Best Microsoft Cloud PKI Alternatives
Keytos Team |
- Updated: April 21, 2026What Are the Best Microsoft Cloud PKI Alternatives?
If you’ve looked into Microsoft Cloud PKI for Intune and found it lacking, you’re not alone. The security community has been vocal about its gaps: no non-Intune SCEP, no OCSP, no ACME, no smartcard support, no Azure Key Vault certificate rotation, and no Azure IoT Hub integration. On top of that, it comes in at $2 per user per month, which is a tough sell for large organizations.
The good news is that the market for cloud PKI alternatives is mature. Security teams have been managing PKI through third-party CAs recommended by Microsoft for years, and there are solid options available. Below we compare the three most common alternatives: EZCA, SCEPMan, and KeyFactor EJBCA.
To help you find the best fit for your organization, we break down the pros and cons of each solution, including their feature sets, Azure integration, ease of use, and pricing. By the end of this blog, you should have a clear understanding of which Microsoft Cloud PKI alternative is right for your needs.
EZCA by Keytos
The strongest alternative to Microsoft Cloud PKI is EZCA by Keytos, an Azure-native cloud certificate authority built by former Microsoft PKI engineers to help Microsoft customers move their PKI to the cloud. EZCA is a full SaaS PKI solution that can be deployed in Minutes from the Azure Marketplace, and it supports all the scenarios Microsoft customers need. From Quick Intune integration, SCEP integration for other MDMs, Azure Key Vault certificate management, ACME for SSL/TLS certificates, smartcard certificate issuance, Azure IoT Hub integration, to even a full migration from on-premises PKI EZCA has you covered. It also comes in at a fraction of the cost of Microsoft Cloud PKI, with pricing starting at $200 USD per Certificate Authority with unlimited certificates makes it a no-brainer for organizations larger than 100 users.
Here is what makes EZCA stand out:
Native Azure Integration: EZCA is the first and only cloud PKI designed to be Azure-native, built in Azure by people who previously built and ran PKI infrastructure at Microsoft. It feels like a natural extension of Azure: no need to manage your own Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs), OCSP, or CA availability. EZCA handles it all.
Easy Setup via Azure Marketplace: As a Microsoft partner, Keytos offers EZCA in the Azure Marketplace, so you can set up your cloud PKI directly from the Azure portal in minutes.
Intune SCEP Support: EZCA makes it straightforward to set up an Intune certificate authority and issue SCEP certificates to managed devices without the overhead of maintaining an ADCS instance and Intune SCEP connector on-premises.
Azure Key Vault Integration: In addition to automated certificate issuance via SCEP and ACME, EZCA offers a one-click Azure Key Vault certificate creation and management integration that teams rely on daily.
Automatic Application Certificate Rotation: EZCA is the only PKI-as-a-Service that supports automatic Azure AD application certificate rotation, removing one of the most common sources of certificate-related outages.
Azure Sentinel Integration: All Keytos tools send security logs to Azure Sentinel, giving your SOC team a single pane of glass for monitoring certificate infrastructure and detecting anomalies.
You can review EZCA pricing directly on the Keytos website, or even get started with a free trial in the Azure Marketplace. If you want to talk through your specific environment and use cases, you can book time to chat with our identity experts for a free PKI evaluation.
SCEPMan
SCEPMan is a well-established option that has been handling Intune SCEP certificate issuance for a long time, and it is reasonably priced. However, while it is a cloud solution, you still have to run the cloud infrastructure yourself. Additionally, its scope is narrow: it supports SCEP and not much else. There is no ACME support, no smartcard certificate issuance, and no deep Azure ecosystem integration. For organizations whose needs have grown beyond basic Intune SCEP, SCEPMan can feel limiting, and you’ll likely find yourself adding other tools to fill the gaps.
KeyFactor EJBCA
KeyFactor’s EJBCA is a full-featured enterprise PKI platform, but it comes with enterprise-level complexity and pricing to match. It is a strong fit for large organizations with dedicated PKI teams who need a highly customizable, on-premises-capable solution. For Azure-first or cloud-native organizations, the limited integration with Azure services, including Azure IoT, Azure AD application certificate rotation, and Azure Key Vault automatic rotation, is a real drawback. Implementation and ongoing maintenance require significant expertise, and the total cost of ownership tends to be high.
Which Microsoft Cloud PKI Alternative Is Right for You?
For most organizations running on Azure, EZCA is the natural fit. It was purpose-built by engineers who came from Microsoft, it deploys natively into your Azure environment with no infrastructure to manage, and it covers every scenario Microsoft Cloud PKI misses. SCEPMan works well if SCEP for Intune is your only requirement and you want a lightweight, low-cost option and are ok running the cloud infrastructure yourself. EJBCA is worth evaluating if you need deep customization and have the team to manage it.
If you want to talk through your specific environment, you can chat with the Keytos identity experts to find the right fit.
