Top 10+ PAM Solutions with Free Alternatives

We spent three days testing and reviewing popular Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions. We used the free trials and admin consoles of BeyondTrust, Keeper PAM, and ManageEngine PAM360. For solutions that required registration, we relied on official product documentation and verified user experiences to assess their capabilities.

Based on our hands-on experience and information from vendor websites, we list the top 11 PAM solutions along with key features and pricing details.

Top 11 commercial PAM vendors 

Pricing insights come from AWS Marketplace and official vendor websites.¹

PAM maturity comparison

All reviewed PAM solutions include a common set of core features, explained below. Where they begin to diverge is in the depth of automation, context-aware access control, and full-stack integration capabilities that enable:

• Just-in-Time (JIT) access, which grants temporary, time-bound privileged access only when needed and automatically revokes it afterward.
• Dynamic access, which extends JIT principles by enabling adaptive, context-driven access across users, machines, APIs, and applications.

DevOps and infrastructure integrations

* Supports secrets management usable with Kubernetes (no explicit full orchestration support.

Free PAM solutions

A few vendors offer free PAM-capable solutions that are well-suited to small-scale deployments. Some, such as Devolutions Password Hub, also offer paid business plans that include enterprise features like approval workflows and compliance reporting.

We reviewed these tools based on their level of PAM functionality. Below, we present some key solutions. For more details, see our article on free PAM Solutions.

PAM for secure credential storage (vault-based tools):

• Devolutions Password Hub Free: For leveraging a cloud vault with access tracking, but no session control.
• KeePassXC (with KeeAgent): For managing local-only passwords and SSH keys.

PAM for dynamic secrets management tools:

• Vault by HashiCorp (Community Edition): For DevOps teams managing machine-to-machine secrets, dynamic credentials, and automation workflows. Free to self-host, but source-available under the Business Source License, not open source.⁴

One Identity

One Identity’s PAM offering is the Safeguard family: credential vaulting, session recording, behavioral analytics, and JIT access. Safeguard ships as a hardened physical or virtual appliance, and as a vendor-managed hybrid service, Safeguard On Demand. One Identity also sells Cloud PAM Essentials, a separate SaaS product for organizations that do not want to run appliances.

The platform is available in three deployment models: on-premises hardware appliances, a hybrid SaaS option (Safeguard On Demand), and a fully cloud-native tier (Cloud PAM Essentials).

What the platform covers

Safeguard for Privileged Passwords is supplied as a single platform rather than as separate modules.⁵ Privileged Passwords handles credential storage, rotation, and retrieval with role-based approval workflows. Privileged Sessions proxies, records, and monitors sessions, with indexed content for searchable audit trails. Privileged Analytics flags anomalous behavior. Safeguard also feeds One Identity Manager, so privileged and non-privileged access can be certified in one governance framework.

For heavy Active Directory users, One Identity’s AD bridge tools extend AD authentication to Unix, Linux, and macOS, removing a set of separate identity silos.

Strengths

• Appliance-based architecture requires no third-party database or application server for core functionality.
• Session proxying keeps real passwords away from end users; credentials are never exposed to the connecting admin.
• Vaulting, session management, and analytics are delivered as one platform rather than separately marketed modules.

Weaknesses

• Version 8.0 is not supported on older appliance hardware: not on 2000-series appliances for Privileged Passwords, and not on T-Series hardware for Privileged Sessions. Existing estates may need a hardware refresh before upgrading.⁶
• No native Kubernetes or container orchestration support. DevOps coverage stops at the Secrets Broker for DevOps and does not extend to cluster-level access management.

Securden

Securden is a privileged access management (PAM) solution that consolidates credential vaulting, session management, JIT access, and endpoint privilege management into a single platform.

