Difference between Azure AD B2B and B2C

Question

I am new to Azure AD, want to understand difference between b2b and b2c with use cases or examples.

Answer 1

Hi @sebastianpaul7437

Azure AD B2B collaboration is intended for organizations that want to be able to authenticate users from partner/supplier organization, regardless of the identity provider, and be able to manage the lifecycle of those guest users. These accounts are managed in the same directory as employees, and can be added to the same groups and resources.

Full details here - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/external-identities/what-is-b2b

Azure AD B2C is intended for commerce and other interactions with consumers, citizens, or members of another group that does not require access to internal resources. These accounts are managed in a separate B2C directory, and are completely separate from your internal user accounts. B2C accounts are a customer lifecycle: they are either managed by the customer, or directly by the application.

Full details here - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory-b2c/overview

Thanks

Michael Durkan

• If the reply was helpful please upvote and/or accept as answer as this helps others in the community with similar questions. Thanks!

Answer 2

Hi Sebastian,

There is detailed information and differences chart that splits the Azure B2B and B2C features so kindly explore this page too - azure-ad-b2b-b2c-differences-external-access

Also explore the Microsoft's detailed overview on the External Identities external-identities-overview

Hope this helps.
JS

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Answer 3

@sebastianpaul7437 Thank you for reaching out to us. As mentioned above by Michael and Jimmy, links related to Azure AD B2B and B2C give you the insights/difference between these.

You can also refer these recordings for more information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZmPBuMZY-Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Temcn-hes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6S1yJKTB7c

You can also go through the training content available on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/search/?terms=b2c&category=Training for details.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Answer 4

Azure AD B2C:

• Azure AD B2C is a cloud identity management solution designed for your web and mobile applications.
• It is intended for commerce and other interactions with consumers, citizens, or members of another group that does not require access to internal resources.
• These accounts are managed in a separate B2C directory, completely separate from your internal user accounts.

Azure AD B2B:

• Azure AD B2B collaboration is intended for organizations that want to authenticate users from partner or supplier organizations, regardless of the identity provider.
• It allows you to manage the lifecycle of those guest users in the same directory as employees, and they can be added to the same groups and resources.