Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions have moved from a compliance requirement to a front-line security control. As organizations expand across hybrid cloud, SaaS, DevOps pipelines, non-human identities, and now agentic AI, privileged access has become both more pervasive and more dangerous. 

Analyst research consistently shows that privileged credential abuse is the most common root cause of major breaches. Modern attackers rely on credential theft, lateral movement, and overprivileged access to quietly escalate impact. As a result, PAM has evolved beyond password vaulting into a discipline focused on Zero Standing Privileges (ZSP), blast-radius containment, and continuous verification.  

This guide reviews the top PAM solutions for 2026, highlighting how each vendor addresses today’s PAM requirements, where they excel, and where organizations should apply caution. 

Why invest in Privileged Access Management (PAM)?

Privileged Access Management governs identities, human and machine, that can create, modify, or compromise systems and data. These include administrators, service accounts, cloud roles, CI/CD pipelines, workloads, and increasingly, AI agents. 

Gartner estimates that 15–25% of new PAM deployments are now driven directly by cyber insurance requirements, with insurers demanding MFA, session recording, and JIT access as conditions for coverage. In parallel, regulators, auditors, and widely adopted security frameworks including NIST, ISO/IEC 27001, and SOC 2 are tightening requirements for privileged access governance, auditability, and least-privilege controls. 

Modern PAM software is expected to: 

• Eliminate standing administrative access 
• Secure machine and workload identities at scale 
• Prevent lateral movement after authentication 
• Provide forensic-grade auditability 
• Support Zero Trust architectures across cloud and on-prem environments 

When evaluating privileged access management platforms, look for the following capabilities: 

• Credential Vaulting: Secure storage and rotation of privileged passwords, keys, and secrets. 
• Session Brokering & Isolation: Users never directly access target systems. Sessions are proxied, logged, and controlled. 
• Just-In-Time (JIT) Privileges: Standing access is eliminated. Privileges are granted only when needed and automatically revoked. 
• Session Monitoring & Recording: Full audit trails including keystrokes, commands, file transfers, and video replay. 
• Policy-Based Access Controls: Contextual access decisions based on identity, device, network, time, and role. 
• Preventing Lateral Movement through containment / microsegmentation: This emerging feature has become increasingly critical as attackers pivot between systems once inside a network. 

The strongest PAM software integrate Zero Trust networking concepts, ensuring that identity, access, and network controls work together rather than in silos.  When evaluating PAM vendors, be sure to ask the right questions to determine whether a solution can truly support Zero Trust goals and long-term risk reduction. (Read our, Questions to Ask Before Investing in a PAM Solution). 

Top Privileged Access Management (PAM) Vendors for 2026 

1. 12Port Platform — Unified Zero Trust PAM & Microsegmentation 

The 12Port Platform represents a modern approach of Privileged Access Management solutions—one built around Zero Trust enforcement, session intelligence, and containment for both human and non-human identities. Designed to be agentless and cloud-native, 12Port delivers privileged access without exposing credentials, network access, or standing trust, aligning directly with modern Zero Trust and ransomware defense strategies. 

What sets 12Port apart is that it is the only enterprise PAM platform that natively extends into preventing lateral movement after access is granted. Traditional PAM tools stop at authentication and session recording. 12Port goes further by containing privileged sessions at the network layer using dynamic microsegmentation, ensuring that even valid users and workloads cannot pivot, scan, or move laterally across environments. 

12Port acts as a Zero Trust access broker for both human users and machine identities, enforcing identity, session, and network controls together rather than in silos. Privileged access is continuously verified, monitored, and constrained in real time—without granting direct network connectivity or static credentials. 

Key capabilities include: 

• Agentless privileged access for human users (admins, engineers, third-party vendors) and non-human identities (services, workloads, automation, and AI agents) across RDP, SSH, VNC, databases, and web applications. 
• Built-in MFA and continuous verification ensure that human-initiated sessions are validated before and during access, while machine access is governed through policy-driven controls rather than standing secrets. 
• Built-in credential vault with automatic rotation. 
• Full session recording and real-time session intelligence provides deep visibility into commands, actions, and access behavior. 
• AI-powered session and log insights transform raw PAM audit data into clear, actionable intelligence, highlighting unusual activity, policy violations, usage trends, and risk indicators without requiring manual log review or video playback. 
• Dynamic microsegmentation enforces containment policies that prevent lateral movement even after access is granted. 
• Support for hybrid, cloud, on-prem, and air-gapped environments. 
• Clear pricing tiers designed to scale without enterprise lock-in (based on publicly available pricing information). 
• Fast deployment, centralized management dashboard and flexible pricing. Download the full-featured trial of 12Port PAM — no signup, no friction, deploy in minutes. 

2. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager 

CyberArk has long been regarded as a leader in Privileged Access Management and widely deployed PAM platform in large, regulated enterprises. In 2025, CyberArk was acquired by Palo Alto Networks, marking a major shift in its long-term strategy as privileged access becomes more tightly integrated with broader platform-based security architectures.

Under Palo Alto Networks, CyberArk continues to operate as the core privileged access layer, with increased emphasis on securing cloud workloads, DevOps pipelines, and AI-driven threat detection.  

