Privileged access management for small business buyers
Asked as “privileged access management platform”, and as “PAM tool”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 55 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
01The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant
Show the one product at 0%, ordered by negative rate
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.
Head to head
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative40%
Key
01KeeperPAM27%
KeeperPAM27%02ManageEngine PAM36027%
ManageEngine PAM36027%03Teleport11%
Teleport11%04Delinea7%
Delinea7%05Delinea Secret Server7%
Delinea Secret Server7%06StrongDM5%
StrongDM5%07BeyondTrust2%
BeyondTrust2%08CyberArk2%
CyberArk2%09JumpCloud0%
JumpCloud0%02What they warned about
Three of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. GPT-5.4 mini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.1 Fast, Mistral Small, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2 and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
CyberArk88%
35 of 40 labels negative · 12 of 12 models · 12 hard negative
“Platforms like **CyberArk** and **ARCON** are often criticized for their steep learning curves, poor documentation, difficult integrations, and limited OS compatibility.” Mistral Small, negative prompt
BeyondTrust81%
25 of 31 labels negative · 10 of 12 models · 9 hard negative
“Small businesses should **avoid traditional enterprise PAM platforms** (CyberArk, legacy BeyondTrust deployments)” Kimi K2, negative prompt
Delinea18%
7 of 39 labels negative · 5 of 12 models · 2 hard negative
“Avoid if overkill: Pure enterprise like Thycotic without SMB proof.” Grok 4.1 Fast, scale prompt
ARCON PAM80%
4 of 5 labels negative · 4 of 12 models · 2 hard negative
“Platforms like **CyberArk** and **ARCON** are often criticized for their steep learning curves, poor documentation, difficult integrations” Mistral Small, negative prompt
03What they cite
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.
Sites the answers cite
65 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 6 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 842 links across 146 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.
42 answers · 48 citations · 9 models
35 answers · 41 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Keeper Security23 answers · 45 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Heimdal Security23 answers · 25 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Expert Insights22 answers · 22 citations · 10 models
20 answers · 26 citations · 9 models
20 answers · 20 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Delinea18 answers · 31 citations · 8 models
17 answers · 21 citations · 8 models
vendor site · Netwrix16 answers · 18 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Securden16 answers · 17 citations · 6 models
15 answers · 15 citations · 7 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
41 answers · 9 models
35 answers · 10 models
22 answers · 9 models
21 answers · 10 models
20 answers · 10 models
15 answers · 7 models
15 answers · 7 models
14 answers · 6 models
14 answers · 7 models
14 answers · 8 models
04How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ModelDirect“What is the best privileged access management platform for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which PAM tool would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top privileged access management platforms for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best privileged access management platform for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating a privileged access management platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which privileged access management platforms should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5ManageEngine PAM360against: BeyondTrust, CyberArkManageEngine PAM360Heldagainst: CyberArkDelineaagainst: CyberArkManageEngine PAM360no first choiceagainst: Centrify, Delinea Privilege Manager
Two alternatives
Delinea, miniOrangeTwo alternatives
Delinea, miniOrangeTwo alternatives
Securden Unified PAM, miniOrangeTwo alternatives
JumpCloud, ManageEngine Password Manager ProGPT-5.4 miniKeeperPAMagainst: DelineaDelinea Secret ServerChanged1PasswordKeeperPAMagainst: CyberArkno first choiceagainst: ARCON PAM, BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delinea, One Identity, Saviynt, Senhasegura, WALLIX
One alternative
Okta Privileged AccessTwo alternatives
BeyondTrust, BeyondTrust Password SafeThree alternatives
Cisco Duo, Fortra Core Privileged Access Manager, Okta Privileged AccessTwo alternatives
Delinea, StrongDMGemini 3.5 FlashKeeperPAMagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkStrongDMChangedagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkKeeperPAMagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkDevolutions Server / Password Hubagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkStrongDM, Teleportagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delineaagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, IBM Security Verify Privilege, One Identity Safeguard, Symantec Privileged Access Manager
Three alternatives
Devolutions Server, Securden Unified PAM, StrongDMThree alternatives
KeeperPAM, Securden Unified PAM, TeleportThree alternatives
Devolutions, Securden Unified PAM, StrongDMFour alternatives
KeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360, Securden Unified PAM, TeleportFour alternatives
1Password, KeeperPAM, Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management, Securden Unified PAMPerplexity SonarManageEngine PAM360KeeperPAMChangedKeeperPAMManageEngine PAM360no first choiceagainst: ARCON PAM, BeyondTrust, CyberArk, One Identity Safeguard