It is designed as a self-install, do-it-yourself alternative to legacy platforms like CyberArk and BeyondTrust, with user-based licensing that covers all features without add-ons or module-level purchases. ⁷

Securden Privileged Account Manager (PAM)

Securden Privileged Account Manager (PAM)

Securden Privileged Account Manager (PAM)

Securden Privileged Account Manager (PAM)

Securden Privileged Account Manager (PAM)

1/5

What the platform covers

The password vault handles credential storage, sharing, and rotation with granular access controls and audit trails. The Unified PAM tier adds privileged session launch and recording, just-in-time access provisioning, application password management, and endpoint privilege management. Both tiers are available as self-hosted or cloud-hosted deployments. At RSA Conference 2026, Securden announced a broader unified identity security platform that consolidates PAM, endpoint privilege management, IGA, CIEM, non-human identity management, and AI agent security into a single product. ⁸

Strengths

• Free Starter tier includes features that most vendors restrict to paid plans, such as granular access controls, 2FA, and scheduled backups, making it accessible for small teams evaluating PAM without upfront cost.
• User-based licensing applies to both the password vault and the PAM platform, which is more predictable than asset-based pricing models used by vendors like ManageEngine.
• Self-install design reduces vendor dependency during deployment; most configurations do not require professional services.

Weaknesses

• The password vault and Unified PAM are separate products with separate licensing, which adds procurement complexity for organizations that need both.
• Pricing is quote-based above the free Starter tier, with no published per-user rates for the Teams, Enterprise, or PAM editions.

miniOrange

miniOrange is a cloud-first platform covering privileged access for human users, service accounts, non-human identities (NHIs), and AI agents through a single unified interface.

The platform is available for a 30-day free trial with full features. Pricing above that is quote-based.

What the platform covers

The core product handles credential vaulting with AES-256 encryption and automated rotation for SSH, RDP, VNC, Active Directory, and database accounts. ⁷ Session monitoring records live sessions with full playback; admins can terminate sessions in real time. JIT access provisioning grants time-limited elevation on request and revokes it automatically on completion, with no standing privileges. ⁹

The non-human identity and AI agent management layer is the more differentiated part of the offering. miniOrange provides discovery of service accounts, API keys, and machine identities alongside ephemeral secret management for automated workflows. ⁷

For web applications, miniOrange ships a PAM browser extension that detects login fields automatically and injects credentials without exposing them to users, including multi-step logins, domain fields, and custom authentication flows. ⁷

Compliance reporting covers PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001, SOX, and SOC 2 out of the box. ⁷

Strengths

• No endpoint agents required; works across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid infrastructure without per-device installation. ¹⁰
• Discovery and management of service accounts, API keys, and machine-to-machine credentials alongside human privileged accounts. ¹¹
• Kubernetes clusters are onboarded as managed resources within the PAM dashboard, with JIT access, session recording, and policy enforcement applied at the cluster level. ¹²

Weaknesses

• Smaller ecosystem than CyberArk or BeyondTrust. Third-party integrations and pre-built connectors are fewer, which matters in large enterprises with niche or legacy systems.
• Pricing above the trial tier is not published. Teams evaluating total cost of ownership cannot model it without a vendor conversation.

BeyondTrust

We used the BeyondTrust admin console¹³ to test how access approvals and session requests work in practice. Below, we will highlight our experience:

System & interface overview:

List of privileged accounts this user has permission to access

You can initiate a session to these target systems using your existing tools via Direct Connect, or directly from the Password Safe Web Console. 

• Users can launch sessions directly from the vault, with credentials automatically injected.
• It supports cross-platform access (Windows via RDP, Linux via SSH) from a unified interface.
• These sessions can be recorded, monitored, and terminated in accordance with policy.

Based on our experience, two use cases stood out for BeyondTrust: remote access and credential storage & management.

Remote access (privileged remote access):  

BeyondTrust’s privileged remote access is built for giving admins and vendors controlled access to restricted parts of your network. Think of it as a secure remote jumpbox where you can grant access on demand or require approval first, convenient for external contractors. It also includes session recording and playback tools for audit and compliance.

Requesting access to the WS20 system:

In this view, we are requesting access to the WS20 system. The console allows setting the start date, access window, and duration, as well as choosing whether to retrieve a password or launch an RDP session directly. This flexibility is part of BeyondTrust’s granular access control, which lets you define who gets access, when, and for how long.

