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Cisco Duo vs Fortinet FortiToken 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
7.2
Cisco Duo delivers ROI by enhancing security, reducing insurance premiums, simplifying integration, and consolidating security management for organizations.
Sentiment score
3.8
Fortinet FortiToken offers investment returns through enhanced security, integration with firewalls, and flexible non-subscription token renewal.
I think Cisco Duo offers a good return on investment for startups, newer organizations, or those utilizing cloud-based applications.
I have not seen ROI with Cisco Duo; probably the opposite, because it impedes productivity time to be able to get into the system.
From my point of view, the biggest return on investment when using Cisco Duo is the security and the ease of setting it up.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Cisco Duo service is praised for reliability and efficiency, though some users desire quicker responses and easier access to specialists.
Sentiment score
6.7
Fortinet's customer service is generally good, with excellent technical support but some slow responses in certain regions.
They got back to us quickly, were nice, and gave us what we needed.
I would rate their support 10 out of 10.
Other support sections have failed miserably because of the lack of response time.
Their resolution time is timely, and they provide solutions efficiently.
I am satisfied with their service.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Duo's cloud-based scalability efficiently supports from small businesses to large enterprises with seamless integration and effortless expansion.
Sentiment score
8.2
Fortinet FortiToken is adaptable, scalable, and suited for mid-sized businesses, with high ratings in scalability across sectors.
I believe Cisco Duo is very scalable because it is cloud-based.
We started out with just the basics, getting a token, and then we changed to push, and now, we have added the offline mode.
It scales easily because it is just tied into our identity provider, and it grows along with that.
There is a need to scale more effectively to accommodate a larger number of users and bulk users.
Regarding Fortinet FortiToken's scalability, we can purchase licenses according to our needs.
I would rate scalability for Fortinet FortiToken as nine and a half or ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Cisco Duo is reliable, with minimal connectivity issues, strong communication, and quick resolution of occasional maintenance disruptions. Users are satisfied.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiToken is highly reliable and stable, with minor occasional syncing and SMS issues reported by users.
When there is a bigger problem, we get notifications from Cisco Duo saying, 'Hey, we have a problem,' and that has helped us.
We have never experienced any downtime.
It is very reliable, easy to use, and I don't have too many issues with it.
I would rate stability for Fortinet FortiToken as the best solution.
FortiToken is stable, but there are some restrictions when it comes to supporting two-factor authentication in multi-factor environments.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Duo needs improvements in integration, compatibility, pricing, support, and features to address user frustrations and desired enhancements.
Fortinet FortiToken requires enhancements in usability, integration, reporting, multi-device support, pricing flexibility, and centralized management.
If you don't have internet access, you can't access your computer, only local access is available.
Cisco should allow easier integration with third-party equipment because Cisco's own equipment is expensive.
There needs to be consideration for how to launch Cisco Duo with a handheld device that is not native, where you can install the application.
Any Fortinet FortiToken cannot be removed; if a box expires or loses support, it cannot be removed, and customers must purchase it from scratch.
This would allow for broader distribution among a larger number of system admins and software engineers, which is currently not feasible with the existing hardware-only approach.
If I can receive it on email, it would be more flexible.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Duo pricing is flexible and cost-effective, though perceptions vary based on scale, features, and support options.
Fortinet FortiToken is competitively priced and integrates well with Fortinet products, appealing to budget-conscious enterprises.
The pricing is acceptable to them.
Their website lists $3 per month per user for the Essential license.
The approximate cost is around eighty dollars per user.
Discounts are often provided to close deals, making it a cost-effective solution.
The pricing for FortiToken is not low; I regard it as medium-priced.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Duo's key features enhance security and accessibility with MFA, seamless integrations, and multi-device support, fostering user trust.
Fortinet FortiToken offers flexible, cost-effective two-factor authentication with easy installation, strong security, and user convenience via a mobile app.
From a management perspective, I appreciate that we can enroll or control devices on the back end for people who get a new phone and forget to handle Cisco Duo properly and need to add a new device.
Our company benefits from all those features of Cisco Duo with confidence, and we feel very secure with it in terms of authentication of our logins.
The benefit of having a complete passwordless environment in our organization is that it's gotten people away from using the sticky note under their keyboard - which is a huge problem.
The main use case of FortiToken is that it is a hardware-based solution, providing secure two-factor authentication for administrators.
Fortinet FortiToken provides very important security benefits because it is used to manage FortiGate from outside, exclusively with Fortinet FortiToken.
It is very user-friendly and easily integrates with various firewalls, making it convenient to use within diverse environments.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Duo
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (2nd)
Fortinet FortiToken
Ranking in Authentication Systems
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 8.1%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiToken is 5.1%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Duo8.1%
Fortinet FortiToken5.1%
Other86.8%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Botts - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing security policies effectively with seamless authentication
The feature of Cisco Duo that I prefer the most is the policies, being able to control what we need to within the policies. You can get pretty granular. There isn't a lot of training that goes on in school districts. Email is an easy way where many people give out their credentials, so the level of protection is something that we definitely need in a school district. Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system has been easy when logging in, although the teachers don't appreciate it as much. We have it configured so users essentially just hit accept. If it sees any sort of built-in risk, then it steps up authentication. It's pretty easy. I appreciate it. I've encountered advantages with Cisco Duo in that it has stopped significant pushback from teachers. It has prevented credential sharing and unauthorized access. We've seen a huge decrease since we've rolled it out across the entire district.
Ahmed Auf - PeerSpot reviewer
Has strengthened user authentication and remains reliable despite recent license transfer limitations
I love to work with Fortinet FortiToken because it's easy to configure with any user and with FortiAuthenticator. We uploaded it and use it for any authentication with any user, with integration with any device. With FortiAuthenticator, we integrated it with any server, such as Active Directory, and use the token for VPN and other purposes. In the future, we ask customers to use it with FortiAuthenticator, not just the token, as it provides better integration capabilities. When we buy a specific Fortinet FortiToken, we use it on FortiGate only. Fortinet FortiToken provides very important security benefits because it is used to manage FortiGate from outside, exclusively with Fortinet FortiToken. Without Fortinet FortiToken, administrators cannot use or add admin privileges or manage it from outside, as this could lead to attacks or malicious activity.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise9
 

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 Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What do you like most about Duo Security?
They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, specifically in single sign-on.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
My experience with pricing, setup, costs, and licensing is that I do not get into pricing much; I leave it to procurement, but I think it's very competitive. We use other Cisco products such as fir...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiToken?
The solution is simple and similar to Google Authenticator. It follows time-based authentication. We use it for hardware and software in one environment. The tool offers simple and fast authenticat...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiToken?
Fortinet FortiToken could be improved with flexibility to move it from device to device. With a license, replacement is not possible because Fortinet removed this option. Any Fortinet FortiToken ca...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiToken?
The use case for Fortinet FortiToken involves restrictions on token movement. From two or three months ago, Fortinet has not approved moving FortiToken between devices. Users are not allowed to rep...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. Fortinet FortiToken and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,655 professionals have used our research since 2012.