Aruba Remote Access Points vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) comparison

Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Download the complete report

Helped 884,933 peers since 2012

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

Aruba Remote Access Points

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

8th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Cisco Secure Client (includ...

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

SSL VPN (1st), ZTNA as a Service (9th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 6.1%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)	6.1%
Aruba Remote Access Points	1.2%
Other	92.7%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage

Head Of ELV and ICT at Intec Systems Solution Pvt Ltd

Efficient Setup and Strong Performance Highlight Versatile Capabilities

In terms of areas for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points, when planning for the customer's end, you need to highlight the precautions against EMF emissions and environmental emissions, as well as power management limitations. If the user is in one direction and you're transmitting everywhere, that's not good power management. Currently, all access points provide the same power requirement to the client, but we should explore what extra mile we can go. We are facing energy crises and climate issues, along with GHG and SDGs protocols. If we highlight the alignment with these protocols, it can enhance the product quality as an environmentally friendly option. Apart from that, service-wise, every unit is the same. Users can only distinguish those requirements using spectrum analyzers; otherwise, minor data delays of one or two seconds do not matter, but for high-security or high-speed needs, it becomes significant.

Read full review

AJAY SARPAL

Manager - Projects at airtel

Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion

The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a very stable tool."

"Overall, I would rate Aruba Remote Access Points nine out of ten. I can definitely recommend them to other users."

"Once configured and operational, they tend to function reliably, with few reported issues from clients or customers."

"We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues."

"The platform has the most valuable advanced filtering feature."

"The stability and performance of Aruba Remote Access Points with minimal issues in an IT environment are worth a recommendation."

"There are no bad features in Aruba Remote Access Points. Every feature is customized to meet customer requirements according to their limitations, and we can make use of all features to benefit us as needed."

"The tool's most valuable features are its ease of configuration and deployment."

More Aruba Remote Access Points pros

"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is very stable."

"The ability to connect to the VPN remotely."

"This is a secure product that has had zero stability issues since I started using it in 2019."

"The solution is a super product that works as designed."

"Technical support is always helpful."

"The initial setup is very easy."

"The solution is very stable."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it works all of the time."

More Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) pros

Cons

"The product needs an increased level of security for the end user."

"It would help if the remote APs had some kind of SoHo environment with built-in firewall features. That way it could connect directly in a client-to-site type of environment, or a site-to-site VPN environment. That way users could have a complete office setup without coming to the private cloud."

"The product is not user-friendly."

"The security side of Aruba Remote Access Points could be improved."

"One thing that would be beneficial is for the Aruba Central mobile app to work more effectively. Currently, it does not function as expected when I really need it."

"I don't really have any critiques at this time."

"The solution is costly for medium-sized companies."

"The remote access point coverage should be bigger than it is now."

More Aruba Remote Access Points cons

"The deployment process should be improved, specifically making it easier. Fully automated deployments are quite challenging."

"I think that the addition of single sign-on functionality would be helpful."

"The solution could improve the setup, it is complex."

"Even when your internet speed is good, once you connect to the VPN the speed gets automatically reduced, which is worrisome."

"The deployment of the agent software for the final customer could be simpler and more helpful."

"Complicated scenarios are difficult to deploy. On a scale from one to ten, with one being the most difficult, I'd give a rating of between two and three for the initial setup."

"Behavior analytics and other newer technologies should be integrated into the solution."

"It should autodetect or monitor it, when I am in the office it goes to the network in the office, or when I'm not at the office, it automatically activates my VPN connection."

More Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."

"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."

"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."

"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."

"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."

"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."

"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."

"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."

"We are in the North African region, and Cisco products are expensive for us. On a scale from one to ten with one being very affordable and ten being expensive, I'd rate the price at eight."

"The pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."

"The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."

"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."

"I would rate the pricing for the license of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client around four to five out of ten. It's not the cheapest option, but it's also not overly expensive."

"The solution is reasonably priced and costs $600 for a five-year license in our scenario."

"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."

More Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Infrastructure VPN solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	27
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	46

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Remote Access Points?

This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?

We do not use Zero Touch Provisioning with Aruba Remote Access Points because the Aruba device being expensive compared to cheaper Cisco options holds us back.

What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?

The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting. This is a significant area for improvement, especially when the dev...

What do you like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?

The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...

What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) can be made better, as the product for me has not changed in the last year. The only problem is that if you want to download it somewhere else, you cannot...

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Aruba Remote Access Points

Comparisons

Compared 20% of the time

Aruba VPN vs Aruba Remote Access Points

Compared 17% of the time

Zyxel VPN Client vs Aruba Remote Access Points

Compared 14% of the time

Tailscale vs Aruba Remote Access Points

Compared 11% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs Aruba Remote Access Points

Compared 10% of the time

More Aruba Remote Access Points Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Compared 6% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Compared 5% of the time

Ivanti Connect Secure vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Compared 5% of the time

Check Point Remote Access VPN vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) Competitors

Product Reports

Aruba Remote Access Points

Download Aruba Remote Access Points product report

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)

Download Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) product report

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) report

Also Known As

Aruba RAP

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client

Overview

emote APs connect to a controllerusing Extended Authentication and Internet Protocol Security (XAuth/IPSec). AP control and 802.11 data traffic are carried through this tunnel. Secure Remote Access Point Service extends the corporate office to the remote site. Remote users can use the same features as corporate office users. For example, voice over IP (VoIP) applications can be extended to remote sites while the servers and the PBX remain secure in the corporate office.

Secure Remote Access Point Service can also be used to secure control traffic between an AP and the controllerin a corporate environment. In this case, both the AP and controllerare in the company’s private address space.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) delivers reliable, stable connectivity and seamless integration with Active Directory, ensuring secure remote access through a one-click VPN capability. It's lightweight, user-friendly, and supports major operating systems, enhancing remote work flexibility.

Cisco Secure Client, including AnyConnect, is designed for secure remote connectivity, offering multi-factor authentication, advanced malware protection, and automatic error diagnostics. Compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, it provides an intuitive setup and a clean interface. While it excels in ease of use, issues such as the outdated Linux build and the need for modern UI enhancements persist. Users also face connectivity challenges with frequent updates and high prices, alongside the need for better endpoint security and system integration. Popular for remote work, it facilitates secure access to corporate networks, allowing seamless interactions with resources like emails, documents, and applications.

What key features does Cisco Secure Client offer?

Reliable Connectivity: Provides stable, dependable VPN access with a one-click connection.
Multi-Factor Authentication: Enhances security through additional user verification steps.
Advanced Malware Protection: Safeguards against threats with proactive protection measures.
Automatic Error Diagnostics: Identifies and fixes errors promptly.
Cross-Platform Support: Compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux for broad accessibility.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

Increased Remote Work Efficiency: Facilitates secure, fast access to necessary resources.
Improved Network Security: Provides robust protection against external threats.
Ease of Use: Features simple setup and user-friendly interface for quick deployment.
Enhanced Data Protection: Keeps sensitive information secure through encryption and authentication.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers a good balance of features against pricing, though further improvements could enhance value.

Cisco Secure Client is widely implemented across industries for secure remote connectivity, especially in sectors requiring constant access to servers, data centers, and research labs. It supports remote work by enabling employees in diverse fields to access internal resources efficiently, maintaining productivity and security.

Cisco

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService

Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)