Active Directory VS Microsoft Entra ID_
As of 4 November 2026, Microsoft Entra ID is named by 6,276 companies and Active Directory by 8,045; Active Directory skews to companies under 200 people (34% vs 34%), Microsoft Entra ID to companies over 1,000 (34% vs 35%).
As of 4 November 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, Microsoft Entra ID rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Active Directory: 2–200 employees
- 34%
- Microsoft Entra ID: 2–200 employees
- 34%
- Active Directory: 1,000+ employees
- 35%
- Microsoft Entra ID: 1,000+ employees
- 34%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.5 · 2.6
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 1,236,999
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 | Microsoft Entra ID | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 126 | 2% | 79 | 1% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 435 | 5% | 330 | 5% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 865 | 11% | 602 | 10% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 1,466 | 18% | 1,221 | 19% | even |
| 201-500 employees | 1,369 | 17% | 1,103 | 18% | even |
| 501-1000 employees | 980 | 12% | 813 | 13% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 1,511 | 19% | 1,140 | 18% | even |
| 5001-10000 employees | 410 | 5% | 318 | 5% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 883 | 11% | 670 | 11% | even |
| Segment | Active Directory | share | Microsoft Entra ID | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 2,470 | 31% | 1,914 | 30% | even |
| Business & finance services | 1,526 | 19% | 1,331 | 21% | Microsoft Entra ID |
| Manufacturing & industry | 1,215 | 15% | 918 | 15% | even |
| Health care | 463 | 6% | 253 | 4% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 393 | 5% | 292 | 5% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 362 | 4% | 288 | 5% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 329 | 4% | 243 | 4% | even |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 301 | 4% | 250 | 4% | even |
| Property & construction | 297 | 4% | 267 | 4% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 197 | 2% | 160 | 3% | even |
| Media & content | 193 | 2% | 139 | 2% | even |
| Automotive | 181 | 2% | 122 | 2% | even |
| Segment | Active Directory | share | Microsoft Entra ID | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4,338 | 54% | 3,395 | 54% | even |
| Germany | 860 | 11% | 597 | 10% | even |
| United Kingdom | 450 | 6% | 464 | 7% | even |
| France | 296 | 4% | 163 | 3% | even |
| Canada | 245 | 3% | 219 | 3% | even |
| Australia | 126 | 2% | 125 | 2% | even |
| Brazil | 116 | 1% | 62 | 1% | even |
| India | 106 | 1% | 72 | 1% | even |
| Switzerland | 100 | 1% | 80 | 1% | even |
| Netherlands | 99 | 1% | 140 | 2% | even |
| Austria | 90 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Italy | 80 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Sweden | – | – | 88 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Belgium | – | – | 60 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory | share | Microsoft Entra ID | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT operations & business systems | 19,539 | 70% | 12,336 | 63% | Active Directory |
| Software engineering | 1,223 | 4% | 2,340 | 12% | Microsoft Entra ID |
| Engineering (non-software) | 1,090 | 4% | 457 | 2% | even |
| Customer service & success | 821 | 3% | 412 | 2% | even |
| Sales | 315 | 1% | 293 | 1% | even |
| Product, program & project management | 295 | 1% | 324 | 2% | even |
| Data & AI | 226 | 1% | 742 | 4% | Microsoft Entra ID |
| skilled trades and field service | 176 | 1% | 39 | 0% | even |
| General management & consulting | 75 | 0% | 87 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 71 | 0% | 24 | 0% | even |
| Unclassified | 67 | 0% | 32 | 0% | even |
| Finance & accounting | 48 | 0% | 11 | 0% | even |
| arts media and entertainment | 44 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| facilities cleaning and security | 31 | 0% | 28 | 0% | even |
| Education & training | 29 | 0% | 12 | 0% | even |
| Human resources | 29 | 0% | 4 | 0% | even |
| Legal, compliance & risk | 28 | 0% | 26 | 0% | even |
| Marketing & communications | 19 | 0% | 16 | 0% | even |
| construction and civil | 17 | 0% | 13 | 0% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | 16 | 0% | 13 | 0% | even |
| logistics warehouse and transport | 14 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Business development & strategy | 6 | 0% | 14 | 0% | even |
| healthcare clinical | 6 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| hospitality and food service | 6 | 0% | 4 | 0% | even |
| manufacturing and production | 6 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Design & UX | 2 | 0% | 5 | 0% | even |
| procurement and purchasing | 2 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| real estate and property | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| research and science | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Retail & store operations | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Travel, leisure & events | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Active Directory →
Companies using Microsoft Entra ID →
Identity ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Microsoft Entra ID is named by 6,276 companies in job postings and Active Directory by 8,045; 4,028 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/active-directory-vs-microsoft-entra-id)
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 Microsoft Entra ID: questions
Which is more used, Active Directory or Microsoft Entra ID?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Active Directory (8,045) over Microsoft Entra ID (6,276). By website-and-DNS footprint, Microsoft Entra ID (1,236,999 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Active Directory?
34% of Active Directory companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 34% for Microsoft Entra ID. 35% of Active Directory companies have over 1,000 employees, against 34% for Microsoft Entra ID.
Do companies run both?
4,028 companies name both in their postings, usually Active Directory in marketing and Microsoft Entra ID 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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