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Linux Identity vs StrongDM
StrongDM is a credentials broker with broad infrastructure coverage. We’re purpose-built for SSH + sudo on Linux. Both are valid choices for different shapes of team.
TL;DR
Pick StrongDM if
You need a single front door for SSH + RDP + database + Kubernetes + internal web apps across mixed infrastructure, you have budget for per-user pricing in the high four-figures, and you’re comfortable with a gateway sitting in the critical path of every session.
Pick Linux Identity if
Your SSH and sudo audit story is what’s blocking SOC 2, your fleet is mostly Linux, you have many hosts per engineer (the Series-A/B shape), and you don’t want a gateway in the critical path or a sales call before you can try the product.
Feature comparison
StrongDM is a mature commercial product; our facts are checked against their public documentation as of May 2026. If you spot something out of date, email saheed@linuxidentity.com.
| Feature | Linux Identity | StrongDM |
|---|---|---|
| Primary mechanism StrongDM authenticates you to the gateway, which authenticates to the target. We replace static keys with short-lived certs at the protocol layer. | SSH certificate authority | Credentials broker / connection proxy |
| Time to first cert / first connection | 5 minutes | Hours–days (gateway deployment + sales call required) |
| Coverage breadth If you need RDP and database access in one tool, StrongDM is the right call. If your real exposure is Linux SSH + sudo, deep beats broad. | SSH + sudo on Linux (deep) | SSH, RDP, DB, Kubernetes, web (broad) |
| Sudo capture StrongDM records the session; we capture sudo invocations at the PAM layer with the exact command and exit code as structured rows. | First-class via PAM module | Session video / keystroke logs only |
| Audit log tamper evidence | sha256 hash chain + WORM object storage | Centralised log store; no public hash chain |
| SOC 2 evidence export | First-class, maps rows to CC6.x controls | Available; not control-mapped out of the box |
| Agent in critical path StrongDM’s gateway is between every user and every target. If it’s down, access stops. Our agent is event capture only; sshd handles auth directly against the CA pubkey. | No — agent crash degrades logging only | Yes — gateway is on the path |
| Standard OpenSSH on hosts | Yes — cert presented to vanilla sshd | Yes via SSH, but routed through the gateway |
| Pricing model StrongDM charges per user, not per host. Small team / many hosts is where our per-host model wins big. | $25/host/mo (Team, annual) with volume discounts | Per-user pricing — quote-based, mid-market floor |
| Open-source tier | Yes — up to 5 hosts, self-hosted | No |
| Self-serve setup | Yes — install script, no sales call required | No — sales-led only |
| Public threat model | Yes — /security/threat-model/ | No public document |
| On-prem control plane | Enterprise tier | Enterprise tier |
| Non-Linux platform coverage | Not in scope | Windows, macOS gateway access |
Comparing in detail?
Email saheed@linuxidentity.com with your current setup — mix of SSH / RDP / DB, engineer count, host count, SOC 2 timeline — and we’ll send back a one-page side-by-side specific to your situation. Not a sales deck.