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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (12th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 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 5.7%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)5.7%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.2%
Other93.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
AS
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have many government colleges here and provide a wireless network to all students, faculty, and teachers, so we have deployed their security access network and firewall security."
"The product is very flexible."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"It is a very stable tool."
"The most valuable features of Aruba Remote Access Points are the easy configuration, straightforward installation, and secure security features."
"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."
"We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues."
"The solution is very stable, I haven’t heard about any failure of the access points, it seems to be reliable and the performance is good, there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn’t crash or freeze."
"The implementation is quite easy - if the person is aware of the right version."
"Advanced malware protection helps us to prevent any virus from contaminating computers. We also have DLP for prevention. And AnyConnect has a feature that lets us do some sandboxing to evaluate files that arrive from the outside. So before opening them, we can check them with the sandbox."
"The solution certainly simplifies processes for a remote workforce by ensuring secure and efficient connectivity."
"We have plans to increase the usage of this solution, it can scale well."
"The solution is stable and reliable; there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze."
"The posturing is working well, we have network access control, it's nice to have and easy to manage and easy to add routes, and we can easily add the route over the VPN whenever we have a new network."
"Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is a straightforward and simple product that works effectively."
"This solution gives you double security because it uses both hard and soft tokens."
 

Cons

"I don't really have any critiques at this time."
"The product needs an increased level of security for the end user."
"They can add more graphical reporting systems so that network admins and system admins get more information about user usage, such as which user, what they use, and when they use it."
"It could have better monitoring features. Not all features are available on the monitoring dashboard."
"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."
"The security side of Aruba Remote Access Points could be improved."
"It could have better monitoring features."
"I use the controller when using Aruba Remote Access Points, particularly during configuration. Hence, room for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points is for its web UI to be easier to control."
"A two-factor authentication feature was recently added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client. In the past, you only needed to log in with your username and password, but now, there's a token, and the user interface for that token isn't that good."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client could improve by adding faster connectivity."
"As with most Cisco products, standing by itself, this solution is not perfect."
"I think, in general, most of the applications are slow, but this is everyday stuff."
"Usability could be improved, as the look and feel of it is somewhat dated."
"There are times the WiFi connectivity has disruptions and you have disconnections."
"Setting up Cisco Secure Client, especially when using certificates, is quite a job and complicated."
"The stability of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client could improve. We have had a lot of problems with it; once I'm disconnected from the Wi-Fi, it's not reconnecting automatically, and I need to restart it many times manually."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"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."
"We pay for an annual subscription. Additionally to the subscription, we thought in order to connect this solution to the Active Directory we had to purchase a Cisco ACS, Access Control System. It turns out we did not actually need it."
"The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."
"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
"My company has a three-year or a four-year license. In scenarios attached to a solution where the product may be reaching an end-of-support or end-of-life phase, Cisco provides OS support in such environments."
"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 pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
19%
Construction Company
11%
Government
6%
Healthcare Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise49
 

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 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...
What is your primary use case for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is used to make a VPN connection to work, specifically for a VPN and internet connection to my work's office.
 

Also Known As

Aruba RAP
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough
MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.