centralized management and access control. Okta AD Agent installation guide.
• Salesforce: Provide SSO for Salesforce users, manage user provisioning, and secure access to Salesforce instances. Salesforce SSO with Okta.
• Workday: Automate user lifecycle management by integrating with Workday as a master source of truth for employee identities, streamlining onboarding and offboarding. Workday Integration Overview.
• AWS: Enable federated access to AWS management console and services using Okta as the identity provider, simplifying access management for cloud resources. AWS and Okta Identity Federation.
• Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): Secure access to Google Workspace applications (Gmail, Drive, Calendar) with Okta SSO and MFA. Google Workspace SSO Configuration.
• Slack: Integrate Okta for SSO and SCIM provisioning to manage user access and membership in Slack workspaces. Slack Provisioning with Okta.
• Custom Applications: Utilize Okta's SDKs and API reference to integrate identity services into custom-built web, mobile, and API-driven applications. Okta Developer Documentation.

Alternatives

• Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory): A cloud-based identity and access management service from Microsoft, offering similar SSO, MFA, and identity governance capabilities, particularly strong for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Ping Identity: Provides enterprise identity solutions for workforce and customer use cases, including SSO, MFA, directory services, and API security. Ping Identity offers both cloud and on-premises deployments.
• ForgeRock: Delivers a comprehensive digital identity platform for consumers, workforce, and things, focusing on advanced access management, directory services, and identity governance.
• Auth0 (now part of Okta): Prior to its acquisition, Auth0 was a developer-focused platform for customer identity and access management (CIAM), offering flexible authentication and authorization tools. Its capabilities are now integrated into Okta's Customer Identity Cloud.
• Cloudflare Zero Trust: While not a direct 1:1 replacement for all Okta features, Cloudflare Zero Trust provides an alternative approach to secure application access without a traditional VPN, often used in conjunction with identity providers or as a standalone access management solution for certain use cases.

Getting started

To get started with Okta for customer identity, you can use the Customer Identity Cloud (Auth0) Developer Free plan. This example demonstrates how to set up a basic Node.js application to authenticate users using the Okta (Auth0) SDK.

First, ensure you have Node.js and npm installed. Then, install the Auth0 Node.js SDK:

npm install express express-openid-connect dotenv

Next, create a .env file in your project root and add your Okta (Auth0) domain and client ID. You'll obtain these from your Okta (Auth0) dashboard after creating a new application. The clientSecret is also crucial for production environments:

AUTH0_SECRET='YOUR_LONG_RANDOM_SECRET'
AUTH0_ISSUER_BASE_URL='https://YOUR_OKTA_DOMAIN.okta.com' # Or your Auth0 tenant domain
AUTH0_CLIENT_ID='YOUR_CLIENT_ID'
AUTH0_BASE_URL='http://localhost:3000' # Your application's URL

Now, create an app.js file:

require('dotenv').config();
const express = require('express');
const { auth } = require('express-openid-connect');

const app = express();
const port = 3000;

const config = {
  authRequired: false,
  auth0Logout: true,
  secret: process.env.AUTH0_SECRET,
  baseURL: process.env.AUTH0_BASE_URL,
  clientID: process.env.AUTH0_CLIENT_ID,
  issuerBaseURL: process.env.AUTH0_ISSUER_BASE_URL,
};

// auth router attaches /login, /logout, and /callback routes to the baseURL
app.use(auth(config));

// req.isAuthenticated is now available
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send(
    req.oidc.isAuthenticated() ? 'Logged in <p><a href="/profile">Profile</a></p><p><a href="/logout">Logout</a></p>' : 'Logged out <p><a href="/login">Login</a></p>'
  );
});

app.get('/profile', req.oidc.ensureAuthenticated(), (req, res) => {
  res.send(JSON.stringify(req.oidc.user, null, 2));
});

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Example app listening on port ${port}`);
});

Run the application:

node app.js

Navigate to http://localhost:3000 in your browser. You will see options to log in or log out. Clicking "Login" will redirect you to your Okta (Auth0) hosted login page. After successful authentication, you will be redirected back to your application, and your user profile information will be accessible via the /profile route. For more detailed instructions and advanced configurations, refer to the Okta (Auth0) developer documentation.