Statement 1: No. Azure Active Directory (now Microsoft Entra ID) is available in several editions: Free, Microsoft 365 Apps, Premium P1, and Premium P2. Each subsequent edition includes more advanced features. For example, features like Conditional Access and Privileged Identity Management (PIM) are only available in the Premium editions.

Statement 2: Yes. The Azure portal is a primary web-based user interface for creating, managing, and monitoring Azure resources, which includes the components of an Azure AD tenant like users, groups, and application registrations.

Statement 3: No. Azure Active Directory is a fully managed, multi-tenant cloud service (Identity as a Service - IDaaS) provided by Microsoft. Microsoft is responsible for hosting and managing the underlying infrastructure. Customers consume the service and do not need to deploy or maintain any virtual machines to run the Azure AD tenant itself. This is a fundamental difference from traditional on-premises Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).

Microsoft Entra pricing page: This official Microsoft documentation provides a detailed comparison table showing the different features available across the Free, Premium P1, and Premium P2 editions of Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

Source: Microsoft, "Microsoft Entra pricing," Microsoft Security, Accessed October 13, 2025.

What is Azure Active Directory?: This fundamental documentation explains that Azure AD is a cloud-based identity service and mentions the Azure portal as a tool for management.

Source: Microsoft Learn, "What is Azure Active Directory?," Azure Active Directory Fundamentals, Last reviewed May 23, 2023. See the section "How can I get started with Azure AD?".

Compare Active Directory to Azure Active Directory: This document explicitly clarifies the architectural differences, stating that Azure AD is a managed cloud service, contrasting it with the server-based infrastructure required for on-premises AD DS.

Source: Microsoft Learn, "Compare Active Directory to Azure Active Directory," Azure Architecture Center, Last updated February 28, 2023. See the section "Architectural differences."