Authentication provider Okta prides itself as the world’s leading identity platform, enabling companies to securely manage workforce application access. A title it’s earned by acquiring more than 100 million registered users across its cloud services and enabling integrations with thousands of applications, including both Salesforce and Workday.
In 2022, 92% of Gartner reviewers recommended Okta, a third of whom were based in companies with an operating revenue exceeding $1 billion. So, if you’re still on the fence, it’s worth noting that Okta really is trusted by the best of the best, and if you’re looking for an identity platform for your stack, it might just be the gold standard.
But taking all of its accolades into account, you may well be wondering how much Okta costs. You may also be wondering whether it’s possible to get a discount on your subscription.
Well, we have the answers. Here’s everything you need to know about Okta pricing.
How much does Okta cost?
Before we jump into how you can get a discount on Okta, it’s important to understand the company’s pricing model.
While at first glance, pricing starts from just $2 per user, per month for its cheapest Workforce Identify product, it is worth being aware that there is a $1,500 annual contract minimum spend, making this the lowest material cost that you can expect to pay for a yearly subscription.
With Okta offering various different products, the exact cost you can expect to be charged will ultimately depend on the products you make use of and your seat count. To that end, the Okta pricing page advises prospective customers to contact sales for a quote customized to their needs.
Unlike many SaaS companies, Okta does, however, maintain a fair level of transparency surrounding how your final price is calculated. It does this by publicly listing the prices charged per product.
Let’s take a closer look at the different services on offer.
Okta pricing plans
Single Sign-On
There are two tiers of subscription available for Okta SSO. The standard package costs $2 per user, per month, offering access management and a customisable UX. The more advanced Adaptive SSO tier, however, costs $5 per user, per month, and provides additional contextual access management, suitable for organizations requiring users to log in from multiple locations.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Okta’s basic MFA service costs $3 per user, per month, supporting knowledge access via security questions or biometric access through platforms like Windows Hello or Apple TouchID. The more advanced Adaptive MFA plan costs $6 per user, per month, offering IP tracing and geo-location capabilities.
Universal Directory
This service is priced at $2 per user, per month, providing one directory for all users and devices under the organization’s umbrella.
Lifecycle Management
The automated Lifecycle Management service costs $4 per user, per month, and is responsible for application and resource provisioning for employees.
API Access Management
Okta’s API Access Management service costs $2 per user, per month, and is used to secure organizational APIs, protecting against vulnerabilities.
Advanced Server Access
This plan starts at $15 per server, per month, assisting IT teams with server access for users alongside multiple cloud computing suites, such as AWS or Microsoft Azure.
Access Gateway
The Access Gateway plan costs $3 per user, per month, suitable for organizations operating on a hybrid-cloud infrastructure.
Workflows
Okta’s Workflows plan is available in four separate tiers, used to automate identity processes without coding. Each plan offers an identical feature set suitable for different seat counts. The Starter Workflows package is free for Okta customers and suitable for up to 5 flows. Light starts at $4 per user, per month for up to 50 flows. Medium starts at $5 per user, per month for up to 150 flows. Lastly, Unlimited starts at $6 per user, per month for unlimited flows.
Identity Governance
The Identity Governance platform is available in three tiers of subscription, used to simplify identity and access lifecycles across multiple systems. Light costs $9 per user, per month for up to 50 flows. Medium costs $10 per user, per month for up to 150 flows. Unlimited costs $11 per user, per month for unlimited flows.
How to get an Okta discount
It goes without saying that Okta’s pricing model is fairly difficult to follow, despite its publicly listed pricing points. But even if you’ve gone through the above packages and approximated just how much your yearly Okta outlay would come to, this price isn’t necessarily set in stone.
Yes, the cost you’ll pay will vary depending on your seat count — but if it’s above 5,000 users, Okta will offer you a volume-based discount straight off the bat, according to its pricing page. With the right leverage, however, it’s likely you will be able to secure even greater savings on the cost of your subscription, even with fewer users.
Just take the fact that companies in the IT security sector offer average discounts in the region of 26%. To put this into perspective, a user that is quoted an annual fee of $12,000 could stand to reduce their overall cost by just over $3,000.
Which begs the question: what do you need to do to secure the best possible discount?
In other words, what are the best software negotiations strategies to get acquainted with?
Here are our top recommendations.
Tips for negotiating a better price on Okta
Use competitor comparisons
One effective way to negotiate a SaaS contract is to go in with pricing insights for your chosen vendor’s competitors. When searching for the best-value identity provider, you may receive competitive quotes from alternative vendors such as Ping Identity or JumpCloud, which could be leveraged to incentivize a better deal from Okta.
But the contract terms you can negotiate with aren’t limited to just price. You should also consider what other vendors offer in terms of their renewal clauses, maintenance and support levels, and notice period length, for comparison. By leveraging these terms, you may be able to negotiate a bespoke deal for your business needs — at an ever better price than you were originally quoted.
Leverage pricing benchmarks
While competitor comparisons can be a useful tool in negotiations, the most powerful form of leverage is intelligence into what other companies pay for their subscriptions. This is also known as price benchmarking data.
When you gain insight into what other companies are paying, and Okta’s flexibility surrounding discounts, you can effectively negotiate for a better deal. And once again, this also applies to other contract clauses — if Okta has offered favorable terms to one of your peers, they may be able to extend this to your business too.
Simplify your procurement process with Vertice
There are no two ways about it, software negotiations can be both challenging and time-consuming — but this doesn’t need to be the case. With access to the price points and discount information for more than 13,000 global vendors, our experienced team of SaaS purchasers are equipped to secure you the very best deal on any contract.
That’s not the only benefit to letting us negotiate contracts on your behalf though. With years of experience on both sides of the deal, our team not only has a more nuanced understanding of each vendor, for example what their priorities are for the quarter, but they can also uncover key objectives for both parties, using this insight to secure an outcome that works for everyone. All the while streamlining your own procurement process.
To see how much you could be saving on your annual SaaS spend, request a free cost savings audit today. Alternatively, take a look at our vendor database for exclusive pricing intel for thousands of software providers.
