2FA Guard vs miniOrange Two-Factor Authentication for Jenkins

Who wrote this, and how

We make 2FA Guard. We have tried to be fair, and every fact below links to its source. We compared three things, on October 28, 2026:

2FA Guard 1.0.0, the release you download today, read from its source code.
miniOrange free 1.3.1, the release on the Jenkins plugin site, read from its public source code.
miniOrange Premium, a separate paid build we did not inspect. For it we only repeat what miniOrange says, and say so.

We read code and documentation; we didn't run a lab test. "Not found in the source" means we looked in that release's code and didn't find it, not that it can't exist elsewhere.

The short answer

Choose 2FA Guard if you want authenticator apps, backup codes, a failed-attempt lockout, group rules and a trusted-network bypass in one plugin, at a published price of $49 a month per Jenkins controller.
Choose miniOrange free if you need something at no cost today and security questions or an emailed code are enough as the second step for every user.
Look at miniOrange Premium if you need Duo Push, SMS, a YubiKey or 2FA on REST API calls, which miniOrange advertises for Premium. Ask miniOrange for a price first; we couldn't find one published.

Side by side

Numbers in brackets point to the sources at the end of the page. The Premium column is what miniOrange says, not something we checked.

2FA Guard 1.0.0, miniOrange free 1.3.1 and miniOrange Premium compared, as checked on October 28, 2026
Topic	2FA Guard 1.0.0	miniOrange free 1.3.1	miniOrange Premium (miniOrange says)
Price and license	$49 a month per Jenkins controller, 30-day free trial; a commercial subscription [1]	Free, open source (MIT) [11]	Price not published in the sources we checked; a 30-day free trial [12]
Version and install	1.0.0; upload the .hpi from your OzenOps dashboard [2]	1.3.1, released September 2026, from the Jenkins plugin manager [13]	A separate Premium build that the free plugin downloads from miniOrange [16]
Minimum Jenkins	2.426.3, Java 17 [3]	2.492.1 [14]	Not stated in the sources we checked [12]
Second step at sign-in	Authenticator app codes (TOTP), backup codes, and emailed codes [4]	Security questions and emailed codes [15]	Adds Duo Push, a mobile authenticator, YubiKey, SMS codes and "web authentication" [12]
Who must use 2FA	Optional, required for everyone, or required for chosen groups; exempt groups; an enrollment grace period [5]	On or off for all users [15]	Group-based enforcement and exemptions [12]
Trusted network bypass	IP addresses and CIDR ranges that skip 2FA [6]	Saving an IP list answers "Available in Premium version" [17]	IP whitelisting [12]
Failed-attempt lockout	Locks the account after 5 failed attempts for 15 minutes by default, both adjustable [7]	Not found in the source [18]	Not mentioned in the sources we checked [12]
Lost phone or lockout	10 single-use backup codes per user; admins can reset a user's 2FA or unlock them [8] [9]	Backup codes not found in the source; users can reset their own method from their profile [12]	An admin dashboard to enable, disable or reset 2FA per user [12]
Audit log	Sign-ins, failed codes, enrollment changes and admin actions, shown in Jenkins [9]	Not found in the source [18]	Not mentioned in the sources we checked [12]
If the license or subscription ends	2FA stops being enforced and users sign in with a password only; if the license server can't be reached, a 72-hour grace period keeps it running [10]	Nothing to renew [11]	Not stated in the sources we checked [12]

When miniOrange is the better fit

Cost matters most. The free edition costs nothing, is MIT licensed, and you can read and change its code.
You install only from the Jenkins plugin manager. miniOrange is listed there; 2FA Guard is uploaded as a file.
You need a factor 2FA Guard 1.0.0 doesn't offer. miniOrange says Premium adds Duo Push, SMS, YubiKey and "web authentication". A YubiKey one-time code is not the same as a FIDO2 security key, so check which one you need.
You want "remember this browser" or 2FA on REST API calls. miniOrange advertises both for Premium. 2FA Guard 1.0.0 doesn't remember browsers and has no API-specific 2FA setting.

When 2FA Guard is worth paying for

You want authenticator apps without a second purchase. TOTP apps such as Google Authenticator or 1Password work in 2FA Guard; miniOrange lists its mobile authenticator under Premium.
You need to recover without an admin. Every user gets 10 single-use backup codes at enrollment.
You roll out in stages. Require 2FA for admins first, exempt service accounts, and give everyone a grace period to enroll.
You need to show who signed in. Sign-ins, failed codes, lockouts and admin actions are logged and visible in Jenkins.
You want to know the price up front. It's $49 a month per Jenkins controller, published on our pricing page.

2FA Guard's limits

Without a valid license, 2FA is not enforced. Users can sign in with a password alone until the license is valid again. A license-server outage gets a 72-hour grace period first.
It covers the browser sign-in. Test how your API tokens, CLI scripts and other tools behave before you require 2FA for the accounts they use.
Nothing moves between plugins. Enrollments, secrets and recovery codes from one plugin don't carry over to the other; every user enrolls again.
It isn't in the Jenkins plugin manager. You download it from your OzenOps dashboard and upload it.

Details are in the Enforcement, Backup Codes and Licensing sections of the docs.

Check it yourself

Install the plugin you're considering on a test controller.
Enroll an admin and save that admin's recovery option before you sign out.
Sign in again in a fresh browser and confirm the second step appears.
Run your API token and CLI jobs as an enrolled user and see what happens.
Lose the second factor on purpose and time how long recovery takes.

For a full rollout plan, read How to enable two-factor authentication in Jenkins.

Next steps

Read the full 2FA Guard documentation, or see what the plugin includes and start a free trial on the 2FA Guard product page.