Active Directory Federation Services VS LDAP
As of 30 October 2026, LDAP is named by 1,008 companies and Active Directory Federation Services by 189; Active Directory Federation Services skews to companies under 200 people (28% vs 36%), LDAP to companies over 1,000 (42% vs 50%).
As of 30 October 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Active Directory Federation Services's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, LDAP rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Active Directory Federation Services: 2–200 employees
- 28%
- LDAP: 2–200 employees
- 36%
- Active Directory Federation Services: 1,000+ employees
- 50%
- LDAP: 1,000+ employees
- 42%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.6 · 3.2
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | Active Directory Federation Services | share | LDAP | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-10 employees | 9 | 5% | 55 | 5% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 22 | 12% | 136 | 13% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 21 | 11% | 167 | 17% | LDAP |
| 201-500 employees | 31 | 16% | 125 | 12% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| 501-1000 employees | 12 | 6% | 96 | 10% | LDAP |
| 1001-5000 employees | 46 | 24% | 176 | 17% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| 5001-10000 employees | 14 | 7% | 75 | 7% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 34 | 18% | 171 | 17% | even |
| Self-employed | – | – | 7 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory Federation Services | share | LDAP | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 85 | 45% | 533 | 53% | LDAP |
| Business & finance services | 36 | 19% | 200 | 20% | even |
| Manufacturing & industry | 20 | 11% | 90 | 9% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 11 | 6% | 29 | 3% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Health care | 10 | 5% | 19 | 2% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 6 | 3% | 35 | 3% | even |
| Media & content | 5 | 3% | 25 | 2% | even |
| Property & construction | 4 | 2% | 9 | 1% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 3 | 2% | 23 | 2% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 3 | 2% | 17 | 2% | even |
| Hospitality & travel | 3 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 2 | 1% | 18 | 2% | even |
| Automotive | – | – | 5 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory Federation Services | share | LDAP | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 96 | 51% | 650 | 64% | LDAP |
| France | 15 | 8% | 44 | 4% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| United Kingdom | 15 | 8% | 53 | 5% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Canada | 11 | 6% | 27 | 3% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Belgium | 8 | 4% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Germany | 7 | 4% | 51 | 5% | even |
| Switzerland | 5 | 3% | 10 | 1% | even |
| Sweden | 5 | 3% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Singapore | 3 | 2% | 11 | 1% | even |
| Australia | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Brazil | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Spain | 2 | 1% | 10 | 1% | even |
| India | – | – | 23 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Netherlands | – | – | 11 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Italy | – | – | 10 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Poland | – | – | 10 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory Federation Services | share | LDAP | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT operations & business systems | 463 | 63% | 2,450 | 51% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Software engineering | 90 | 12% | 937 | 20% | LDAP |
| Sales | 29 | 4% | 110 | 2% | even |
| Engineering (non-software) | 18 | 2% | 127 | 3% | even |
| Customer service & success | 10 | 1% | 190 | 4% | LDAP |
| Data & AI | 6 | 1% | 60 | 1% | even |
| Product, program & project management | 5 | 1% | 53 | 1% | even |
| Skilled trades and field service | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Unclassified | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Administration & office | 1 | 0% | 8 | 0% | even |
| Finance & accounting | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | 1 | 0% | 21 | 0% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | – | – | 15 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Arts media and entertainment | – | – | 6 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Construction and civil | – | – | 6 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Active Directory Federation Services →
Companies using LDAP →
Identity ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
LDAP is named by 1,008 companies in job postings and Active Directory Federation Services by 189; 79 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/active-directory-federation-services-vs-ldap)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
Active Directory Federation Services vs LDAP: questions
Which is more used, Active Directory Federation Services or LDAP?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, LDAP (1,008) over Active Directory Federation Services (189). By website-and-DNS footprint, LDAP (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Active Directory Federation Services?
28% of Active Directory Federation Services companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 36% for LDAP. 50% of Active Directory Federation Services companies have over 1,000 employees, against 42% for LDAP.
Do companies run both?
79 companies name both in their postings, usually Active Directory Federation Services in marketing and LDAP in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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