Purple vs RADIUSaaS
Purple and RADIUSaaS both offer cloud RADIUS on a per-subscription basis. RADIUSaaS owns the exact-match domain (radius-as-a-service.com) and is a narrower, specialist product — certificate-based authentication with Intune as the primary deployment surface. Purple is a broader WiFi platform — guest, staff, and multi-tenant WiFi with captive portal, analytics, and marketing automation alongside cloud RADIUS.
Last fact-checked 2026-04-24. RADIUSaaS: pure-play cloud RADIUS service with deep Microsoft Intune and Entra ID integration, often paired with SCEPman for managed PKI.
Best for Purple
Venues and enterprises that need customer-facing WiFi — captive portal, analytics, marketing automation, multi-tenant iPSK — on the same platform as their RADIUS.
Best for RADIUSaaS
Microsoft-first IT teams whose primary requirement is certificate-based staff WiFi driven by Intune device enrolment. Security-led deployments with no customer-facing WiFi use case.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Purple | RADIUSaaS |
|---|---|---|
| Product category | WiFi platform with cloud RADIUS | Pure-play cloud RADIUS |
| RADIUS-as-a-Service | Yes — multi-region, full EAP methods | Core product — geo-redundant, RadSec supported |
| EAP-TLS / certificates | Supported; managed PKI available | Core — pairs natively with SCEPman or Microsoft PKI |
| Intune integration depth | Standard SCEP + Microsoft connector | Headline selling point — deep, well-documented |
| iPSK (Identity PSK) | Yes — first-class product, powers Multi-Tenant WiFi | Not in product scope |
| Captive portal | Full brandable portal builder | Not in product scope |
| Guest WiFi onboarding | Branded portals, SMS, social, voucher, Passpoint | Certificate-based guest account flows |
| Analytics | Footfall, dwell, repeat visits, cohort benchmarks | Authentication logs and admin portal reporting |
| Marketing automation | Purple Engage — email/SMS, CRM sync, loyalty | Not in product scope |
| SIEM integration | Webhook / syslog to any SIEM | Native Azure Sentinel, supports other SIEMs |
| MDM support | Intune, Jamf, Kandji, Hexnode | Intune and Jamf |
| Pricing transparency | Published pricing calculator | Sales-led; published tiering |
When Purple is the right call
If the WiFi footprint includes any customer-facing use case — retail, hospitality, stadiums, MDU, coworking — Purple\'s captive portal, analytics, and marketing automation are outside RADIUSaaS\' scope. iPSK for multi-tenant WiFi and a broader hardware-agnostic platform also weigh in Purple\'s favour. Teams wanting a published pricing calculator will find Purple more transparent.
When RADIUSaaS is the right call
If the brief is strictly cloud RADIUS for Microsoft-first staff WiFi, and you are deploying EAP-TLS with Intune enrolment across a managed laptop fleet, RADIUSaaS is purpose-built for that. Pairing with SCEPman gives a tight PKI story. Security teams with no marketing-WiFi responsibility will find the focused product simpler to evaluate.
Frequently asked
Does Purple integrate with Intune as deeply as RADIUSaaS?
RADIUSaaS is narrower and therefore goes deeper on Intune-specific workflows. Purple supports Intune via standard SCEP and the Microsoft connector, which covers the common certificate-delivery paths but does not match RADIUSaaS on Intune-specific tooling. If Intune is the centre of gravity, RADIUSaaS is the safer pick.
Can Purple replace RADIUSaaS for staff WiFi only?
Yes — the core RADIUS and EAP-TLS capabilities are equivalent. The migration is usually a weekend: add Purple as a secondary RADIUS target on the APs, move SSIDs across, decommission RADIUSaaS. The question is whether you will use any of Purple's captive portal, iPSK, or analytics features, or if the deployment is strictly auth.
What about SCEPman and managed PKI?
Purple provides managed certificate issuance tied to RADIUS-as-a-Service. SCEPman (which pairs with RADIUSaaS) is a specialist PKI tool with a more mature product in the Intune-specific certificate-lifecycle space. Teams that have invested in SCEPman already typically stay with the RADIUSaaS + SCEPman pairing.
Which is better for multi-site venue deployments?
Purple. Multi-site venue rollouts need captive portal, multi-language support, per-site branding, analytics, and often multi-tenant iPSK — none of which are in the RADIUSaaS scope. RADIUSaaS is designed for a back-office staff WiFi use case rather than a customer-facing multi-venue deployment.
See Purple running on your infrastructure
Purple deploys as a cloud overlay on your existing access points — Cisco, Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Meraki, Ubiquiti. No hardware swap, live in weeks.