In this case, the system required manual approval before initiating the RDP session. Earlier sessions on other systems were auto-approved because the user was marked as trusted.

This demonstrates BeyondTrust’s ability to enforce dynamic access policies based on system type, trust level, or risk conditions.

You can also link access requests to a ticketing system (like ServiceNow) and specify a ticket number for tracking. The console allows you to set just-in-time (JIT) access durations, such as 2 hours, ensuring privileged credentials aren’t left active longer than necessary. Once approved, the session can be launched immediately, along with all related actions.¹⁴

Overall, the admin console provides clear visibility and strong policy enforcement, though initial configuration can be complex. Once set up, however, the workflow provides a controlled, auditable process for managing privileged sessions and credential retrieval.

Credential storage & management (Password Safe):  

BeyondTrust’s Password Safe manages credentials for service accounts, local application logins, and admin passwords. The Team Passwords option helps when you need to share credentials without full automation.

This is a more automation-heavy approach compared to other vendors’ approaches (ManageEngine or Delinea), which provide smoother manual onboarding experiences.

Team members can create a folder structure to manage team passwords

Integration and onboarding:

You can integrate BeyondTrust with ticketing and ITSM systems like ServiceNow, but most teams start off doing things manually before automating approvals. The integration is powerful but takes effort to get right. BeyondTrust relies on vendor assistance for setup and expansion.

Automation and password rotation challenges:

BeyondTrust’s password automation is powerful but requires caution early on. Services can get locked out if cached credentials aren’t updated before rotation. Start by onboarding built-in admin accounts and rolling out automation slowly. Also, if your Active Directory has special password age or complexity rules, make sure BeyondTrust’s policies match to avoid rotation failures.

CyberArk, Delinea, and ManageEngine face similar challenges.

Strengths

• Detailed approval workflows for internal admins and third parties.
• Reliable session recording, monitoring, and playback.
• Deep integration with ServiceNow and other ticketing systems enables access requests to be made directly from incident or change tickets.
• Streamlines password checkouts and session launches without repeating full approval workflows.
• Allows simultaneous session launches and post-login commands across linked systems.
• REST API and GitHub Action support extend PAM capabilities into DevOps pipelines.

Weaknesses

• Session startup and authentication added noticeable delay before a session became usable.
• Default timeouts triggered frequent reauthentication.
• The automation-first design made manual asset and account setup more cumbersome than the ManageEngine and Delinea consoles.
• Configuring ServiceNow and similar integrations required vendor guidance.
• Services can be locked out if cached credentials are not updated before rotation, and Active Directory password age or complexity rules must be mirrored in the BeyondTrust policy to avoid rotation failures.

CyberArk

CyberArk is part of Palo Alto Networks and is moving to the Idira brand.¹⁵

It targets large enterprises with hybrid environments, in-house technical staff, and full lifecycle compliance requirements. For smaller or less-regulated teams, it is heavier than lightweight PAM or secrets management tools.

Strengths

• Comprehensive PAM platform: Full lifecycle coverage: credential vaulting, rotation, session control, and audit.
  
• Robust security controls: Credentials never reach endpoints; supports granular access and multi-step approvals.
  
• Enterprise audit trail: Session recording, keystroke logging, and searchable transcripts meet strict compliance standards.
  
• Strong AD integration: Synchronizes with Active Directory and automates password reconciliation.
  
• Scalability: Built for large, complex, multi-domain environments.
  
• Integration Ecosystem: APIs, SDKs, and modules for CI/CD, ITSM, and SIEM systems.
  

Weaknesses

• The self-hosted architecture spans Vault, CPM, PSM, and PVWA components, each sized and hardened separately. Full rollout requires dedicated expertise.¹⁶
• Smaller organizations may find the platform too heavy and costly for their scale.

ManageEngine PAM360

ManageEngine PAM360 is a privileged access management (PAM) solution for small to mid-sized organizations that need core PAM features without the steep costs of tools like CyberArk or BeyondTrust. The product is licensed based on the number of administrators, not the number of assets.

It offers PAM features, including password vaulting, session monitoring, and access control, but its interface and integration quality may be less refined than those of more expensive solutions. 

