CIPP alternative
Everything you love about CIPP.
None of the Azure to babysit.
CIPP is a brilliant open-source way to manage Microsoft 365 across tenants, if you're happy running the Azure infrastructure. Octopane is the fully-hosted alternative: same single-pane management, plus license-waste in dollars, with nothing to self-host.
Credit where it's due: CIPP is a great project, born from a real MSP's frustration with native tooling, and a big reason this category exists. If you enjoy running it, that's a perfectly good choice.
The MSPs who move to Octopane usually do so for one reason: they don't want to run Azure Functions, Key Vault and a deployment, or keep GDAP credentials rotated and updates applied, just to manage their tenants. Octopane is the turnkey version: hosted, supported, updated for you, with cost analytics included.
Side by side
Octopane vs. CIPP
| Octopane | CIPP (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting & maintenance | Fully hosted, nothing to run | Self-host Azure (Functions, KeyVault, Cosmos) |
| Updates | Automatic, managed for you | You manage the deployment |
| Onboarding a tenant | One consent link, no GDAP | GDAP relationships + SAM setup |
| License waste in $, incl. dormant seats | Disabled + 90d-dormant, priced | License view, no $ or dormancy |
| Last activity without Entra ID P1 | Via M365 usage reports | Needs P1 sign-in logs |
| Conditional Access / standards engine | One-click baseline from matrix | Standards engine, genuinely good |
| Predictable cost | Free 2 tenants · Pro $39/mo | Free self-host + your Azure + eng time |
| Built-in support | Priority support & onboarding | Community-driven |
CIPP is a great open-source project, Octopane is for teams who want it turnkey, with cost analytics built in.
Why teams switch
Three reasons MSPs choose hosted
All the power, none of the Azure babysitting
CIPP asks you to stand up and maintain Azure Functions, Key Vault and storage, then keep the deployment patched and GDAP credentials rotated. Octopane is fully hosted, you connect tenants and work, with nothing to run or update.
Onboard without GDAP
CIPP needs GDAP relationships plus a secure-app-model setup per client. Octopane connects any tenant with a single admin-consent link, whether or not you're a CSP for them.
Cost analytics CIPP doesn't have
Octopane prices dormant and disabled-but-licensed seats at your rates, a QBR-ready savings report out of the box, on top of the single-pane management you already expect.
FAQ
CIPP alternative, questions
Is Octopane trying to replace CIPP?
Not disparage it, CIPP is an excellent open-source project that pushed the whole category forward. Octopane is for teams who'd rather not run and maintain the Azure infrastructure CIPP requires, and who want cost analytics built in. Same single-pane problem, turnkey instead of self-hosted.
CIPP is free, why pay for Octopane?
CIPP's software is free, but self-hosting isn't: you pay for the Azure resources (often $10–100+/mo at higher tenant counts) plus the engineering time to deploy, update and maintain it. Octopane folds hosting, updates and support into a flat, predictable price, no Azure bill, no upkeep.
Do I still need GDAP and a secure app model?
No. That setup is part of running CIPP. Octopane connects tenants with one consent link, no GDAP relationships, no SAM app to configure or rotate.
Can I move over without losing the standards I rely on?
Octopane covers the core multi-tenant management MSPs use CIPP for, users, MFA, licenses, Conditional Access coverage and one-click baselines, bulk actions, and adds license-waste analytics. Start free with 2 tenants and run it alongside CIPP while you compare.
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Octopane · Every Microsoft 365 tenant. One pane of glass.