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Industry-leading vaulting and credential lifecycle management. 
• Advanced AI-driven session analysis (CORA AI). 
• Strong secrets management and DevOps integrations. 
• Broad global enterprise adoption. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• High cost and licensing complexity. 
• Long deployment timelines. 
• Significant operational overhead for smaller teams. 
• Best suited for large security teams with dedicated IAM resources. 

3. Delinea (Formerly Thycotic + Centrify) 

Delinea positions itself as a cloud-first PAM platform that balances enterprise-grade capabilities with usability. Delinea emphasizes identity-centric access control, clean workflows, and faster time to value. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Simpler workflows than legacy PAM tools. 
• Strong support for remote access scenarios.
• Strong UNIX/Linux PEDM capabilities. 
• Flexible deployment options. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• Requires professional services. 
• Management complexity due to post-merger product integration.
• RPAM and advanced collaboration features lag other vendors. 
• Some discovery and credential scenarios require scripting. 

4. BeyondTrust Privileged Access Management 

BeyondTrust offers a broad security portfolio that combines PAM, endpoint privilege management, and remote access tools. BeyondTrust is not a zero-knowledge platform and relies on centralized storage with traditional architectural models. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Strong RPAM and endpoint privilege controls. 
• Robust CIEM and entitlement visibility. 
• Integrated approach across IT and security operations. 
• Mature session monitoring features. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• Platform breadth can add complexity. 
• Workload secrets management less mature than leaders. 
• Initial configuration and tuning may be time-consuming. 
• Fit for enterprises looking for PAM tightly integrated with IT support and endpoint security. 

5. One Identity Safeguard 

One Identity approaches PAM from an identity governance and analytics perspective, emphasizing visibility, session control, and behavioral monitoring. Its strengths are most apparent in environments where PAM must integrate tightly with broader identity governance initiatives. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Advanced threat detection using behavioral signals. 
• Deep identity lifecycle integrations. 
• Strong session governance. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• The overall solution spans multiple products and interfaces, increasing operational overhead. 
• CIEM and secrets management capabilities are limited without additional tooling. 
• The platform is best suited for organizations already invested in One Identity’s IAM ecosystem. 

6. ManageEngine PAM360 

ManageEngine targets IT-driven organizations that need practical PAM capabilities at a lower cost. PAM360 is tightly integrated with the broader ManageEngine IT management portfolio, making it appealing to existing customers of the ecosystem. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Centralized credential management. 
• Built-in compliance reporting. 
• Cost-effective compared to enterprise leaders. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• Limited JIT maturity and CIEM capabilities. 
• On-prem–first approach (SaaS still emerging).
• Best for SMBs and IT operations teams. 

7. miniOrange PAM 

miniOrange offers a lightweight, flexible PAM solution designed to integrate closely with IAM and MFA deployments. It is often selected by organizations looking to extend identity controls into privileged access without adopting a heavy PAM platform. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Basic credential vaulting and controlled privileged access workflows. 
• Strong MFA and authentication integrations. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• Smaller ecosystem. 
• Limited session intelligence, recording, and analytics. 
• Used by organizations needing lightweight PAM integrated with IAM and MFA. 

8. StrongDM 

StrongDM focuses on infrastructure access rather than traditional PAM, positioning itself as a Zero Trust access layer for cloud, database, and DevOps environments. Its approach emphasizes identity-based access and ephemeral permissions over credential vaulting. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Excellent for cloud and database access. 
• Unified access logs. 
• Strong DevOps alignment. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• Limited traditional vaulting and credential rotation features. 
• Less focus on compliance-driven PAM use cases. 
• Engineering-led organizations managing cloud infrastructure at scale. 

9. Okta Privileged Access 

Okta extends Okta’s identity-first model into privileged access, focusing on just-in-time access and strong identity context. The solution is most effective when deployed as part of a broader Okta IAM strategy. 

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Strong identity context. 
• Seamless integration with Okta IAM. 
• Cloud-native architecture. 

Considerations & Limitations  

• PAM functionality still maturing. 
• Less coverage for legacy infrastructure.
• Best for organizations already standardized on Okta. 

10. KeeperPAM 

Keeper Security extends Keeper’s password management heritage into the PAM space, offering an accessible entry point for organizations beginning their PAM journey.  

Capabilities & Strengths 

• Basic credential vaulting and basic privileged session controls. 
• Affordable pricing 
• Integrated password and session controls 

Considerations & Limitations  

• Limited scalability 
• Fewer advanced controls and does not prevent lateral movement.  
• SMBs and cost-sensitive teams entering PAM for the first time. 

Final Takeaway 

In 2026, PAM success is defined by how effectively a platform reduces blast radius, eliminates standing privilege, and secures both machine identities and AI agents—not by vault features alone. While legacy PAM software continues to dominate large enterprise deployments, it is often costly, resource-intensive, and operationally complex to deploy and maintain. 

Newer Zero Trust–native platforms like 12Port take a different approach by combining enterprise-grade PAM with real-time session intelligence and built-in microsegmentation to contain lateral movement. By delivering these capabilities in a single, scalable, and affordable platform, organizations can secure privileged access, contain threats, and prove compliance without adding operational burden. The result is reduced tool sprawl, simpler administration, and stronger cyber resilience across modern hybrid environments. 

The post Top 10 Privileged Access Management Solutions for 2026  appeared first on 12Port.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from 12Port authored by 12port. Read the original post at: https://www.12port.com/blog/top-10-privileged-access-management-solutions-for-2026/