# PortalGuard Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is PortalGuard the right Identity Management solution for you? Explore 33 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/136315/PortalGuard/reviews --- PortalGuard 4.6 (33) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/136315/PortalGuard/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of PortalGuard Ease of use 4.5 Customer Service 4.8 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews MP Mary P Infrastructure ManagerHigher Education, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Because of Portalguard we have been able to provide our users with SSO to our portal; establish effective password and security policies; and synchronize user passwords across multiple applications.“ June 29, 2020 SR Susan R Accountant IIIAccounting, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Password requirements are too long and not being able to reuse in more then year.“ May 11, 2021 TH Tommy B. H ConsultantComputer Software, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Yes product easy to use. But a lot of features, so it takes time to set it up correctly“ May 25, 2021 BM Bill M Desktop zSupport TechEducation Management, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Portal Guard has been a great tool and has made it much easier to help other users working from home to manage their passwords.“ May 11, 2021 BM Bill M Desktop zSupport TechEducation Management, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Password changes have been made easier, which has really helped while working from home during the pandemic.“ May 11, 2021 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 33 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use VR Verified Reviewer Senior Director Of CIS Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "PortalGuard review" May 17, 2021 4.0 Integration was seamless. Customer support is fantastic along with the sales team. They all work as a team and communication within is strong. Pros Love the product. Finding and comparing software is crucial in todays world to make sure leadership is making the correct decisions when purchasing software today. Cons Love the product. There are no features I dont like about the software. Review Source DA David A. Vice President Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Excellent product with excellent support" June 23, 2020 5.0 With many companies you purchase a product and make your payments without much further interaction. Our experience with this company has been very different from that. After several meetings with the implementation engineer, we developed a rapport that made us feel like our needs were understood and they were being met. Even better, we were invited to meet with their executive team to give them our feedback (which almost never happens with most vendors). Not only did they listen to our story, they offered additional information to help us better use their product. We could not be more pleased. Pros This product works reliably with a responsive and intuitive interface for users. It is extremely customizable and integrates with our Active Directory for authentication so that single sign-on is available for all of our integrated services. For non-SSO links, they are grouped seperately on the landing page with their links so users have one page with all of the important links they need. It provides SSO as well as password reset for users and the First-Time User experience can be customized to meet your needs. And the cost was very affordable compared to other products. Cons I guess you could hope for a solution that you can implement without any assistance, but the integrations with so many different services was actually a fairly complex task that took several days to complete. The implementation engineer who helped us was extremely knowledgeable and professional and he made this arduous task a breeze. Switched from [Unifyed Mobile Digital Campus](https://www.capterra.com/p/170601/Mobile-Digital-Campus/) After several years of using this solution, our small community college simply couldn't afford the increasing cost of this product. We needed a streamlined solution, lower costs, better support, and easier management. Review Source JM Jae M. Database Administrator Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Could Be A Lot Better" May 11, 2021 3.0 We have run into issues with the product needing updates and the updates have caused our system to be unavailable. Pros That once the product is installed and configured properly it works. Cons The setup and configuration have been a nightmare at times and the customer support for the company has been less than stellar. Alternatives considered [Canvas](https://www.capterra.com/p/127214/CANVAS/)[OneLogin](https://www.capterra.com/p/114110/OneLogin/) Reason for choosing PortalGuard Other Schools in our Area were using the same product and we thought that would help us. Review Source BA Bert A. CIO Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Software is customized to our environment with personalized support, at a reasonable cost." July 10, 2017 5.0 We benefit from single sign-on to a variety of systems as well as self-service password reset, a functional help desk tool and multi-factor authentication, all in a customizable package that can be hosted locally and in the cloud. It is ultra flexible in meeting our needs. Pros The support is absolutely outstanding. The