Identity security vendors – compare the differences

Delinea vs. Okta

Keep your identity provider. Add the enforcement layer behind it.

Okta manages who your people are. Delinea authorizes what every human, machine and AI identity can do once they connect, and brokers the connection so the credential never reaches the user or the AI agent.

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Delinea seamless security		Okta
Traditional PAM buyer
Privileged credential vaulting	Available	Available
Command-level session control	Available	Connection-time policy
Session recording and termination	Available	Capture, limited control
Endpoint privilege management	Available	Not available
Access governance and SoD	Available	Available
Modern Workload Access buyer
Native protocol access (SSH, RDP, database, Kubernetes)	Available	Database in early access
Credential separation (never reaches the user)	Available	Vault and rotate, session holds it
Just-in-time access	Available	Available, select targets
AI agent identity
Agent identity, discovery and revocation	Available	Available
Runtime authorization of agent actions	Available	Evaluates at request time, not per action within the session
Credential separation (never reaches the agent)	Available	Agent holds the credential
Data path enforcement of agent actions	Available	Authorizes the request, not each action within the session
Deployment and ecosystem
Works behind your existing identity provider	Federates with your IdP	Native, is the IdP
Self-hosted or air-gapped deployment	Available	SaaS only

Faster to deploy: Easier to use

Delinea is consistently recognized for requiring fewer resources to manage and less time to achieve full functionality.

• 99.995% uptime SLA
• No multi-year commitment required to start

Zero standing privilege—available now

Delinea ships ephemeral access with proxy injection, JIT entitlement, and full session recording for human, machine, and AI agent identities - today.

• Native tools, broker invisible
• Time to value in weeks

Identity security built for the AI era

Delinea centralizes authorization with runtime enforcement across every AI agent in your stack.

• MCP-native connectivity
• Customers are using this in production today

Identity is not enforcement

Authenticating a user and controlling what they do after they are in, are two different control points, and they need two different tools.

Okta decides who gets in and which app or token they receive.
Delinea sits on the connection and decides what each identity, command, query or tool call is authorized to do.

Credential never reaches the user or agent

Vaulting and rotating a credential still means the session holds it. Delinea brokers the connection and injects the credential at the proxy, or the AI agent.

A brokered connection shrinks the blast radius. A stolen session or a compromised agent has no credentials to take.
The same model covers human, machine and AI identities, and service accounts across all supported protocols.

Coexistence, not rip and replace

Delinea federates with Okta for single sign-on and provisioning, so adding enforcement does not disrupt your identity layer.

Okta remains the source of truth for identity and access certification.
Delinea adds privileged session control, endpoint least privilege and authorization at the moment of execution behind it.

Two layers, one access strategy

Okta is where most organizations manage workforce identity, single sign-on and lifecycle. That is the identity layer, and it is doing its job. The gap opens at the moment of access. Once a user, service or AI agent connects to a server, database or cloud console, the question is no longer who they are. It is what they can do, whether the action is authorized right now and whether they hold the credential.

Delinea sits at that layer. It federates with Okta for authentication and provisioning, then authorizes every privileged session, and brokers the connection so the credential never reaches the user or the agent. You do not replace Okta. You give it enforcement where the action happens.

Enforcement is the key

Okta has added privileged access and AI agent governance, and the direction is correct. Agents need their own identity, discovery and a way to revoke a token fast, and Okta does that well.

Enforcement is a different problem. Blocking a single command mid-session, recording and terminating a risky connection, removing local admin rights on the endpoint and making sure the credential never reaches the user or the agent all happen on the connection itself, not at the identity layer. That is identity security built over the years, and it is where Delinea is strongest. Okta authenticates and authorizes the request. Delinea authorizes each action as it happens and holds the credential so it never reaches the user or the AI agent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Delinea replace Okta?

No. Most customers keep Okta as their identity provider. Delinea federates with Okta for single sign-on and user provisioning, then enforces privileged and AI agent access behind it. The two run together.

We already use Okta for privileged access. Why add Delinea?

Okta manages identity, governs access requests, and evaluates agent actions through its Agent Gateway. Delinea enforces at the session level. Delinea blocks individual commands, monitors and terminates a live session; manages endpoint privileges on Windows and macOS; and brokers the connection so the credential never reaches the user or the agent. The distinction is where enforcement happens. Okta evaluates at the authentication and authorization layer; Delinea enforces on the connection itself and every action within the session. This is identity security in production today across on-premise, multi-cloud and ephemeral infrastructures.

How does Delinea secure AI agents differently from Okta?

Okta registers agents as identities, discovers shadow agents, revokes tokens, and evaluates agent requests through its Agent Gateway. Delinea brokers the connection itself. The agent is authorized through Delinea and never holds the credential — not a short-lived token, not a session key. Delinea continuously authorizes every query and command within the session before it reaches the resource. If an agent is compromised, there are no credentials to steal and any action can be blocked mid-session.

Will Delinea work with our Okta groups and MFA?

Yes. Delinea uses Okta for federated single sign-on and SCIM provisioning, so your Okta groups and attributes govern access, and Okta handles authentication and MFA during login.

Can Delinea run where Okta cannot?

Delinea offers SaaS, self-hosted and air-gapped deployment, so it secures isolated and regulated environments that a cloud-only control plane does not reach.

Identity security vendors – compare the differences

Identity security vendors – compare the differences

The Delinea Platform stops unauthorized access without slowing teams down

Delinea seamless security

Okta

Traditional PAM buyer

Privileged credential vaulting

Command-level session control

Session recording and termination

Endpoint privilege management

Access governance and SoD

Modern Workload Access buyer

Native protocol access (SSH, RDP, database, Kubernetes)

Credential separation (never reaches the user)

Just-in-time access

AI agent identity

Agent identity, discovery and revocation

Runtime authorization of agent actions

Credential separation (never reaches the agent)

Data path enforcement of agent actions

Deployment and ecosystem

Works behind your existing identity provider

Self-hosted or air-gapped deployment

Why the differences between Delinea and CyberArk matter

Faster to deploy: Easier to use

Zero standing privilege—available now

Identity security built for the AI era

Why the differences between Delinea and Okta matter

Thousands of customers. One easy choice.

Two layers, one access strategy

Enforcement is the key

See the Platform in action

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Delinea replace Okta?

We already use Okta for privileged access. Why add Delinea?

How does Delinea secure AI agents differently from Okta?

Will Delinea work with our Okta groups and MFA?

Can Delinea run where Okta cannot?