PIM vs PAM: What's the Difference?
Compare the access you need to govern before comparing product names. Microsoft Entra PIM focuses on supported role and group assignments; a wider PAM program may also need credential, service-account and session controls. This guide helps identify which requirement belongs in each scope.
The short answer
PAM is the broader practice of controlling privileged access. Microsoft Entra PIM is a specific way to govern supported privileged role and group assignments, including eligibility and time-limited activation. PAM products may combine role governance with credential vaulting, rotation and session controls, so the labels overlap. Compare the accounts, systems and controls you need instead of assuming PIM and PAM are two mutually exclusive products or that buying both guarantees complete coverage.
A Microsoft administrator role, a firewall password and an application identity are different access problems. Write down the target, who or what uses the access, how it is approved and what evidence is needed. The resulting requirements provide a more useful comparison than a vendor diagram.
Role eligibility may be the first priority in one tenant, while an unowned vendor account or exposed service credential is more urgent elsewhere. Available licenses matter, but they should not override the actual risk and supported integration requirements.
Turn the comparison into a scoped decision
Map each priority requirement to an available capability, note what is unsupported and test a representative workflow. Define account owners, approvers, emergency access and review duties. Decide separately whether you need initial configuration, application remediation, continuing operation or a new product. The PIM and PAM service pages describe those implementation scopes.
The Comparison, Concretely
Role eligibility and activation
A common Microsoft Entra PIM use case.
- Who may activate an agreed Entra or Azure role, or group membership
- Duration, authentication and approval requirements
- Assignment and activation records, with permanent exceptions documented
Credentials and target-system access
Requirements for the wider PAM assessment.
- Passwords and secrets that need controlled handling
- Supported rotation and application-dependency checks
- Session evidence and target coverage specified by platform
Shared operating requirements
Neither tool removes the need for accountable people.
- Account owners and access request procedures
- Emergency access, support coverage and escalation
- Review dates, exceptions and removal when access is no longer needed
The purchase decision
Select a first step against a documented requirement.
- Prioritize the highest-impact access gaps
- Check licenses and tool support before committing
- Pilot the chosen control and record the work that remains
A comparison that leads to an implementable scope
Bring the systems and accounts you want to control and any evidence you need to produce. We will help separate role-governance requirements from credential, application and session controls.
Who does the work: meet the NetSys team on our About page.
- Separate cloud role governance from other target-system controls
- Use the account inventory to decide priorities
- Agree evidence, ownership and support requirements before buying tools
PIM vs PAM, side by side
Two disciplines, one attack surface. The split that matters when you're deciding what to buy and in what order:
| PIM: the approval system | PAM: the vault and the guard | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Who gets elevated access, and the identity lifecycle around it | How that access is used and controlled during an active session |
| Core question | Should this user hold this elevated role right now? | What is this account doing with its access, and is it secure? |
| Key controls | Eligible roles, just-in-time activation, time-bound windows, approvals, access reviews | Credential vaulting, automatic password rotation, session monitoring and recording |
| When it acts | Before access is granted | While access is being used |
| Typical tooling | Microsoft Entra PIM (Entra ID P2) | CyberArk, BeyondTrust, Delinea, or disciplined vaulting practice at small scale |
| Blind spot without the other | Credentials sit unvaulted and unrotated; sessions go unwatched | Standing role assignments quietly accumulate |
Complementary, not competing. Most environments end up needing both. The real decision is sequence, and that's set by your licensing and your risk, not by a vendor's category.
Which first: the 60-second decision
The sequencing rule we give clients before any product conversation:
- Already hold Entra ID P2 or Microsoft 365 E5 → start with PIM. The highest-impact control is one you've already licensed.
- No P2 in the tenant → start with PAM fundamentals: vault the credentials, rotate them, separate admin from daily-use identities. Mostly discipline, not spend.
- A carrier or auditor asking for session evidence → PAM's monitoring jumps the queue regardless of licensing.
- Either way the destination is both. This is about sequencing the spend, not picking a winner.
Where we deliver PIM vs PAM
PIM vs PAM in New York City · PIM vs PAM in Brooklyn, NY · PIM vs PAM in Westchester County · PIM vs PAM in Fairfield County. We also support clients remotely wherever their systems run. See all locations and service areas.
PIM vs PAM FAQs
Is PIM part of PAM?
In a broad privileged-access program, role governance is one set of controls. Microsoft Entra PIM implements that for its supported roles and groups; vendors may use the terms differently. Check the actual functions and systems covered. PAM is not restricted to password vaulting, and PIM is not a promise that every assignment is temporary.
Do we have to buy both?
No fixed product combination suits every business. Start with required controls and existing entitlements. Some needs can be met with a supported PIM configuration; others need credential handling, application changes or separate tooling. Avoid purchasing overlapping functions while leaving a critical system outside the scope.
Which Microsoft licenses support PIM?
Microsoft Entra ID P2 or Microsoft Entra ID Governance can provide PIM entitlement. The applicable users, approvers and reviewers must meet the current licensing requirements. Entra ID P1 alone, including the P1 entitlement in Business Premium, is not enough. Check the complete subscription and add-on position before proposing new licenses.
Does PIM provide session recording or password vaulting?
Entra PIM provides assignment and activation controls and related audit records. Those records are not a recording of every action inside a server session. Credential vaulting, rotation and session recording must be assessed for the target system using suitable capabilities. Specify which evidence your business needs and verify it in a pilot.
Sources and technical references
Guides on this topic
- Privileged Identity Management — The PIM Service
- Privileged Access Management — The PAM Service
- What Is Privileged Identity Management? A Plain-English Guide
- What Is Privileged Access Management? A Plain-English Guide
- Microsoft 365 Management — Licensing & Tenant Security
- Security Assessments — Find Out Where Admin Access Stands
Turn the comparison into a defined next step.
Share the access problem you need to solve. We will identify the relevant role, credential and operating requirements before recommending a scope.