Also, compared to many of the top privileged access management vendors, ManageEngine offers PAM360 only as on-premises software. ManageEngine PAM3602 does not support cloud-native environments, data container systems like Kubernetes, or Linux.

Basic features included:

• Password vaulting & rotation: Secures passwords and integrates with Active Directory and LDAP for credential management.
  
• Session monitoring & recording: Monitors user activity with session shadowing and session recording.
  
• Approval workflows: Use ticketing and approval systems to control access to privileged accounts.
  
• Automated compliance reporting: Provides pre-built reports to assist with regulatory compliance (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA).
  
• Integration with ITSM/DevOps: Works with tools such as ServiceNow, Ansible, and Jenkins for automated access.

Missing features compared to competitors like BeyondTrust:

• Session management: While PAM360 supports session recording, it lacks live session monitoring, session playback controls, and real-time threat detection that BeyondTrust offers.
  
• Comprehensive cloud support: BeyondTrust provides robust, cloud-native PAM features, including Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) capabilities, that PAM360 does not.
  
• Enterprise reporting/analytics: BeyondTrust provides more detailed, customizable compliance and activity reports, along with user behavior analytics.

Strengths

• Provides essential PAM features at a lower cost than high-end competitors.
• Includes credential vaulting, session recording, and approval workflows.
• Integrates well with Active Directory and LDAP for seamless account management.
• Works with Ansible, Jenkins, and ServiceNow for integration into automation and incident management workflows.
• Licenses are based on admins, not assets, making it cost-effective for smaller teams.
  

Weaknesses

• Licensing meters administrator count and SSH key count separately, so cost can rise on either axis independently of infrastructure size.
• Auto-discovery of privileged accounts, ticketing and SIEM integration, jump server configuration, and application-to-application password management are all excluded from the free tier.¹⁷
• PAM360 grants time-bound access through ticketing and approval workflows. It does not provision ephemeral accounts or issue short-lived credentials, which is how the zero-standing-privilege products in this comparison implement JIT.

StrongDM

Strong DM Architecture¹⁶

The platform provides ephemeral credentials and just-in-time access across databases, servers, clusters, web applications, and cloud services without metering or data limits by protocol or resource type.¹⁸ StrongDM offers zero trust access management for regulated workloads running in AWS GovCloud.

Below are some highlighted technologies that StrongDM supports:

Source: StongDM¹⁹

Strengths

• Unlike CyberArk or BeyondTrust, StrongDM doesn’t require agents on target systems. Its proxy model connects users directly through existing tools (CLI, RDP, SSH) while maintaining full audit visibility.
• StrongDM is designed for automation-first teams, offering APIs, CLI tools, and SDKs to embed access control into CI/CD pipelines without the complexity of legacy PAM deployments.

Weaknesses

• Gateways and relays run in customer infrastructure, and continuous connectivity to the StrongDM API is required to reach managed resources. Restricted or air-gapped environments are not supported.

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WALLIX

WALLIX Bastion differentiates through strict EU data residency and a modular, agentless architecture. The platform comprises five distinct modules, Session Manager, Password Manager, Access Manager, Privilege Elevation and Delegation Manager, and Application to Application Password Manager, available as separable components. Session recordings include full-color video, transcript, and metadata rather than raw video alone.

WALLIX Bastion can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), but lacks native support for container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes or modern secrets management pipelines. 

Strengths

• WALLIX uses an agentless approach, reducing deployment complexity and minimizing maintenance overhead compared to agent-based PAM systems.
• Provides session recording, live monitoring, and playback capabilities. Admins can supervise or terminate sessions in real time to ensure policy compliance.
• Designed with compliance standards in mind, including GDPR, ISO 27001, and NIS2.

Weaknesses

• Lacks native integrations for Kubernetes, Docker, and major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Compared to tools like CyberArk or StrongDM, WALLIX provides fewer automation and API capabilities.
• WALLIX has fewer third-party integrations and a smaller partner ecosystem compared to major vendors such as BeyondTrust, CyberArk, or Okta.

