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Authentify vs Yubico YubiKey comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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

Cisco Duo
Sponsored
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
164
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
Yubico YubiKey
Ranking in Authentication Systems
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (2nd), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (4th)
 

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 Yubico YubiKey is 2.6%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo3.7%
Yubico YubiKey2.6%
Authentify1.2%
Other92.5%
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.…
reviewer2859021 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Hardware authentication has reduced password resets and now secures access against phishing
The best features Yubico YubiKey offers are the major reasons we use it as a hardware MFA to create a token because it is phishing resistant. It guarantees the authentication works on a valid cryptographically verified domain, and it supports multiple protocols and authenticator capability. It is based on challenge-response mode, and it has extremely physical durability. It has a dual interface where you can plug it into a laptop or against an iOS and Android mobile phone. The private keys are generated directly on the internal secure chip and can never be exported by the host system or malware. Reducing password reset and MFA lockout support tickets by 75% has reclaimed the engineering capacity, which can be redirected towards more core infrastructure priorities, such as automating the security pipelines, improving asset management, and building internal CLI AI tooling. It has eliminated employee downtime and has simpler compliance and lower operational friction.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"All features of the solution are effective, Duo supports BYOD policies by allowing users to authenticate securely from their personal devices."
"I appreciate the simple login feature of Cisco Duo; being able to log into your actual page and then having all your apps there is convenient."
"I love Duo Security's push notifications. It's simple, fast, and secure. From the user's perspective, the solution is seamless. The security aspect is great."
"Cisco Duo's visibility into identity-based risks has improved our ability to manage security very well."
"The most valuable feature of Duo Security is the ability for the user to easily approve access. The application prompts the user, and they can see the location and the IP address. This makes it easy for the user to approve it and go through the process of logging in to the VPN."
"Cisco Duo has helped my organization reduce its overall authentication-related costs."
"The solution is pretty secure."
"Duo features benefit my company by making logins more secure and simpler. Everything is in one box, so we don't have multiple servers trying to do the same thing."
"Avoids man in the middle or man in the browser exploits that other two factor products are susceptible to."
"It's small and lightweight. Like a phone, it doesn't run out of battery. It also doesn't have to be unlocked. It doesn't break. Moreover, they're very durable and it's very convenient."
"Reducing password reset and MFA lockout support tickets by 75% has reclaimed the engineering capacity, which can be redirected towards more core infrastructure priorities, such as automating the security pipelines, improving asset management, and building internal CLI AI tooling."
"The solution is simple to use and we have installed it in our clients' endpoints. The tool is just plug-and-play for the end user. The end user can just put in the key to the security computer and log in without any hassle. The solution is efficient, user-friendly, and easy to use."
"YubiKey is a hardware security device with advanced security features."
"Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones."
"The most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
 

Cons

"We already have Active Directory enabled in our routers and switches. However, if we could do two-factor authentication, then it could go a long way since no one's getting into them unless you want them to."
"My experience with Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system is that sometimes there are difficulties, and sometimes users just won't be able to log in. We have to reset their password so they can use Duo."
"We had a lot of trouble configuring the password reset function, and as a result we now have a second channel that bypasses Duo to allow users to reset their password."
"It took me a while to figure it out. I went to every user and forced them to set it up. I might have done it the long way."
"I think Cisco Duo can be improved."
"One issue I see is when the device is offline."
"While two-factor authentication with mobile devices provides a high level of security, it's still not foolproof, as someone could potentially steal your phone. It would be beneficial to have information about the authentication location."
"I would appreciate it if Duo Security could improve its integrations with Windows Hello."
"I got a few error messages which turned out to be themselves errors."
"Yubico YubiKey is one per user and I do not believe it is very scalable."
"Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India."
"Yubico YubiKey is inconvient. No one likes the idea of having to put a USB device into the system, having to remember to take it out, and having passwords. It may be very good for security but it is not great for people to use."
"It would be better if the product can come up with a serial number for the keys. It would be nice if they had a numbering system as a configuration identity that would help the IT and technical teams to identify the keys because they look all the same. It would be more like putting a tag on them."
"It's a hardware device, so it isn't cost-effective to use for all your accounts. You might have a hard time getting budget approval. It's better to take a strategic approach and use it only for critical accounts. You can use other forms of authentication for the rest."
"Currently, an area where the product lacks is in addressing service needs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."
"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 licensing is very good because it does not cost a lot of money. It's affordable for all-sized customers, including enterprises. There is an additional cost for premium support."
"It's a bit confusing because we're on a three-year plan with a certain number of licenses, and we've gone over that number. They told us that when we renew, they will add all these licenses. We've expanded quickly, so everyone's kind of scared because no one knows what the bill is with the long pricing cycle."
"The product’s pricing is reasonable."
"The pricing is pretty competitive. It's pretty cheap. Anybody can adopt it."
Information not available
"We paid 100 bucks for one Yubikey."
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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
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business65
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise82
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
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What needs improvement with Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey is an industry gold standard for phishing-resistant hardware, though immutable firmware and password k...
What is your primary use case for Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey is my main hardware security key designed to provide multifactor authentication and for logging into m...
What advice do you have for others considering Yubico YubiKey?
Regarding Yubico YubiKey's AI capabilities, it does not embed AI or machine learning capabilities in itself. Rather t...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
xFA
YubiKey
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Midwestern Bank
Google Inc., Salesforce, Novartis, Facebook, GitHub, CERN, Duke University, Code Enigma, Luther Burbank High School, ZorgSaam, Agfa, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Dyson Ltd, Portugal Telecom, Boral, Canonical Ltd
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: October 2026.
921,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.