Cisco Duo vs RSA Authentication Manager comparison

Cisco and RSA are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.6, while RSA is ranked #19. Cisco holds a 7.2% mindshare in AS, compared to RSA’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of RSA users who would recommend it.

Cisco Duo

Read 78 Cisco Duo reviews

6,432 Views
4,888 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

RSA Authentication Manager

Read 12 RSA Authentication Manager reviews

889 Views
862 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Duo

RSA Authentication Manager

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

RSA Authentication Manager and Cisco Duo are both prominent products in the identity and access management sector. Cisco Duo stands out with its extensive feature set, justifying its higher cost based on the results of the comparisons in each section.

What features are offered by RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager offers comprehensive security policies, flexibility, and robust support. Cisco Duo provides seamless integration, a range of authentication methods, and a user-friendly experience. The broader feature set of Cisco Duo gives it a competitive edge.

What areas of improvement can be found in RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager has a steep learning curve, outdated interfaces, and complexity. Cisco Duo faces occasional integration issues and a desire for more diverse authentication options. The complexity of RSA is a more pressing concern than Duo's minor integration hiccups.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager's deployment is challenging and time-consuming, yet it has responsive and knowledgeable customer service. Cisco Duo is recognized for its straightforward deployment process and effective customer support, making it a preferable option for setup and reliability in support.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager is viewed favorably for its cost-effectiveness and satisfactory return on investment. Cisco Duo, despite its higher price, delivers greater overall value due to its superior features and ease of use. Cisco Duo's higher cost is justified by its enhanced capabilities, leading to stronger user satisfaction.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager Report (Updated: November 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager

November 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Duo

Ranking in Authentication Systems

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (3rd), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st)

RSA Authentication Manager

Ranking in Authentication Systems

19th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 7.2%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Authentication Manager is 2.3%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Duo	7.2%
RSA Authentication Manager	2.3%
Other	90.5%

Authentication Systems

Featured Reviews

Thomas Botts

Senior Network Engineer at a educational organization with 1-10 employees

Managing security policies effectively with seamless authentication

The feature of Cisco Duo that I prefer the most is the policies, being able to control what we need to within the policies. You can get pretty granular. There isn't a lot of training that goes on in school districts. Email is an easy way where many people give out their credentials, so the level of protection is something that we definitely need in a school district. Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system has been easy when logging in, although the teachers don't appreciate it as much. We have it configured so users essentially just hit accept. If it sees any sort of built-in risk, then it steps up authentication. It's pretty easy. I appreciate it. I've encountered advantages with Cisco Duo in that it has stopped significant pushback from teachers. It has prevented credential sharing and unauthorized access. We've seen a huge decrease since we've rolled it out across the entire district.

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Akinwale Sekiteri

Managing Partner at Teksphere Global Services Limited

A highly effective and versatile solution that excels in terms of security, integration, scalability, and customer support

I highly recommend it because when you compare RSA with other products, it has consistently stood out. In the past, one area where people encountered challenges was in terms of price flexibility, but it significantly improved. You can now negotiate, discuss terms, and work with it to achieve a pricing arrangement that suits your needs, and if they recognize you as a loyal customer, they are more than willing to accommodate your requirements and reach mutually agreeable terms. Overall, I would rate it around nine out of ten when considering factors like durability, data performance, scalability, integration, and security, and excels in these areas.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The Verified Duo Push feature is valuable. It gives an extra level of security beyond just the regular push."

"It's simple. It's reliable. I haven't had any issues with it."

"The single pane of glass management is very important and it is part of the reason we went with Duo. Anything we can do to save time for our administrators, help desk staff, and engineers, is valuable to us."

"Duo Security gives us an additional layer of security that would give us added confidence that our network will be less likely to get hacked, compromised, or otherwise."

"The most valuable aspect is the authentication and the SSO."

"The feature that my organization started using more recently in Cisco Duo is offline authentication."

"The feature of Cisco Duo that I appreciate most is the push notifications. They are great."

"The feature of Cisco Duo that I prefer the most is the policies, being able to control what we need to within the policies. You can get pretty granular."

More Cisco Duo pros

"RSA Authentication Manager is the best available solution."

"The most valuable feature is the SecurID."

"The most valuable feature is the provision part. The mapping and the logging is also very good. In addition, the troubleshooting, from a console point of view, is easy for administration and on the provisioning and logging part."

"Easy setup, deployment, and integration in different infrastructures, including virtual ones."

"I have found RSA Authentication Manager to be scalable."

"RSA Authentication Manager is a robust solution that provides comprehensive protection for both on-premise and cloud-based applications."

"The single sign-on feature is the most important."

"It is a good solution for token identification."

More RSA Authentication Manager pros

Cons

"Removing the need for a password would be a positive change as well as the ability to cover all the different enterprise applications. They don't have coverage for everything."

"For upgrades, there should be a better notification of when they're coming out. We always have a testing phase, so we need to be ahead of it. It takes us longer before we can upgrade to the newest version."

"The only time I really had some negative feedback for them was about the UI of their mobile app, but they improved it in the last version. It is good on the functionality side, but their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. If you are on a monthly term or a yearly contract, you basically pay the same price, and that is very unusual. Normally, there is a discount when someone signs up for the 12-month system."