software works as designed, and is rock solid. It has one job to do, and it does it very well. It does not break - but if it does happen to have an issue, I know I will have support for a very critical element of my infrastructure. The configuration of the product to link it with other systems was challenging and very technical. However, this was where PortalGuard excelled. It was a simple matter to configure PortalGuard in each case. The difficulty was with working through the configuration of the variety of applications we were connecting to it. In every case, the PistolStar / PortalGuard implementation team expertly guided us in the process through our wide variety of systems configurations. In every case, PortalGuard was able to link with our applications. It was obvious that they know how all of these puzzle pieces fit together. We also used the PistolStar professional services for a few customizations to the admin interface. The process was well managed and the results were exactly what we had hoped for, and were produced in a timely manner. The recent integration of extended portal features like announcements to PortalGuard is a welcome addition. I hope to see more of this kind of work in future versions. The icing on the cake... all of it was reasonably priced and didn't break my budget. Cons The ability to make PortalGuard do whatever you want is both a blessing and a curse. The user interface could use some work - but you can make those changes yourself - and many institutions have easily done so. In my opinion, I'd like to see this be easier to navigate and more "packaged". For example - the ability to apply simple skins / customizations to the layout via GUI would be a welcome addition. The PG sales team could do a bit better job of marketing the product and services that stand behind it. They've since improved their site, but you should know that you are not just buying a product (PortalGuard), you are partnering with a company that can deliver single sign-on authentication \*expertise\* for your organization. Review Source FT Fred T. Sr. Web Admin Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "How Much I Like PortalGurd!!?" May 17, 2021 5.0 We have close to a 100 applications that are integrated with PG. These are internal and external applications. We can configure SSO with almost any application with in few minutes. The software availability is very high. I don't remember that PG ever stopped working unless hardware issue. PG has been great partner for many years. Pros One of the greatest impact for our institution was the self service features of PG. Reset password and unlocking accounts features of self service reduced the number of calls to our helpdesk. It is very easy to use and implement. Integration with our system was seamless and easy. Cons When have been using PG for many years. After we implemented the software , we found out that there were some features that we could use and they were missing. We worked with PG's development and they added it those features. I guess , I really can't think of anything negative. Reason for choosing PortalGuard As an institution we looked at many different products. None of them came close to the ease of use, flexibility of software and support. Compare to all other product it was very cost affective. Company's willingness to work with us to meet our needs was and is a huge plus in purchasing and continuing our relationship with PG. Review Source JW Jason W. Service Desk Manager Real Estate Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PortalGuard is a great Product!" May 11, 2021 5.0 We have been using this for over 5 years and is a very handy self-service tool for Users to unlock their accounts and reset their passwords without any interaction with our Helpdesk. Having the Client available at they Windows login screen is also cool. Pros Easy to use and implement! We have been using this for over 5 years and is a very handy self-service tool for Users to unlock their accounts and reset their passwords without any interaction with our Helpdesk. Having the Client available at they Windows login screen is also cool. Cons None. We have been using this for over 5 years and is a very handy self-service tool for Users to unlock their accounts and reset their passwords without any interaction with our Helpdesk. Having the Client available at they Windows login screen is also cool. Reason for choosing PortalGuard Price and flexibility of features. Review Source MP Mary P. Infrastructure Manager Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Portalguard Review" June 29, 2020 5.0 Because of Portalguard we have been able to provide our users with SSO to our portal; establish effective password and security policies; and synchronize user passwords across multiple applications. Pros Portalguard is not difficult to install; we had excellent support and informal training from the top-notch support team at Pistolstar, so our rollout was smooth and very successful. The configuration tools are easy to use and very intuitive. Modifying settings is quite simple. Configuring new applications can be a bit complicated, but again, the support staff are extraordinary and very responsive. Cons MFA features are limited. Support documentation could be clearer and easier to follow. Reason for choosing PortalGuard The primary reasons were the features that were available, the ease of use and the support. Review Source KB Kevin B. Head of Engineering