# Multi-factor authentication for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "MFA solution" and as "multi-factor authentication tool", six framings each, to twelve models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/identity/multi-factor-authentication/enterprise/

**Standing:** Microsoft Entra ID leads with 40% of first choices; verdict contested. 50 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Entra ID | 40% | 0% | 49 |
| 2 | Cisco Duo | 30% | 4% | 52 |
| 3 | Okta | 26% | 19% | 53 |
| 4 | YubiKey | 0% | 3% | 29 |
| 5 | Ping Identity | 0% | 0% | 27 |
| 6 | RSA SecurID | 0% | 25% | 16 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Microsoft Entra ID, Okta; alternatives Cisco Duo, Ping Identity
- GPT-5.4 mini: Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Cisco Duo
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Okta; alternatives Auth0, Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping Identity
- Perplexity Sonar: Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Auth0, Silverfort, WorkOS
- Grok 4.1 Fast: Cisco Duo; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, PingOne MFA
- Mistral Small: Microsoft Entra ID, Okta; alternatives Auth0, Cisco Duo
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Auth0, WorkOS; alternatives Cisco Duo, Clerk, Descope, Microsoft Entra ID
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Microsoft Entra ID, Okta; alternatives Auth0, Feitian, Ping Identity, YubiKey
- Kimi K2: Cisco Duo; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID, Okta
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Cisco Duo, Okta; alternatives Auth0, Microsoft Entra External ID, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping Identity
- MiniMax M2.5: Cisco Duo; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID, Okta

## Sources the answers cite

64 of 72 answers came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- startwithidentity.com: 34 answers, 47 citations
- rippling.com: 32 answers, 33 citations
- workos.com: 21 answers, 22 citations
- decryptiondigest.com: 20 answers, 27 citations
- miniorange.com: 20 answers, 20 citations
- oloid.com: 19 answers, 20 citations
- learn.microsoft.com: 16 answers, 22 citations
- okta.com: 16 answers, 21 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://rippling.com/blog/mfa-providers (28 answers)
- https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-mfa-for-enterprises (23 answers)
- https://decryptiondigest.com/blog/enterprise-mfa-platform-comparison-2026-duo-okta-microsoft-ping-rsa (19 answers)
- https://oloid.com/blog/multi-factor-authentication-solutions (19 answers)
- https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-10-mfa-solutions-enterprises (19 answers)
- https://workos.com/blog/top-mfa-providers-2026 (16 answers)
- https://authx.com/blog/best-mfa-solutions (15 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/identity-and-access-management/the-top-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-solutions-for-business (14 answers)
- https://miniorange.com/blog/mfa-providers (14 answers)
- https://checkthat.ai/answers/what-are-the-best-multi-factor-authentication-solutions (12 answers)

## Warned against

- Okta: 10 of 53 labels negative. "Avoid Okta for a pure MFA project unless you require its extensive third-party SSO integration capabilities" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt)
- RSA SecurID: 4 of 16 labels negative. "RSA SecurID legacy OTP | Phase out for modern needs" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- Microsoft Authenticator: 3 of 9 labels negative. "software authenticator apps (like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator generating time-based one-time passwords) is better than SMS but has significant drawbacks" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)
- Cisco Duo: 2 of 52 labels negative. "Cisco Duo is a market leader, but specific implementation flaws and supply chain risks make it a cautionary example." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.