Five alternatives
Delinea, Devolutions Starter Pack, KeeperPAM, StrongDM, TeleportFour alternatives
Delinea Secret Server, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportSix alternatives
Delinea, Devolutions Starter Pack, JumpCloud, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportFour alternatives
AWS Secrets Manager, Devolutions Starter Pack, KeeperPAM, SSH PrivXGrok 4.1 FastManageEngine PAM360against: BeyondTrust, CyberArkKeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360Changedagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkKeeperPAMJumpServer, Teleportagainst: HashiCorp Vault, ManageEngine PAM360Delineaagainst: CyberArk, Delineaagainst: ARCON PAM, BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delinea, IBM Security Verify Privilege Vault, WALLIX
Two alternatives
KeeperPAM, TeleportThree alternatives
Delinea, StrongDM, TeleportFour alternatives
Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, miniOrange PAMOne alternative
KeeperPAMFive alternatives
BeyondTrust, Heimdal PAM, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportMistral SmallKeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360Delinea Secret Server, ManageEngine PAM360Changedagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkKeeperPAMManageEngine PAM360against: BeyondTrust, CyberArkno first choiceagainst: CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, ManageEngine PAM360against: ARCON PAM, CyberArk
Three alternatives
Delinea, StrongDM, TeleportTwo alternatives
KeeperPAM, miniOrange PAMSix alternatives
Delinea, Devolutions Starter Pack, JumpCloud, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportFour alternatives
AWS Secrets Manager, Delinea, KeeperPAM, SSH PrivXFour alternatives
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access, Delinea Secret Server, Microsoft Defender for Identity / Entra Permissions Management, Okta Privileged AccessDeepSeek V4 FlashKeeperPAMKeeperPAMHeldagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, One IdentityKeeperPAMAdmin By Requestagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkno first choiceagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delinea
Four alternatives
Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportThree alternatives
Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360, Securden Unified PAMFive alternatives
Delinea, HashiCorp Boundary, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportThree alternatives
JumpServer, KeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360Six alternatives
Delinea, JumpCloud, KeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportLlama 4 Maverickno first choiceDelinea Secret Server, KeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360ChangedKeeperPAMKeeperPAMno first choiceagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk
Three alternatives
AWS Secrets Manager, JumpCloud, SSH PrivXFour alternatives
Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportSix alternatives
Delinea, JumpCloud, ManageEngine PAM360, One Identity PAM Essentials, StrongDM, TeleportQwen 3.7 FlashTeleportManageEngine PAM360Changedagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArkKeeperPAMagainst: ManageEngine PAM360KeeperPAMagainst: CyberArkKeeper Secrets Manager / Keeper Connectagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delinea, HashiCorp Vaultagainst: 1Password, BeyondTrust, CyberArk, LastPass, One Identity, Symantec Privileged Access Manager, WALLIX
Three alternatives
BeyondTrust, HashiCorp Vault, InfisicalTwo alternatives
KeeperPAM, TeleportTwo alternatives
StrongDM, TeleportThree alternatives
Devolutions Server, JumpCloud, TeleportThree alternatives
1Password, Bitwarden, LastDashKimi K2Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360against: BeyondTrust, CyberArkKeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360Changedagainst: CyberArkManageEngine PAM360Delinea Secret Serveragainst: CyberArkDelinea, StrongDM, Teleportagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, WALLIXagainst: BeyondTrust, CyberArk, One Identity, WALLIX
Two alternatives
KeeperPAM, Securden Unified PAMOne alternative
Delinea Secret ServerFour alternatives
Delinea Secret Server, HashiCorp Vault, KeeperPAM, TeleportTwo alternatives
KeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360Four alternatives
1Password, Bitwarden, ConductorOne, OpalGLM 4.7 FlashXKeeperPAMKeeperPAMHeldagainst: CyberArkKeeperPAMJumpServer, TeleportBeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delineanothing named
Five alternatives
Delinea, JumpCloud, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportTwo alternatives
Delinea Secret Server, ManageEngine PAM360Four alternatives
Britive, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportTwo alternatives
KeeperPAM, ManageEngine PAM360One alternative
1PasswordMiniMax M2.5KeeperPAMManageEngine PAM360ChangedKeeperPAMHashiCorp Boundary, Teleportno first choiceagainst: CyberArk
Four alternatives
Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportThree alternatives
Admin By Request, Delinea Secret Server, KeeperPAMFour alternatives
Delinea, ManageEngine PAM360, StrongDM, TeleportTwo alternatives
JumpCloud, KeeperPAMBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
05The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record
Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 12:36 | yes | 15 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 12:36 | yes | 3 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 12:26 | yes | 20 | 22 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 12:11 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 10:02 | yes | 42 | 18 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 12:05 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 09:39 | yes | 19 | 15 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 13:20 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 11:00 | no | 0 | 37 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 12:17 | yes | 13 | 38 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 10:06 | yes | 24 | 88 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 14:08 | yes | 9 | 37 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 13:07 | yes | 17 | 9 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 13:03 | yes | 3 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 14:12 | yes | 16 | 22 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 10:49 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 12:52 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 11:57 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 10:15 | yes | 8 | 16 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 12:04 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 12:18 | yes | 5 | 48 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 10:56 | yes | 20 | 28 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 10:12 | yes | 27 | 42 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 10:08 | yes | 5 | 33 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 09:49 | yes | 9 | 11 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 11:18 | yes | 4 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 13:43 | yes | 13 | 26 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 11:28 | yes | 16 | 10 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 10:48 | yes | 41 | 20 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 11:44 | yes | 5 | 7 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 12:45 | yes | 18 | 20 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 11:49 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 12:51 | yes | 10 | 28 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 13:32 | yes | 24 | 41 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 12:31 | yes | 28 | 88 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 13:13 | yes | 20 | 52 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 11:27 | yes | 9 | 8 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 13:47 | yes | 4 | 6 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 09:27 | yes | 17 | 32 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 10:59 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 10:20 | yes | 39 | 18 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 12:55 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 13:20 | yes | 28 | 20 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 13:57 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 14:12 | yes | 19 | 114 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 12:42 | yes | 8 | 22 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 12:04 | yes | 13 | 64 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 13:22 | yes | 5 | 18 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 14:00 | yes | 16 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 10:51 | no | 0 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 12:14 | yes | 11 | 27 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 11:33 | yes | 20 | 12 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 12:54 | yes | 18 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 13:26 | no | 0 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 09:53 | yes | 20 | 24 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 10:22 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 13:26 | no | 0 | 38 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 13:02 | no | 0 | 38 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 13:46 | no | 0 | 12 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 12:13 | yes | 5 | 28 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 12:04 | yes | 0 | 11 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 13:43 | yes | 4 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 11:56 | yes | 11 | 22 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 11:08 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 13:52 | yes | 21 | 13 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 10:58 | yes | 14 | 10 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 10:29 | yes | 19 | 18 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 11:18 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 13:41 | yes | 8 | 39 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 09:59 | yes | 19 | 32 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 10:38 | yes | 23 | 41 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 10:02 | yes | 10 | 43 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
Category-scoped readings
ARCON read as ARCON PAM
Keeper Business Starter read as KeeperPAM
Keeper Security read as KeeperPAM
Keeper Security (Business Starter) read as KeeperPAM
Keeper Security (KeeperPAM) read as KeeperPAM
Securden read as Securden Unified PAM
Thycotic read as Delinea
Thycotic (Dassault Systèmes) read as Delinea
Thycotic (now Delinea) read as Delinea
Unresolved, counted raw
BeyondTrust Password Safe
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
Centrify
Delinea Privilege Manager
Devolutions Password Hub (Free)
Devolutions Server / Password Hub
Heimdal PAM
IBM Security Verify Privilege (and IBM DevOps Vault)
IBM Security Verify Privilege Vault
Keeper Secrets Manager / Keeper Connect
LastDash
Microsoft Defender for Identity / Entra Permissions Management
Senhasegura
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.