At a glance
| Supported databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, MongoDB, Db2, Aurora, Redshift, Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks SQL, DynamoDB, Cassandra, Redis and more |
| Auditing and activity monitoring | Query logs, admin activity and policy evaluation logs |
| Masking | Not a masking product |
| Encryption or tokenization | Not documented as a feature |
| Privileged access | Proxied access without exposing credentials; just-in-time workflows |
| Policy enforcement | Roles, access workflows and Cedar policies |
| Compliance reporting | Audit logs; no named report packs documented |
| Deployment | SaaS control plane with self-hosted gateways, relays or proxy clusters |
| Licensing | Commercial; Enterprise plan documented; no public prices |
StrongDM suits engineering teams that want one place to grant and revoke access to dozens of database types, servers and Kubernetes clusters, with every query logged and no shared passwords. Pricing is not published, and since March 2026 StrongDM belongs to Delinea, which is bringing its capabilities into the Delinea Platform, so confirm the contract terms and product roadmap with Delinea before committing.
Overview
StrongDM describes itself as a zero trust privileged access management platform. Users connect through the StrongDM desktop app or CLI with their normal database client; StrongDM checks authorization and proxies the traffic, so the database password is never shown to the user. Gateways accept client connections, relays dial out from private subnets so no inbound firewall rule is needed, and proxy clusters are an alternative for segmented networks behind load balancers.
Access is granted through roles (standing access) or access workflows (just-in-time requests with automatic or human approval), and Cedar policies add conditions such as device trust, location, MFA or command restrictions. Logs capture administrative activity, database queries and policy decisions; SSH, Kubernetes and RDP sessions can also be replayed when retention is configured. Recent releases added Secure AI controls for AI agents (September 2026) and Google Groups support (October 2026).
Key features
- Credential-less proxy access to more than 40 datasource types, from PostgreSQL and SQL Server to Snowflake, BigQuery and DynamoDB
- Gateways, outbound-only relays or proxy clusters for private networks
- Query logging for databases, and session replay for SSH, Kubernetes and RDP
- Roles for standing access and access workflows for just-in-time requests with approval
- Cedar policies for context such as device trust, location, MFA and command restrictions
- Secret store integrations, including Delinea Secret Server and DevOps Secrets Vault
- Secure AI controls that apply access policy and audit to AI agents
Integrations and ecosystem
Pros and cons
Pros
- Very wide list of supported database and data warehouse types
- Users never handle database passwords
- Relays reach private subnets without inbound firewall changes
- Query-level logs for every database session
Cons
- No published pricing, and the pricing page redirects to Delinea
- Now owned by Delinea, which is folding StrongDM capabilities into the Delinea Platform; long-term branding and packaging are not yet stated
- Session replay is documented for SSH, Kubernetes and RDP, not as video of database clients
- Requires the StrongDM client or app on user devices for most connections
Pricing
No official StrongDM price list was available: on 7 November 2026 strongdm.com/pricing redirected to Delinea's platform bundles page, which shows no prices and asks you to request pricing. StrongDM's documentation confirms an Enterprise plan (which includes access workflows and the Delinea Secret Server integration) but lists no prices. Treat pricing as quote-only.
Pricing checked on the vendor's official page on 7 November 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.
Who it is best for
Engineering and platform teams that want proxied, logged, time-limited access to many database types and infrastructure without sharing credentials.
Typical use cases
- Give developers temporary read access to a production PostgreSQL replica with approval
- Log every query engineers run against Snowflake or Redshift for audit
- Reach databases in private subnets through outbound-only relays
- Offboard a departing engineer from all databases and servers in one step
Who should look elsewhere
- Data teams that need column masking and row-level rules for analysts: see Commvault Data Access Manager (Satori).
Verdict
StrongDM covers a wide range of databases with proxied, credential-free access, query logs and just-in-time approvals, which makes it practical for engineering teams with mixed estates. The open questions are commercial: no public pricing, and how StrongDM will be packaged within the Delinea Platform after Delinea completed the acquisition in March 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is StrongDM part of Delinea?
Yes. Delinea announced a definitive agreement to acquire StrongDM on 15 January 2026 and completed the acquisition on 5 March 2026; financial terms were not disclosed. Delinea's StrongDM page says existing deployments, login and support channels work the same way, and on 7 November 2026 the product and documentation still used the StrongDM name.
How is StrongDM different from Satori?
StrongDM brokers connections: it decides who can reach a database, server or cluster, hides credentials and logs queries. Satori, now Commvault Data Access Manager, works on the data itself, with dynamic masking, row-level security and classification. They solve different problems and can be complementary.
Does StrongDM need agents on the database?
No agent on the database is documented. Users run the StrongDM app or CLI, and traffic passes through gateways, relays or proxy clusters you deploy in your network.
How much does StrongDM cost?
No official prices are published; the pricing page now redirects to Delinea's bundles page, which asks you to request pricing.
Sources
- StrongDM documentation
- StrongDM datasources (documentation)
- StrongDM monthly recap (changelog)
- Delinea Platform bundles (target of the strongdm.com pricing redirect)
- Delinea: StrongDM is now part of Delinea
- Delinea press release: agreement to acquire StrongDM (15 January 2026)
- Delinea press release: acquisition of StrongDM completed (5 March 2026)
Checked November 2026.
Listed in: Database Security & Auditing.
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