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Authentify vs Google Authenticator comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
176
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (5th), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st), AI Data Analysis (7th)
Authentify
Ranking in Authentication Systems
27th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Authenticator
Ranking in Authentication Systems
14th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 3.7%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Authentify is 1.2%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Authenticator is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo3.7%
Google Authenticator0.9%
Authentify1.2%
Other94.2%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Charles Slaustas - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Contractor at Insight global
Supports seamless authentication for users across multiple organizations and personal portals
The features I use in Cisco Duo include Duo Pushes to confirm my identity to the device, and eventually as MFA security was increased, I actually had to use exchange passcodes. Sometimes, I have to go into the site and get into Cisco Duo to retrieve the passcode, and many of them have been two-factor, where the sites send a passcode that I have to enter into Cisco Duo. It has been more of the latter. I have not seen issues with lagging or crashing on Cisco Duo's end; it was usually on the client end, often because someone set up a bad upgrade or there were connection issues with the Cisco Duo cloud through the administrative site.
DS
Owner at David Strom Inc.
A new way to perform multifactor authentication using specialized SaaS software
Avoids man in the middle or man in the browser exploits that other two factor products are susceptible to One month I got a few error messages which turned out to be themselves errors. I have been using SecurID tokens and wanted something that didn't require hardware authentication devices.…
Balogun Peter - PeerSpot reviewer
Digital Magazine Manager at OMC System
Strong security has protected my online accounts and keeps my access safe across platforms
In my opinion, the best feature Google Authenticator offers is the way it generates the code every one minute or thereabout, and the code keeps changing, which enhances security. I am very sure nobody can have access to my accounts without Google Authenticator. Google Authenticator has impacted my organization positively as I have first-hand assurance that nobody is breaking into any of our accounts or websites, and it saves a lot. It gives you that assurance; it makes you feel very safe. The security is top notch, and it is even amazing that it works without the internet. What is really measurable is that we do not get our things compromised now. It is more secure; it provides comfortability knowing that my account is safe, and I feel more secure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The feature I like the most about Cisco Duo is that it allows us to authenticate users before they can connect to our network from outside of our company."
"Compared with other products, Duo Security is excellent; I'm very impressed, and so are my colleagues."
"Cisco Duo has positively impacted our organization by improving our overall access security by adding an extra layer of protection beyond passwords."
"The dashboard is intuitive, allowing my help desk team and the security team to identify issues with one click."
"The feature of Cisco Duo that I value the most is that it's easy to use; it monitors all our devices to ensure everything is updated before we're given access to those applications."
"My experience with Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system has been good; it is seamless and easy to integrate, and it is flexible."
"Duo Security simplified establishing trusted connections, making it easier to implement distributed network solutions."
"Cisco Duo has been very reliable from my point of view so far, as I have not had any issues with it."
"Avoids man in the middle or man in the browser exploits that other two factor products are susceptible to."
"The security is top notch, and it is even amazing that it works without the internet."
"Google Authenticator has helped save money, save time, and maintain reputation because of the security it provides."
"Google Authenticator has positively impacted my organization by improving security and productivity."
 

Cons

"I think Cisco Duo could be improved by including email authentication, as there is currently only SMS, SMS push, and code generation, but having email authentication could be beneficial when you don't have a phone."
"I did utilize an open-source GitHub repository that Cisco Duo had for the logs for sending off to Syslogs, but I believe that was no longer in support."
"The experience with customer support and tech support when I first started with Cisco Duo was lacking on some parts where we were having issues."
"I think Cisco Duo can be improved."
"At the moment, I believe that more integration between Cisco Duo Identity Intelligence and the classic Cisco Duo console can be improved, since it is still a separate platform, and when I click on Identity Intelligence, I have to open a new window and log in again."
"They could just continue to add more integrations."
"The only issue is the price is too high when compared to other products; Cisco Duo's pricing is high."
"I am not certain how Cisco Duo has helped me evolve in my IAM strategy from simple authentication to a more comprehensive identity security platform."
"I got a few error messages which turned out to be themselves errors."
"I deduct one mark due to the lack of a backup and restore option."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been good, with no issues. I am pleased that the prices remained stable after Cisco acquired the solution."
"I haven't seen it in a while, but it's at par with everything else licensing-wise."
"Overall, the pricing is fair. Customers can wrap it into their Enterprise Agreement, making it easier for them to solve their issues."
"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."
"With regard to pricing, for a small business buying a one off, it's pretty expensive. If it's an enterprise that has thousands of employees, however, it's really nothing to protect your data because if your network goes down or it's breached, you're losing millions of dollars every minute. When it comes to a large enterprise, it's priced where it should be because you're talking business to business. You're not talking business to consumer."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"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."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
No data available
Comms Service Provider
21%
Construction Company
16%
Government
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business66
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise93
No data available
No data available
 

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 Du...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
Regarding the pricing, what actually happened was that we got the product purchased through our HQ, so the costing as...
What needs improvement with Duo Security?
I do not have a straight answer for how Cisco Duo can be improved at this time. With the implementation that we are g...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Authenticator?
Google Authenticator is the best; everything is okay regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing.
What needs improvement with Google Authenticator?
There is always room for improvement, and I just want to see Google Authenticator keep getting better. But for now, I...
What is your primary use case for Google Authenticator?
My main use case for Google Authenticator is for security purposes, to safeguard my different accounts or application...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
xFA
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Midwestern Bank
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: October 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.