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Cisco Duo vs Microsoft Entra ID vs RSA Authentication Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 4.8%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 7.8%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Authentication Manager is 2.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID7.8%
Cisco Duo4.8%
RSA Authentication Manager2.5%
Other84.9%
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.
Stafin Jacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Practice Lead at Invoke
Identity has become our central gatekeeper and has provided secure single sign-on for all users
Microsoft Entra ID can improve by focusing more on new passwordless methods and becoming a primary adopter. One feature we would like to see is the ability to have security questions for password resets. I know the current capability is phasing out, so we do not have an alternative method yet. Customers who already use security questions require a smoother transition for that capability to be available. My experience with the deployment has had some challenges, particularly around the Microsoft MFA campaigns. The hardest part is moving users from a different MFA provider to the Microsoft MFA provider, as it ultimately depends on user activity. In large enterprises with numerous users across various geographies, this transition takes time. If there are ways to exert more control around that process, it would improve the situation.
US
VP Business Development at SDVG
Enhancing security with seamless single sign-on and Microsoft integration
We use RSA Authentication Manager for web applications and internal applications. We have a number of applications connected to it, serving over thirty thousand clients. It is integrated into everything from our standard login to Windows in the morning, as well as our applications Due to its…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The feature of Cisco Duo that I appreciate most is the push notifications. They are great."
"The app has greater stability than rival solutions such as Google Authenticator, and Duo Push authentication is a valuable feature."
"We get fewer threats to remediate due to the two-factor authentication, which does not allow as many threats through."
"I rate it highly because it's something that can grow with you, whether you have very little security or a lot of security, whether it's already Cisco or not, and whether you have a mixed mess that you're trying to put into some kind of order."
"Cisco Duo helps minimize the risk of attack vectors and prevents unauthorized access to our data since it's tied with multi-factor authentication, which helps block threats."
"The flexibility is the most valuable feature. We use it for the app on the phone. When we're at different locations, the phone is usually there, so we can use that. It has just been a very flexible option."
"My total rating for Cisco Duo is ten out of ten."
"With respect to our users feeling safe, secure, supported, and included, Duo Security is among the best solutions that we have ever used."
"Microsoft Entra ID provides granular role assignments for Azure permissions or Azure AD roles. Using a privileged identity manager allows us to give specific access to certain groups of employees for a limited time. Entra's ability to integrate Azure Virtual Machines and security benefits has been exceptional, especially for managing infrastructure and applications."
"Being able to use Azure AD means that you can use some of the Azure AD security features like Advanced Password Protection. As well as querying your normal password requirements like lengths and complexity, Azure AD has a feature in which you can put specific words. It can be words to do with your company, words to do with your company location, or words that a lot of your employees would otherwise use. You can disallow them. It's very good at making more obvious passwords, ones they're not allowed to use anymore. That's a good feature."
"If the ecosystem is Microsoft, I recommend Intune because it's Microsoft's end-to-end solution."
"Entra's conditional access policies allow us to fine-tune how we allow people into the environments and secure them."
"The best feature of Microsoft Entra ID is that it provides more granular control over user identities."
"The product is easy to use."
"If you want to replicate a website at the frontend in Azure, it's very easy to do it globally."
"Many of its features are valuable, including: facilitating application authentication, privileged access management, processes for attestation, and access reviews."
"In 2005 we started with a managed authentication service for three small companies with each having approx. 250 users, and now we have 25 large enterprises/government departments with over 150,000 authenticating users and an uptime of nearly 100% over the last five years."
"Easy setup, deployment, and integration in different infrastructures, including virtual ones."
"It is a good solution for token identification."
"The technical support has been great; their service is perfect."
"RSA Authentication Manager is a robust solution that provides comprehensive protection for both on-premise and cloud-based applications."
"Easy setup, deployment, and integration in different infrastructures, including virtual ones."
"The most valuable feature is the SecurID."
"RSA Authentication Manager Appliance is almost like Plug 'n' Play, so it's an excellent experience."
