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Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Check Point Harmony SASE users report fewer security incidents, cost savings, enhanced productivity, and reduced traditional VPN reliance.
Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN offers strong security with high ROI, easy installation, minimal resource impact, and positive user feedback.
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) blocked access to those URLs at the network level before users could click through.
We are saving 40% of our time, which is good.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Check Point Harmony SASE receives mixed to positive reviews for responsive support, though some users experienced delays in resolution.
Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is praised for its responsive, skilled customer support and clear documentation, reducing direct contact needs.
I would rate support 10 out of 10.
After updating firmware, data utilization was visible for a few days before collapsing again.
We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.
When Cisco first took over, it was a bit more difficult to get support, but they now integrate it without differentiating the support for Linksys versus full-blown Cisco switches.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Check Point Harmony SASE is scalable, cloud-based, and adaptable but faces some redundancy limitations compared to competitors.
Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem but may need improvements in pricing and licensing.
The cloud-native model ensures we are not tied to any specific location or hardware, which has been a great game changer in terms of agility.
The scalability of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is good, and I can add more users and devices easily as my organization grows.
I would rate it nine out of ten for scalability.
It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Check Point Harmony SASE is stable with 99.9% uptime, despite rare glitches, earning high user reliability ratings.
Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for stability but can experience intermittent issues and requires frequent updates.
Even the support team does not have a proper solution for this issue.
There are some lags and glitches with connectivity, so I would rate the stability as between seven or eight out of ten.
After the last improvement, I can say it is much more stable now.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Harmony SASE could improve with SD-WAN, alerts, better UI, analytics, integration, support, and documentation enhancements.
Cisco IOS SSL VPN needs better integration, usability, compatibility, language support, and simplified licensing to enhance user experience.
An example of when the support cycle took longer than expected was when I had a ticket open for nearly six to seven months regarding a simple issue.
A local data center in Turkey would enhance the product, as currently, our Internet traffic goes to another country, which is problematic for us.
One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers.
There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility.
I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration.
 

Setup Cost

Check Point Harmony SASE offers clear pricing and flexibility, ideal for large enterprises but costly for small businesses.
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is expensive but valued by enterprises; pricing is $60 per seat for over 100 users.
Cost efficiency is a consideration, as SASE products are not the cheapest security products.
It is a bit expensive.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is that it is a rental service, but I find it satisfactory.
For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
 

Valuable Features

Check Point Harmony SASE enhances security with Zero Trust Access, Secure Gateway, and ThreatCloud intelligence, optimizing remote work management.
Cisco IOS SSL VPN offers strong encryption, reliable connectivity, seamless integration, multi-factor authentication, and practical management for secure remote access.
The firewall management is the most valuable feature for me.
The Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) feature is a major highlight as it gives users seamless and secure access to internal resources without requiring a full-blown VPN, which improves both security and user experience.
The best key features of Harmony are stabilization, private access, and Internet access.
The solution is also very scalable, offering up to one hundred licenses for free, and can integrate well with Cisco's ecosystem, such as Cisco ISE and NAC.
Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links.
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Harmony SASE (f...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (6th), Firewalls (15th), Anti-Malware Tools (6th), ZTNA as a Service (4th), ZTNA (2nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (6th)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 2.0%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers seamless and secure remote access while enhancing security posture
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) offers strong features, but there are areas that could be improved. One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers. It works with standard SAML and SSO, but we would prefer deeper integrations with solutions such as Ping for more advanced identity-based policies. Additionally, a mobile-specific client or lightweight agent would be helpful for securing access from smartphones, especially in BYOD environments. We would appreciate more granular reporting and analytics, including better drill-down capabilities to investigate specific users or app activity. The logs are comprehensive, but filtering them can sometimes feel messy. The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices. Some of the policy configuration steps are nested and could be streamlined.
Rupesh Kolhapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers easy setup phase but needs to improve connectivity
For our company's remote workforce connectivity, the tool was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In general, the VPN functionality offered by the product was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In terms of the product's ability to secure third-party access, the tool works very well. The most valuable feature of the product in terms of network security stems from the fact that the tool provides access to the whole network, and even if users give access to some special applications, it is still really helpful. The clientless access feature is not available for clients. My company installed the product for its clients. If the product offers a clientless access feature, then it is okay and can be very helpful for our company. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a reliable product. The product is very helpful for a work-from-home setup as the tool can be used to access our company's internal network, which Falls outside the network of our organization. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Perimeter 81?
Even after restarting, it tries to quickly reestablish connection which is very helpful.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Perimeter 81?
It's essential to consider the organization's specific requirements and budget. Here are some general recommendations: * Evaluate your needs * Understand pricing models * Request a quote * Compare ...
What needs improvement with Perimeter 81?
In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed insights into network activity. Additionally, expanding integration options wit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
The pricing for Cisco IOS SSL VPN is based on per user. For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
It's hard for me to say how Linksys could be improved. I can't think of any specific improvements needed. I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier m...
 

Also Known As

Check Point Quantum SASE
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.