"Certain customers can not use this product because it is cloud-based."

"We have had instances where Duo Security stops working on a user's device, which we have fixed by uninstalling and then reinstalling it."

"Duo Security could be improved with the addition of more applications."

"From an administrative standpoint, I'd love to see it be a little better at remembering a device and location so that I don't have to continually authenticate. That's pretty much it."

"I'd like to see it integrated into other applications. I know there are some integrations, but I haven't been able to explore that any further."

More Cisco Duo cons

"We found technical support was not very responsive to our requests for assistance."

"Enhancing the user interface and expanding their marketing efforts in regions like Nigeria and West Africa could be beneficial."

"Our major problem is the authentication via Microsoft, via Microsoft cloud systems. This is our major aim, to be a valued product for the future. The biggest problem is to work against cheap cloud systems. Cloud identification is our main problem at this time."

"Perhaps parts of the the user interface should become more intuitive."

"We have encountered issue when trying to expand this particular solution for a large set of users across the country."

"The product's capabilities to protect cloud environments need improvement."

"RSA Authentication Manager is perfect. We do not see current missing products or enhancements yet emphasize the importance of a continuous development roadmap."

"We are not planning on using the solution in the future."

More RSA Authentication Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From a reseller perspective, it's still challenging to explain the whole license strategy to a client, so we really have to be ahead of that for all the true forward conversations."

"It was very reasonable."

"Duo Security is free."

"The pricing is pretty competitive. It's pretty cheap. Anybody can adopt it."

"It's very simple. Its price is fair. We use the hardware tokens as well. You get what you pay for. In terms of licensing, Cisco has very complicated products, but Duo Security was surprisingly easy."

"The pricing was a lot more than what we were paying for our previous solution."

"Our licensing fee is currently on an annual basis."

"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

"The solution is costly."

"The pricing is a little bit complicated because sometimes resellers are able to make prices that are too low. Our price, with a discount, is typically not as high as some of our competitors."

"As a new customer, the minimum cost would be four dollars, but you have room for negotiation, potentially bringing it down to as low as three dollars."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	36

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?

We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...

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What do you like most about Duo Security?

They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, specifically in single sign-on.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?

My experience with pricing, setup, costs, and licensing is that I do not get into pricing much; I leave it to procurement, but I think it's very competitive. We use other Cisco products such as fir...

See all answers

What do you like most about RSA Authentication Manager?

It stands out as a comprehensive and adaptable solution that excels in both on-premises and cloud-based authentication, offers strong security with multi-layered authentication, and boasts a well-m...

See all answers

What needs improvement with RSA Authentication Manager?

RSA Authentication Manager is perfect. We do not see current missing products or enhancements yet emphasize the importance of a continuous development roadmap.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for RSA Authentication Manager?

We use RSA Authentication Manager for web applications and internal applications. We have a number of applications connected to it, serving over thirty thousand clients. It is integrated into every...

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 9% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Cisco Duo

Compared 7% of the time

Silverfort vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 25% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 9% of the time

SecurEnvoy SecurAccess vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 9% of the time

RSA SecurID vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 9% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 8% of the time

More RSA Authentication Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

November 2025

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

November 2025

Download RSA Authentication Manager product report

Also Known As

Duo Security

ACE/Server

Overview

Cisco Duo is a cloud-based identity security tool offering easy and wide-ranging access protection for users and devices worldwide. It assures identity-first security with clear visibility across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Cisco Duo provides robust multi-factor authentication and seamless integration capabilities with existing infrastructures. Appreciated for its stability and speed, it supports distributed workforces by securing VPN access, corporate networks, and cloud services. Duo’s comprehensive identity ecosystem supports easy deployment and management through a single-pane-of-glass management interface. It seamlessly merges with popular platforms like Active Directory and Office 365 across diverse hardware.

What are Cisco Duo’s Essential Features?

Multi-Factor Authentication: Offers secure access with options like push notifications and hardware tokens.
Seamless Integration: Easily fits with existing systems and third-party applications.
User-Friendly Management: Provides centralized control with a single-pane-of-glass interface.
Wide Compatibility: Supports broad applications and devices, enhancing security management.
Stable and Fast: Reliable speed and intuitive interaction for users across platforms.

What Benefits and ROI Can Cisco Duo Users Expect?

Enhanced Security: Increases protection with versatile MFA options for critical resources.
Ease of Use: Simplifies deployment and management with intuitive interfaces.
Scalability: Adapts to growing needs with broad compatibility and integration support.
Support for Distributed Workforces: Ensures secure remote access for teams anywhere.

Cisco Duo finds extensive applications across education, finance, retail, and government sectors by fortifying network and application access security. Organizations leverage it for its MFA capabilities, integrating with ERP systems, ensuring protected connectivity with VPN and cloud-based services, crucial in maintaining secure and efficient operations.

Cisco

RSA Authentication Manager is the platform behind RSA SecurID that allows for centralized management of the RSA SecurID environment including authentication methods, users, applications, and agents across multiple physical sites. It verifies authentication requests and centrally administers authentication policies for organizations' end users.

RSA

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Tiera, Fred Loya, BRE Leasing, ADP, BlueFort Security, New Hanover County

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager

November 2025

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