Microsoft Entra vs Silverfort for AI agent security and identity
SHORT ANSWER
Editorial assessment · Desk research from public vendor material · Reviewed 2026-09-29
Scores by criterion
Agents get their own identities, service principals and OAuth flows. A short-lived-by-default credential model is not stated on the overview page.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra Agent ID
The agent page covers discovery, binding and runtime decisions; issuing short-lived credentials to agents is not described.
Source: Silverfort: AI agent security
Higher score: Microsoft Entra
Conditional Access and ID Protection apply to agents. These act at sign-in and token issuance; per-tool-call checks are not described.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra Agent ID
An MCP gateway receives every tool call first and returns an approve or block decision before execution.
Source: Silverfort: AI agent security
Higher score: Silverfort
Every agent identity has owners and sponsors, and agents can be governed with access packages.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra Agent ID
Binds each agent to a human identity and maps actions to responsible people. A human approval step is not described.
Source: Silverfort: AI agent security
Higher score: Tie
Registers agents built on Microsoft and supported third-party platforms; discovery of unregistered agents is not described on the pages reviewed.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Entra Agent ID · Microsoft Learn: agent identities for AI agents
Discovers sanctioned and rogue agents through read-only APIs across Entra ID, Okta, AWS, Azure and GCP.
Source: Silverfort: AI agent security
Higher score: Silverfort
Generally available for all Entra customers, with OAuth protocols for agents and third-party agent configuration.
Source: Microsoft Learn: agent identities for AI agents · Microsoft Learn: Entra Agent ID
Works with Entra ID, Okta and the three main clouds through an MCP gateway and SSO through your identity provider.
Source: Silverfort: AI agent security
Higher score: Microsoft Entra
Generally available; extended security features need Microsoft Agent 365. Pricing for those features is not on the pages reviewed.
Established identity protection vendor. No pricing or launch date for the agent product is published.
Higher score: Microsoft Entra
Weighted total
Microsoft Entra 7.0 / 10 · Silverfort 7.2 / 10
Higher score: Silverfort
Where each one scores higher
Microsoft Entra scores higher on
- no standing credentials for agents (7 vs 6)
- standards and ecosystem (9 vs 7)
- maturity and buying clarity (7 vs 6)
Silverfort scores higher on
- per-call authorization (6 vs 8)
- finding agents you did not register (6 vs 9)
Pricing, side by side
Microsoft Entra
Entra Agent ID is available to all Entra customers. Extended features need Microsoft Agent 365; that price is not on the pages reviewed.
Source: Microsoft Learn: agent identities for AI agents
As published on 2026-09-29.
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Entra if standards and ecosystem and no standing credentials for agents matter most. It scores 9 and 7 on them. Generally available for all Entra customers, with OAuth protocols for agents and third-party agent configuration.
Choose Silverfort if finding agents you did not register and per-call authorization matter most. It scores 9 and 8 on them. Discovers sanctioned and rogue agents through read-only APIs across Entra ID, Okta, AWS, Azure and GCP.
Questions
Which scores higher overall, Microsoft Entra or Silverfort?
On our weights for AI agent security and identity, Silverfort scores 7.2 / 10 and Microsoft Entra 7.0 / 10. Totals are the weighted average of six criterion scores; the weights are listed on the AI agent security and identity page.
Where does Microsoft Entra score higher than Silverfort?
On no standing credentials for agents; standards and ecosystem; and maturity and buying clarity.
Where does Silverfort score higher than Microsoft Entra?
On per-call authorization and finding agents you did not register.
Related
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: Entra Agent ID: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/agent-id/
- Microsoft Learn: agent identities for AI agents: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/agent-id/identity-professional/microsoft-entra-agent-identities-for-ai-agents
- Silverfort: AI agent security: https://www.silverfort.com/platform/ai-agent-security
- Silverfort platform: https://www.silverfort.com/