Pharmaceuticals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Product , great company" November 22, 2019 5.0 Has an Engineering manager it’s the kind of software you could deploy in your solution or infrastructure and forget it exists, for all the right reasons: doesn't require much maintenance, never goes down and no bugs in all the features we use... it just works! We even embedded it in our software for our cloud offering. Deploy and forget! Support team is great, and the company does listen to your feedback and change requests. Don’t know which other password manager software you are currently looking at but forget about it and pick this one! Pros The ease of use, the flexibility and the stability of the product. Cons Lacking in the automatic deployment / update department. Review Source BM Bill M. Desktop zSupport Tech Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Logins easier with Portal Guard" May 11, 2021 4.0 Portal Guard has been a great tool and has made it much easier to help other users working from home to manage their passwords. Pros I like that once logged into Portal Guard I do not have to login internal sites multiple times during the day. Password changes have been made easier, which has really helped while working from home during the pandemic. It is nice that you can look up information like when your password is going to expire. Cons I run into problems sometimes after logging into Portal Guard i will receive a 404 error and have to hit the back button and start over again. Review Source PS Phillip S. Infrastructure Engineer Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PortalGuard is a very flexible authentication tool that we can use to fit almost any use case" January 12, 2018 5.0 Pros Very flexible. We have had several use cases arise where we want to provide a better authentication method and we've been able to create a method of doing so using PortalGuard. It also has the numerous features besides SSO including password self service and 2 Factor Authentication. Cons Not a huge concern, but still a smaller unknown company. When we work with other vendors to implement SAML most of them have never heard of PortalGuard and they don't have easy built in configurations to use with PortalGuard. As long as you understand the SAML methods you can usually work on a custom config to accomplish the goal Review Source AS Andy S. Technology Director Used the software for: ### "Makes life easier" November 18, 2014 5.0 Studenta no longer have to juggle 3 different usernames and passwords. Now they use one password for everything. Thia makes life easier for everybody. Review Source CW Curtis W. IT Admin Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PortalGuard Security is a No-Brainer" May 21, 2021 5.0 We have different countries who log into embassies around the world so they can upload information and we need security. We are very happy with our worldwide portal arrangement using Portal Guard. Pros Our portal is guarded with an easy to use, intuitive and efficient system which allows users from all over the world to quickly use our system to gain access to our portal. Cons The software has no features or lack of thereof. Reason for choosing PortalGuard N/a Review Source JT Jonathan T. Systems Administrator Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Support stand out" May 20, 2021 4.0 Pros Their support structure is always helpful, they are willing to work with you and look to educate that you will be more self sufficient. American support is always appreciated. Cons If you aren't familiar with SAML there will be a learning curve on setting up identity providers but that is why good support is vital. Would prefer more control to organize tiles also. Review Source BC Bernie C. Executive Director, IT Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Ease to Manage" January 9, 2018 5.0 Pros The technical support team are fantastic. They help you step-by-step when setting it up and after implementation. The best features is that it gives end-users multiple ways to self-service. I would recommend this product. Cons Most institutions likely prefer to embed the login page of Portal Guard within their website. There is a great need to copy code to easily embed to any web page. More flexibilty or options is vital. Review Source MJ Mihajlo J. Desktop System Administrator Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PG review" May 24, 2021 5.0 sso and idp integration, support and reporting Pros product is very easy to use and the support is beyond awesome. It is customizable in so many ways it's great. Cons nothing really. the software does what we need it to do Review Source JR Jose R. Lead Network Administrator Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It does the job" May 11, 2021 4.0 Pros Its easy to use. Support is responsive. Self-Service Password reset is a bonus. Cons Does not have pre-packaged integrations. Every setup has to be done manually. Review Source AF Anderson F. CIO Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent partner" May 11, 2021 5.0 Have been using this solution for a year and now wish we would have made the change sooner. Pros Ease of deployment while transitioning from a different provider for SSO. Support is US based and extremely easy to contact. Cons Nothing negative comes to mind with the solution we picked. Deployed with ease and up and running on time. Review Source YG Yared G. Web Developer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PortalGuard