Customer identity and access management · October 2026 Edition
Descope vs Microsoft Entra External ID
One of fourteen models named Descope first on the direct prompt; zero named Microsoft Entra External ID. Descope was named by eleven of the fourteen models and Microsoft Entra External ID by fourteen and Descope carries 20 labels and Microsoft Entra External ID 39, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in four categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share5%4%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%23%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#8A position in a field of 14; printed, not drawn.
Labels2039A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Descope reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Clerk was named alongside these two in nine of the fourteen direct answers. Frontegg vs Descope · Frontegg vs Microsoft Entra External ID · Auth0 vs Descope
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the customer identity and access management page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
DescopeFirst choices, of fourteen modelsMicrosoft Entra External ID
Direct10
Paraphrase001 against Microsoft Entra External ID
Comparative002 against Microsoft Entra External ID
Budget-constrained22
Scale-constrained001 against Microsoft Entra External ID
Negative105 against Microsoft Entra External ID
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Descope and Microsoft Entra External ID stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | ||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | ||
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | |||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | | | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Descope Microsoft Entra External ID first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Descope on the left and Microsoft Entra External ID on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Descope and Microsoft Entra External ID stood in it.
Descope first, Microsoft Entra External ID not the choice
1 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Entra External ID was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Descope, Frontegg alternatives: OneWelcome Identity Platform, SSOJet, WorkOS
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Perplexity SonarLoginRadius alternatives: Clerk, Frontegg, Microsoft Entra External ID
Grok 4.1 FastAuth0 alternatives: Clerk, Frontegg, FusionAuth, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch, WorkOS
DeepSeek V4 FlashAuth0, Frontegg alternatives: Clerk, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch
GLM 4.7 FlashXAuth0 alternatives: Clerk, Descope, LoginRadius, Microsoft Entra External ID
MiniMax M2.5Auth0, Clerk alternatives: Descope, LoginRadius
GPT-6 LunaWorkOS AuthKit alternatives: Auth0, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch
Neither was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniFrontegg alternatives: Auth0/Okta Customer Identity Cloud, FusionAuth, Okta
Gemini 3.5 FlashWorkOS alternatives: Clerk, Frontegg, Kinde
Mistral SmallLoginRadius alternatives: Thales OneWelcome
Llama 4 MaverickLoginRadius alternatives: Clerk, OneWelcome Identity Platform
Qwen 3.7 FlashAuth0, Clerk alternatives: Microsoft Entra ID
Kimi K2Clerk, Frontegg alternatives: FusionAuth, WorkOS
Muse Glimmer 30BFrontegg, LoginRadius alternatives: Auth0, Ping Identity
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Descope leads by five points.
Descope6%#5 of 14Microsoft Entra External ID2%#– of 14Mid-marketThe figures above
Descope leads by two points.
Descope5%#5 of 14Microsoft Entra External ID4%#8 of 14Enterprise
The order flips: Microsoft Entra External ID leads at enterprise.
Microsoft Entra External ID10%#2 of 12Descope0%#– of 12What the models said about Descope
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“Prioritize platforms like Stytch, Descope, or Ping Identity for simpler, privacy-focused alternatives” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend starting with either Descope or Clerk due to their generous free tiers” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“Descope is widely recommended as the best overall affordable option.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Microsoft Entra External ID
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Azure AD B2C if you need a broad, flexible CIAM platform... limited to single-app external use cases... limited customization” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · hard negative
“Microsoft stopped selling it to new customers on May 1, 2025... Microsoft calls it a legacy solution.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · hard negative
“Don't start a new project on Azure AD B2C — you'd be investing in a dead-end platform.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Need a quick, managed CIAM with a generous free allowance and Microsoft stack: Microsoft Entra External ID – free first 50,000 MAU.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“the best overall fit is usually Microsoft Entra External ID ... free tier for the first 50,000 monthly active users” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
“If your company is already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, Microsoft Entra External ID is also a strong contender.” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · alternative
Also compared
Frontegg vs DescopeFrontegg vs Microsoft Entra External IDAuth0 vs DescopeAuth0 vs Microsoft Entra External IDClerk vs DescopeClerk vs Microsoft Entra External IDLoginRadius vs DescopeLoginRadius vs Microsoft Entra External IDDescope vs FusionAuthDescope vs WorkOSFusionAuth vs Microsoft Entra External IDWorkOS vs Microsoft Entra External IDAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full CIAM standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.