What it means

With SSO, an employee signs in once to an identity provider such as Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace, and that provider tells each connected app who the person is. Apps usually connect through the SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect standards. SSO is often paired with SCIM, which creates, updates and removes user accounts automatically when someone joins, changes role or leaves. SSO controls how people sign in, while multi-factor authentication adds a second check on top of a login.

Why it matters when you buy software

SSO lets a company enforce one set of sign-in rules and remove access in one place, which is why security teams often require it. Vendors frequently sell it only on their highest or sales-quoted plans, so the price on the plan page can understate the cost for a team that needs it. Check which identity providers a plan supports, whether SAML is included or only a single provider such as Google, and whether provisioning comes with it.

Where it appears in the reviews

Plan limits on single sign-on affect pricing and value scores throughout the site. In the monday.com review, Google sign-on is on Pro and Enterprise while Okta, OneLogin and custom SAML 2.0 are Enterprise only. The Bitwarden review places passwordless SSO on the $6 Enterprise tier, and the LastPass review caps SSO at 3 apps on Business. The best project management software roundup compares the tiers.

See also: SOC 2, Zero knowledge encryption and the glossary index.