Drata vs Okta: Compliance Automation vs Identity Management

Drata and Okta aren't direct competitors — Drata automates SOC 2/ISO 27001 compliance monitoring, Okta handles SSO and identity management. Here's how they actually compare and when you need one, the other, or both.

Updated 2026-10 · 2026

Drata

Continuous compliance automation for SOC 2, ISO 27001, and more

Customcontact sales

Strengths

+Automated, continuous control monitoring instead of manual evidence gathering
+Supports 20+ frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS)
+100+ integrations pull evidence directly from your cloud stack

Weaknesses

-No public pricing — every deal requires a sales call
-No free tier or self-serve trial
-Doesn't manage identity, access, or SSO itself

Best for

Companies actively pursuing SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification who want automated evidence collection instead of spreadsheets.

Okta

Workforce identity, SSO, and access management

$2user/month (SSO, billed annually)

Strengths

+Industry-standard SSO and adaptive MFA
+7,000+ pre-built app integrations (Okta Integration Network)
+Lifecycle Management automates user provisioning/deprovisioning

Weaknesses

-Pricing is modular — SSO, MFA, and Lifecycle Management are separate add-ons that add up
-Admin console can feel like overkill for very small teams
-Does nothing for compliance evidence collection or audit readiness

Best for

Companies that need centralized SSO/MFA and user provisioning across many SaaS apps.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Drata	Okta
Primary purpose	Compliance automation (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA)	Identity & access management (SSO, MFA)
SSO / MFA	Not provided — relies on a third-party IdP	Core product feature
Compliance framework monitoring	Yes, 20+ frameworks with automated checks	Not supported
Free trial	Demo only, no self-serve trial	30-day free trial
Pricing model	Custom annual contract	Per-user/month, modular tiers
App integrations	100+ for evidence collection	7,000+ (Okta Integration Network)
Automated evidence collection	Yes, continuous	Not applicable
User provisioning/deprovisioning	Limited, access-review focused	Core feature (Lifecycle Management)
API access	Yes	Yes, extensive (Okta/Auth0 APIs)
Audit trail / reporting for auditors	Built for this (Trust Center, audit reports)	General access logs, not audit-ready compliance reports
Best company size	Startups to mid-market seeking certification	Startups to enterprise needing IAM

The Verdict

Drata and Okta aren't substitutes — they solve different problems and most security-conscious companies end up using both together, with Okta as the SSO/IdP and Drata pulling evidence from it. If you're choosing one because budget is tight, pick Okta first if your immediate pain is access sprawl and no SSO; pick Drata first if you have an audit deadline and no automated evidence trail. Trying to replace Drata's compliance monitoring with Okta alone will leave a gap you'll need another tool to fill.

How to switch from Drata to Okta

Full Drata export guide →

1Export your compliance evidence and audit trail from Drata using the Evidence Library's bulk ZIP download and the Reports section's PDF exports, so you keep historical SOC 2/ISO 27001 artifacts before changing tools.
2Sign up for Okta's Workforce Identity Cloud trial, set up Universal Directory, and import your users via CSV or directory sync (AD/LDAP agent).
3Reconnect the cloud services Drata was monitoring (AWS, GCP, GitHub, etc.) as SSO-enabled apps in Okta's Integration Network — Okta doesn't replicate Drata's automated control monitoring, only identity and access.
4If you still need SOC 2 or ISO 27001 monitoring, keep Drata (or migrate to another compliance platform like Vanta) running alongside Okta — Okta only replaces identity/access functions, not compliance automation.
5Configure MFA and SSO policies in Okta for your cutover apps and pilot with a small user group before rolling out company-wide.
6Point your ongoing access reviews and deprovisioning workflows to Okta's Lifecycle Management once the pilot is stable.

Drata vs Okta: common questions

How do I export my data from Drata before switching?+

Drata lets you bulk-download your audit trail and evidence through the Evidence Library (exports as a ZIP of files) and generate point-in-time audit reports as PDFs from the Reports section. Do this before your contract ends — access to historical evidence is typically cut off once the subscription lapses.

What do I lose if I move from Drata to Okta?+

You lose continuous control monitoring, automated evidence collection, and framework-specific gap analysis for SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc. — Okta does none of this. If you still need to maintain a certification, you'll need to keep Drata (or move to another compliance platform like Vanta or Secureframe) running alongside Okta.

Is Okta's free trial enough for a small team to test?+

Okta's 30-day free trial is enough to set up SSO, MFA, and a handful of app integrations for a small team under 10 users. It's not long enough to fully validate enterprise-scale provisioning workflows or Lifecycle Management at volume.

Does Okta integrate with the same tools Drata was monitoring?+

Yes, Okta's Integration Network covers 7,000+ apps including AWS, GitHub, Google Workspace, and Slack. But those integrations are for SSO and provisioning, not compliance control monitoring, so you'll be configuring them for a different purpose than you did in Drata.

How does cost compare over time, Drata vs Okta?+

Drata's custom pricing typically runs several thousand dollars a year depending on company size and frameworks. Okta's Workforce Identity Cloud starts around $2/user/month for SSO, with MFA (~$3/user/mo) and Lifecycle Management (~$4/user/mo) as add-ons, so a 50-person team might pay roughly $100-450/month depending on modules — often cheaper than Drata if you only need identity management, but you'll still need a separate tool if certification is required.