is a great identity management software." January 9, 2018 5.0 Pros It was easy to setup, Upgrades add a lot more functionality and new features Integration was seamless Cons I would not consider this a con, but it would have been great if PortalGuard could be setup in non-windows servers. Review Source TBH Tommy B. H. Consultant Computer Software Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Review" May 25, 2021 4.0 It is good Pros Yes product easy to use. But a lot of features, so it takes time to set it up correctly Cons To many features. Not always easy to find the correct place to a setting Review Source SR Susan R. Accountant III Accounting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Experience" May 11, 2021 4.0 Pros Everything is conveniently located, and the single sign on. Cons Password requirements are too long and not being able to reuse in more then year. Review Source CS Clifford S. Used the software for: ### "Southwestern Community College PortalGuard implementation." February 13, 2017 5.0 Southwestern Community College District was looking for a self-service password reset program to integrate with Microsoft Active Directory. After doing some research, we chose PistolStar's PortalGuard product. The product is simple to configure and maintain. After the initial configuration was a success, we started looking for other applications that could use this technology. We had two immediate projects that came up. Our IDP connection to OpenCCCApply was difficult at best to support and maintain. The initial expenditure of time and effort to get IDP to OpenCCCApply operational before PortalGuard required 3 months of configuration and troubleshooting. Since IDP is the backend for PortalGuard, we opened discussions to see if it would be a good replacement. PortalGuard, with a couple of hours with tech support, had the IDP to OpenCCCApply connection configured and ready for production. It could not have been easier. The second project was the need to implement Single Sign-On throughout our campus community. This solution also went smoothly and with little effort. We have since integrated it with SharePoint, Blackboard, Canvas, OWA and WebAdvisor. We could not be more pleased with how this product and company have worked out for our needs. Review Source EP Ed P. IT Specialist Used the software for: ### "Great product, great support" November 18, 2014 4.0 We purchased PortalGuard as a solution for our ever-increasing password reset issues. As our company continued to grow and added more distributed employees, we were spending more and more time managing passwords, resetting them, and unlocking accounts. PortalGuard solved all of those problems for us in one easy to use platform. We were very pleased with the initial setup. Not only did the PG team help us plan out our use cases and installation, they helped us configure the server, test it, roll out the service, and they helped us with best practices for the future. The software itself has been great. Very easy to use, even for our least tech-savvy employees. When we set it up with our Windows Login screen, it created the familiar "Forgot your password?" link that is common to many websites, so it was very intuitive to use right out of the box. Integrating PG with OWA2010 was a little more challenging as it involved AD Federation Services, but once we got the federation server up and running, the rest was a piece of cake. I highly recommend this product for businesses and organizations that are looking to save time and increase productivity by allowing users to manage their own passwords and accounts. Review Source RT Rik T. Server Manager Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Portalguard" November 19, 2018 4.0 We use this product for self service password reset and local 2FA authentication for servers and static systems. We can't use it for laptops as some systems connect to the internet after login and those cannot authenticate without an active connection. Pros This was a good product for the money. It appeared at the right time for us to get a hold on some self service and 2fa issues Cons They are still missing the ability to do 2FA on a system that is not connected to the internet. Review Source DH Drew H. Server Engineer Used the software for: ### "Makes life easier!" December 4, 2014 5.0 PortalGuard has saved us both time and money. With several public facing web applications that are in use 24/7/365 forgotten passwords and password resets are a thing of the past for our service desk. PortalGuard's support is superior to most other organizations that I've had to deal with. I usually have an answer or someone able to remote into my system the same day to help with any problems. Users usually have no problems with the PortalGuard interface and are able to get registered in minutes. Review Source BO Bradley O. Director of Technology Used the software for: ### "Great Customer Service" November 18, 2014 4.0 The PortalGuard product was one of the only SSO solutions that we could find that we could install locally on campus and have complete control over. Additionally, the pricing model was much more palatable than some of the competing cloud-based products that charge per user. Getting the demo of PortalGuard set up took a bit of effort, as we have a rather complex network situation. The PistolStar customer support team was fantastic, however, and made themselves eminently available. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.