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AWS Direct Connect vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN 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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.7%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AWS Direct Connect1.7%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.3%
Other95.0%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2231871 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Offers secure high-bandwidth connectivity without internet-related risks
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The customer, from the customer side to AWS, receives an ethernet point-to-point connection, and that is it. The interface and everything along with the communication with AWS, the customer has to do by themselves to build the routes and everything. The connection speed that our clients are using ranges from 100 megabits up to 10 gigabits. The main concern is the port costs. Clients do not report technical problems, so it is mainly always an issue of money. The solution is nice, but sometimes they avoid it because the port costs are high. This is not a problem AWS has exclusively; Azure has the same costs, and these port costs are quite expensive. I would rate this review as an 8 out of 10.
VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS VPN is cost-effective and affordable; it has the security regulation with 3DES protocol, and they have the security protocol required to encrypt the information in the link."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"It's a stable solution."
"It's been stable for as long as I've been using it."
"It is highly scalable, speedy, and reliable."
"The product is very stable."
"The solution is very reliable, and Cisco as an OEM and a service provider is very trustworthy."
"Overall performance and features of the device are great."
"The solution is very reliable."
"Usability is the most important feature for me."
 

Cons

"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"We encountered issues with the connection. The VPN was not connecting on multiple occasions."
"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"I would like to see better traffic visibility and higher throughput security, especially for organizations that require more than what the current limit allows."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"When many people are using the internet at home, which is usually right after dinner, this type of service is a little bit hard to use. The internet becomes quite slow, and sometimes, I have to stop using this application. I am not sure if this issue is because of the application or my internet provider."
"It can be difficult to find service and at times we cannot connect with the internet easily."
"The graphical interface is old and needs to improve."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"Cisco has a history of problems with the area of web filtering, because of which my company sometimes had to change the vendor and the appliance."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should improve its pricing."
"The solution does not give us options if the connectivity to one server is not available."
"I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration, as Linksys switches are a little bit easier to manage and set up compared to Cisco switches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"The product costs less."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Infrastructure VPN solutions are best for your needs.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high. It is primarily a budget issue because while the solution is effective, the port costs ...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
Our customers primarily use AWS Direct Connect for hybrid cloud solutions. They have parts of their equipment in their on-premise data center, while also using AWS infrastructure for backups, datab...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Direct Connect?
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The c...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.