Okta Privileged Access (ASA)

Okta ASA platform integrates with Okta’s identity and access management (IAM) ecosystem. However, it lacks full PAM breadth (like credential vaulting, session playback, and database access), so enterprises seeking a complete privileged access platform will likely need to pair it with a traditional PAM tool such as BeyondTrust or CyberArk.

Strengths

• Best for multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructure, supporting AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-premises environments without requiring agents or complex network tunnels.
• Instead of storing static passwords or SSH keys, it issues short-lived, per-session credentials, reducing credential sprawl and minimizing attack surface.
• Natively integrates with Okta Identity Cloud, inheriting its MFA, SSO, and policies.

Weaknesses

• It does not natively manage privileged access to databases, web applications, Kubernetes clusters, cloud consoles (such as the AWS Management Console or Azure Portal), or network devices.
• Since it uses ephemeral certificates, it lacks a traditional password or secrets vault.

Keeper PAM (Keeper Security)

KeeperPAM uses a zero-knowledge encryption architecture where Keeper itself cannot access customer-stored secrets. The platform includes protection for up to 24 annual active non-human identities and 5,000 monthly endpoint workloads at no additional cost.²⁰ The product holds FIPS 140-3 validation, FedRAMP Authorization, and GovRAMP Authorization.¹⁸

We tested Keeper PAM, focusing primarily on RDP session management. Below, see our experience with Keeper PAM:

Admin console overview:

When you log in to the Admin Console, you’re greeted by a clean dashboard that provides a high-level overview of user activity, security posture, and system health.

The Dashboard provides oversight of the following:

• Top Events and link to Timeline Chart
• Security Audit Overall Score
• BreachWatch Overall Score
• User Status Summary

The Admin tab is where most configuration and user deployment tasks are handled. From here, administrators can manage Nodes, Users, Roles, Teams, and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) settings, providing centralized control over access policies and organizational structure:

Role-based access controls:

Keeper PAM includes Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC) that allow administrators to define enforcement policies based on each user’s job responsibilities and to delegate specific administrative permissions when needed.

These enforcement policies cover a wide range of configuration categories, including:

• Login Settings
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
• Platform Restriction
• Vault Features
• Record Types
• Sharing & Uploading
• KeeperFill
• Account Settings
• Allow IP List
• Keeper Secrets Manager
• Transfer Account

Configuring enforcement policies for roles:

To configure enforcement policies, navigate to Admin, Roles, select a role, and click Enforcement Policies. A configuration dialog will appear, allowing specific rules to be applied. Once policies are defined, click Done to finalize and enforce them across all users assigned to that role.:

Deploying Keeper:

Business customers can add users through manual invitations, bulk imports, or provisioning methods, depending on organizational needs.

For manual user provisioning, you can invite users individually by navigating to Add Users, selecting the desired node, and entering the user’s full name and email address.

Also, for bulk user import: In larger deployments, admins can import users from a CSV file, automatically sending setup invitations to each user. Once users are added, Keeper automatically sends an email invitation prompting them to set up their account and complete onboarding.

Keeper Teams plan

For teams, it offers a Team module that lets users share records and folders within their vaults with logical groupings of individuals. To do that, you need to set Team Restrictions (edit/viewing/sharing of passwords) and add individual users to the team:

To create a team, select the node you want to associate it with, enter the team name, and click Add Team:

Once created, you can configure team-level restrictions, such as:

• Disabling record re-shares
• Preventing record edits
• Applying a privacy screen for sensitive data

It’s important to note that Keeper implements Least-Privilege policies, so when a user is a member of multiple roles or teams, their net policy is the most restrictive or least privileged.

Keeper Enterprise

While our testing focused on Keeper for smaller teams, the Keeper Enterprise edition builds on these capabilities with additional compliance and multi-platform support.

It provides enterprise-grade risk analytics:

Keeper Security Government Cloud, the AWS GovCloud instance of KeeperPAM, holds FedRAMP High authorization. The authorization covers the government cloud instance rather than the commercial platform. See its security audit score dashboard:

Keeper Enterprise also provides multi-platform access, offering full functionality across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and all major web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari). You can enforce platform restrictions, for example, limiting access to specific OS environments or disabling browser-based logins for high-security users.

