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Certificate Lifecycle Manager vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 2, 2026

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

Certificate Lifecycle Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Certificate Management Software (2nd)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Certificate Lifecycle Manager is 1.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Certificate Lifecycle Manager1.9%
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.1%
Other96.0%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Karthik Kashyap T H - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Eliminates certificate expiration outages and offers good customization and reporting capabilities
Even though it allows for email editing, until version 23.1, you had to log on to the server, and the console itself used to take a lot of time. That has changed from the last release onwards. When you're defining the flow, there are some areas that can probably cause confusion to the users. If you want to rename the default field, you cannot rename it, which caused a lot of confusion during the initial days until everyone got settled in. Allowing the renaming or updating of the default field is something Certificate Manager can improve on. Certificate Manager has both the on-prem and the cloud versions, but the on-prem version is far more mature than the cloud version, which lacks a lot of features that the on-prem version offers, at least when we did the POC and evaluated the product. The maturity of the cloud version needs improvement. Additionally, when considering the on-prem version, there is a minor glitch in the system. When an administrator makes changes, they have flexibility regarding the approval flow. When dealing with a certificate that requires approval from several different teams, there is a minor glitch in the system where the name of the approver does not appear. This is a bug that we are currently addressing. Additionally, there is room for improvement in key management. Changing the default account name is not a straightforward process; it can be quite tedious. This is an area where improvements could be made. If there is a particular workflow that we want to tweak, right now, we can achieve it only via a PowerShell script. It would be great if they could also support a small Python script or anything to expand their scripting or adaptable workflow code base. Even though we can call another script from a PowerShell script, if someone doesn't have knowledge of PowerShell, that would be challenging.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Certificate Manager has reduced the certificate expiration outages to almost nil, and since 2022, we have had almost zero major incidents wherein we saw a financial impact or business disruption due to an expired certificate."
"CyberArk Certificate Manager has positively impacted my organization by automating the credential process, allowing users to rotate and share passwords with no human intervention required."
"CyberArk Certificate Manager has excellent capability in handling certification renewals; whenever you specify any validity period that needs to be renewed within certain days, it triggers automatically, and I appreciate that aspect."
"Automating anything, whether on-prem or cloud, is possible."
"The support is definitely great. What I like best about Venafi is that it's very easy to get somebody on a call and get any of my questions answered. That's probably the biggest thing. Besides the fact that it's a mature product and it works, the support is a big deal."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is their certificate discovery."
"Venafi solved the issue of many misplaced internal certificates, as we know that at one place we can get all the information, and the problem of notifications about expiring certificates is resolved, improving our overall system for Expedia."
"So, from the perspective of risk reduction, it can be directly quantified in the value for the customer."
"The ease of integrating into an existing authentication system."
"Integration with Citrix Access Gateway, Microsoft Office 365 and Single Sign-On (through Symantec Validation and ID Protection Access Manager) has increased the productivity of the employees for accessing resources."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
"If you're looking for a fairly lightweight client that works very well for remote access purposes, I think Symantec is definitely a good product."
"The VPN we are using is good and working quite well."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"Cloud-based service and management."
 

Cons

"In terms of scalability, given that we were in the situation where it was on-prem, there were certain limitations there."
"Documentation could use some improvement, but that's about all."
"The product was really good when it was a Venafi product. However, since its acquisition by CyberArk, there has been a lack of significant innovations. They are pushing for cloud adoption, but we prefer on-premises solutions due to regulatory concerns."
"The support from Certificate Manager needs improvement based on my experience. The response time needs improvement, and it takes too long to resolve or provide solutions for some tickets."
"The initial setup is complex. You need third-party support or support from CyberArk Certificate Manager if you do not have a lot of skillset inside your own company."
"There's definitely lots of room for improvement with Venafi. They have a website where we can suggest new features, and they need to take that a little bit more seriously."
"Regarding stability, I observed that in the last year, CyberArk Certificate Manager was down two to three times without any notification."
"Venafi's overall installation could be made easier."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"The reporting on the VIP Manager is not correct."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company...Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
"Our only issue was with user training. The additional challenge was not well received."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Venafi's pricing appears to be competitive within the market."
"The pricing model is complex, considering factors beyond the number of certificates. This complexity can make our payments to Venafi challenging if costs continue to rise. It is good but more expensive than the competitors."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Venafi?
In terms of pricing, they are a little costly, but they are the best in the market today, so I would say they are worth every penny, rating them again at seven or eight.
What needs improvement with Venafi?
CyberArk Certificate Manager can be improved, particularly in terms of integrations with other tools. I would like to see improvements in integrations with ID, Kerberos, or with other companies for...
What advice do you have for others considering Venafi?
Since using CyberArk Certificate Manager, I have seen specific outcomes such as a reduction in incidents because I can work with CyberArk Certificate Manager, where digital certificates are everywh...
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Also Known As

Venafi
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Surescripts, CME Group, TD Bank Group, Aetna, MoneyGram, Zions Bancorp, Cisco
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Certificate Lifecycle Manager vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.