Active Directory VS Active Directory Federation Services
As of 30 October 2026, Active Directory Federation Services is named by 189 companies and Active Directory by 5,917; Active Directory skews to companies under 200 people (35% vs 28%), Active Directory Federation Services to companies over 1,000 (50% vs 35%).
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's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Active Directory Federation Services rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Active Directory: 2–200 employees
- 35%
- Active Directory Federation Services: 2–200 employees
- 28%
- Active Directory: 1,000+ employees
- 35%
- Active Directory Federation Services: 1,000+ employees
- 50%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.8 · 2.6
- 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 | share | Active Directory Federation Services | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 36 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| 2-10 employees | 262 | 4% | 9 | 5% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 693 | 12% | 22 | 12% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 1,103 | 19% | 21 | 11% | Active Directory |
| 201-500 employees | 1,002 | 17% | 31 | 16% | even |
| 501-1000 employees | 754 | 13% | 12 | 6% | Active Directory |
| 1001-5000 employees | 1,124 | 19% | 46 | 24% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| 5001-10000 employees | 307 | 5% | 14 | 7% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| 10,001+ employees | 636 | 11% | 34 | 18% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Segment | Active Directory | share | Active Directory Federation Services | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 1,896 | 32% | 85 | 45% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Business & finance services | 1,089 | 18% | 36 | 19% | even |
| Manufacturing & industry | 945 | 16% | 20 | 11% | Active Directory |
| Health care | 341 | 6% | 10 | 5% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 266 | 4% | 3 | 2% | Active Directory |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 234 | 4% | 6 | 3% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 232 | 4% | 11 | 6% | even |
| Property & construction | 232 | 4% | 4 | 2% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 196 | 3% | 3 | 2% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 151 | 3% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Automotive | 128 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Media & content | 125 | 2% | 5 | 3% | even |
| Hospitality & travel | – | – | 3 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory | share | Active Directory Federation Services | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3,282 | 55% | 96 | 51% | Active Directory |
| Germany | 739 | 12% | 7 | 4% | Active Directory |
| United Kingdom | 348 | 6% | 15 | 8% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| France | 220 | 4% | 15 | 8% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Canada | 194 | 3% | 11 | 6% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Australia | 93 | 2% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Netherlands | 82 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Switzerland | 78 | 1% | 5 | 3% | even |
| Austria | 76 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| India | 71 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Italy | 66 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Poland | 62 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Belgium | – | – | 8 | 4% | outside top 12 |
| Sweden | – | – | 5 | 3% | outside top 12 |
| Singapore | – | – | 3 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Brazil | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Spain | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory | share | Active Directory Federation Services | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT operations & business systems | 16,418 | 70% | 463 | 63% | Active Directory |
| Software engineering | 985 | 4% | 90 | 12% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Engineering (non-software) | 937 | 4% | 18 | 2% | even |
| Customer service & success | 684 | 3% | 10 | 1% | even |
| Sales | 288 | 1% | 29 | 4% | Active Directory Federation Services |
| Product, program & project management | 263 | 1% | 5 | 1% | even |
| Skilled trades and field service | 158 | 1% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Data & AI | 142 | 1% | 6 | 1% | even |
| General management & consulting | 64 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 60 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Arts media and entertainment | 40 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Finance & accounting | 38 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Unclassified | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Active Directory →
Companies using Active Directory Federation Services →
Identity ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Active Directory Federation Services is named by 189 companies in job postings and Active Directory by 5,917; 302 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/active-directory-vs-active-directory-federation-services)
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 vs Active Directory Federation Services: questions
Which is more used, Active Directory or Active Directory Federation Services?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Active Directory (5,917) over Active Directory Federation Services (189). By website-and-DNS footprint, Active Directory Federation Services (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Active Directory?
35% of Active Directory companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 28% for Active Directory Federation Services. 35% of Active Directory companies have over 1,000 employees, against 50% for Active Directory Federation Services.
Do companies run both?
302 companies name both in their postings, usually Active Directory in marketing and Active Directory Federation Services 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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