Strengths

• Keeper offers fully cloud-native deployment with automatic vault and client updates, reducing maintenance overhead for administrators.
• Requires no local agent installation.
• Keeper provides plugins and APIs that enable integration with CI/CD tools, DevOps pipelines, and identity platforms.

Weaknesses

• The KeeperPAM control plane runs in Keeper Cloud and requires an outbound connection to it. Keeper Connection Manager is self-hostable and covers session brokering inside isolated networks, but it does not deliver the full platform on its own.²¹
• Coverage includes 24 annual active NHIs and 5,000 monthly endpoint workloads; beyond that, volume-based pricing applies.²²

SailPoint (PAM Module)

SailPoint’s Privileged Account Management (PAM) Module extends its core Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) capabilities to cover privileged accounts.

It fits companies that have invested in SailPoint’s ecosystem and need centralized identity governance, compliance reporting, and access certifications directly tied to privileged access.

Strengths

• Natively connects PAM data to identity governance, enabling full visibility of privileged accounts across systems.
• Automates access reviews and compliance reporting for privileged accounts.

Weaknesses

• Expensive compared to dedicated PAM vendors, especially for organizations not already using SailPoint IdentityIQ.
• Lacks deep session recording, credential vaulting, or just-in-time (JIT) access capabilities found in platforms like CyberArk.

Compliance and reporting capabilities 

The vendors we selected offer out-of-the-box reports and mappings to major regulatory frameworks. Regulations such as PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and HIPAA all require strict controls over privileged access to ensure accountability and data protection.

Most leading PAM platforms, including BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Delinea Secret Server, ManageEngine PAM360, Okta, and Keeper Security, provide built-in reporting templates and policy mappings aligned with these frameworks. For example, you can review WALLIX’s compliance-reporting capability here.¹³

For some vendors, such as StrongDM, WALLIX, and SailPoint, we could not find detailed public information confirming predefined compliance reports.

Real-world PAM implementation considerations

Can PAM manage heterogeneous systems (e.g., firewalls, switches, routers, Linux servers, off-domain servers, SQL databases)?

Yes, most PAM systems can manage a wide variety of systems, including firewalls, routers, switches, Linux servers, off-domain servers, SQL databases, and other critical infrastructure. However, the depth of integration can vary:

• Out-of-the-box connectors exist for common enterprise systems (Windows, Linux, AD, network devices, databases), but custom integrations are often needed for niche or legacy systems.
  
• Some PAM platforms, such as CyberArk and BeyondTrust, offer marketplaces with predefined integrations or API connectors to extend their reach to more specialized systems.
  
• If a direct connector isn’t available, API-based integrations can be built, allowing PAM systems to manage and rotate credentials for devices that expose command-line or REST API access.

How well do PAM systems integrate with APIs and services? Can a PAM system replace the use of secrets and certificates in scheduled tasks or scripts?

PAM systems can integrate with APIs and services to manage secrets, certificates, and credentials for scheduled tasks or scripts. Most enterprise-grade PAMs (e.g., CyberArk, Delinea, ManageEngine) support integrations with DevOps tools such as Ansible, Jenkins, and Terraform, as well as API calls to automate credential retrieval for applications, scripts, or services.

• Credential retrieval from a vault: For scheduled tasks, scripts, and automation pipelines, listed PAM systems provide REST APIs and secrets management tools to retrieve passwords or certificates dynamically.
  
• Replacing secrets in scripts: PAM systems can replace hard-coded credentials by storing secrets in a vault and referencing them programmatically as needed.

However, PAM systems often require significant setup and testing to replace manual secrets management in scripts or scheduled tasks fully. Expect some integration work to get everything functioning smoothly.

Do you strip all admin access from in-scope systems once PAM is onboarded?

This varies by organization and the specific PAM deployment strategy. While the goal of any PAM implementation is to remove standing administrative access (to reduce the risk of unauthorized access), many systems still maintain break-glass accounts for emergency access in case of PAM failure or critical incidents.

• Emergency access accounts: Accounts that provide direct access to systems when PAM becomes unavailable. Typically, these accounts should be managed and stored securely (e.g., using smart cards or hardware security modules).
• JIT PAM approaches: Some PAM tools offer Just-in-Time (JIT) access, which means privileges are provisioned only when necessary and revoked once the task is complete, reducing the need for persistent administrative access.
• Recommendations: It’s not recommended to strip all access immediately, as failover mechanisms (like break-glass accounts) should be tested and ready for use if needed.

Core capabilities of PAM vendors

All reviewed PAM solutions include core PAM features. These include:

• Identity-based access controls: Integration with enterprise directories such as Active Directory, LDAP, or SSO platforms to centralize user authentication and access enforcement.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Single Sign-On (SSO): Built-in or integrated support for MFA and SSO to strengthen authentication and simplify user access across systems.
• Privileged credential vaulting: Secure, encrypted storage for privileged account passwords, SSH keys, and API secrets.
• Session recording and monitoring: Full visibility into privileged activity, with the ability to record, audit, and replay administrative sessions for compliance and forensic review.
• Access request and approval workflows: Request-based access with approval mechanisms.

Key market updates

Two ownership changes reshaped this vendor set in the first half of 2026.

• Palo Alto Networks completed its $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk on 11 February 2026.¹³ On 12 May 2026 it introduced Idira, an identity security platform built on CyberArk’s PAM technology and extended to machine and AI agent identities. Idira is positioned as an upgrade path for existing CyberArk customers rather than a replacement, and CyberArk-branded products remain available.²
• Delinea completed its acquisition of StrongDM on 5 March 2026, combining Delinea’s enterprise PAM with StrongDM’s runtime authorization. The two products are still sold separately, so organizations evaluating a unified access strategy currently navigate two product lines.²³

Free-tier terms also changed.

• HashiCorp Vault, listed in our free PAM section, is source-available under the Business Source License 1.1, not open source: the licence permits internal and commercial use but bars organizations that provide a competing offering.²
• Teleport Community Edition, another common free option, is limited to companies with fewer than 100 employees and annual revenue under $10 million.²³

DevOps and infrastructure integrations

Environments span on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud infrastructure, with privileged access extending to endpoints, servers, SaaS platforms, and containers. A capable PAM solution should discover all privileged identities not just administrator accounts including service accounts, API keys, and machine identities that are integral to CI/CD pipelines, containers, Kubernetes, and Terraform.

Compliance and reporting capabilities

PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and HIPAA all require strict controls on privileged access to ensure accountability and data protection. BeyondTrust, CyberArk, ManageEngine PAM360, Okta, and Keeper Security provide built-in reporting templates and policy mappings aligned with these frameworks. For StrongDM, WALLIX, and SailPoint, detailed public information on predefined compliance reports was not available at the time of writing; verify directly with each vendor.

FAQs

Cite this research

Pick the format that matches where you're publishing. Pasting the link version into your CMS preserves the backlink.

@misc{dilmegani2026,
  author = {Dilmegani, Cem and PhD., Ezgi Arslan,},
  title  = {{Top 10+ PAM Solutions with Free Alternatives}},
  year   = {2026},
  month  = aug,
  howpublished    = {\url{https://aimultiple.com/pam-solutions}},
  note   = {AIMultiple. Retrieved August 25, 2026}
}

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Cem Dilmegani

Principal Analyst

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Cem has been the principal analyst at AIMultiple since 2017.

Cem's work at AIMultiple has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Morning Brew, and Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte and HPE, NGOs like World Economic Forum, and supranational organizations like European Commission. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.

He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.

Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

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Researched by

Ezgi Arslan, PhD.

Industry Analyst

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Ezgi holds a PhD in Business Administration with a specialization in finance and serves as an Industry Analyst at AIMultiple. She drives research and insights at the intersection of technology and business, with expertise spanning sustainability, survey and sentiment analysis, AI agent applications in finance, answer engine optimization, firewall management, and procurement technologies.

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