 

Cons

"Cisco Duo could be improved, possibly by adding features for the healthcare space. If you're selling something to a healthcare provider, 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."
"It is not easy to maintain network connectivity."
"It could be a little bit more intuitive when it comes to the sign-up process. I know they send out an email, but sometimes our users get a little confused. It could be an end-user problem, but Cisco could work on that a little."
"Conversational AI in Cisco Duo is limited in its current application."
"Most of my colleagues from other companies use the Microsoft MFA solution because it's included in Office 365. Few people are considering Cisco Duo. That's the primary problem in our area. It's a solution mostly adopted by Cisco users."
"The deployment experience was more difficult than we expected because we had some problems with the version of the OS that we have in our servers."
"I think that the dashboard needs to be improved."
"Cisco Duo is stable, but occasionally there are emails about incidents that affect some services temporarily."
"Azure Active Directory could improve by having an authentication service for laptops or desktop computers running Mac and Linux operating systems."
"The custom role creation function could be improved as it's somewhat tricky to use."
"There are many new features being added all the time, and Microsoft is advancing at a pace that aligns with our needs. I can't think of anything immediate that needs improvement."
"I want to be able to identify the audiences effectively and manage them."
"Microsoft plans to move away from SMS authentication for Multi-Factor Authentication and only implement application-based authenticator, which will be challenging for retail outlets reliant on Microsoft Active Directory."
"One thing that bothers me about Azure AD is that I can't specify login hours. I have to use an on-premises instance of Active Directory if I want to specify the hours during which a user can log in. For example, if I want to restrict login to only be possible during working hours, to prevent overtime payments or to prevent lawsuits, I can't do this using only Azure AD."
"The management interface has some areas that need improvement."
"Technical support could be faster."
"We found technical support was not very responsive to our requests for assistance."
"We are seeing a lot of difficult issues in terms of RSA, especially the cloud-based two-factor authentication process."
"The reporting needs to be improved, and they should be delivered by email."
"The price needs to be improved."
"Enhancing the user interface and expanding their marketing efforts in regions like Nigeria and West Africa could be beneficial."
"Perhaps parts of the user interface should become more intuitive."
"We are not planning on using the solution in the future."
"There is room for improvement in the RSA support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"From a reseller perspective, it's still challenging to explain the whole license strategy to a client, so we really have to be ahead of that for all the true forward conversations."
"My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been good, with no issues. I am pleased that the prices remained stable after Cisco acquired the solution."
"The pricing was a lot more than what we were paying for our previous solution."
"You pay per user when using this solution and the pricing is fair."
"The cost was reasonable. Licensing was pretty straightforward for a change."
"It has a fair pricing model. I know they have different tiers, but it would be nice to have different types of licenses for certain groups of users in our organization. That way, we wouldn't have to lump everybody into one group. That would be also one complaint."
"Our licensing fee is currently on an annual basis."
"Licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis and the cost depends on the number of users."
"If you're on Azure, it can be free or it's incorporated, at no extra cost, or it can become extremely complicated."
"The cost of Azure AD is one of the biggest benefits, as it is available for use free of charge when you start with Office 365."
"Previously, only building and global administrators could purchase subscriptions or licenses. Mid-last year, Microsoft made it so users can purchase the license online. Microsoft business subscription is for 200 to 300 users. If you have more than 300 users, you can't purchase the business plan. You have to purchase the enterprise plan. The enterprise plan is for 301 users and above. Pay as you go is also available. If you pay as you go in Azure, you will be billed for whatever you use."
"I think the pricing is efficient, but the licensing is overly complicated and difficult to understand. There are many tricks in the licensing that weigh against us."
"The product is relatively affordable, especially compared to Okta, a pricey solution."
"Microsoft Azure AD has P1 or P2 licensing options, and it depends on the customer's needs. To use Conditional Access, you need to have the P1 license, and to use the PIN features, you need the P2 license."
"Microsoft has a free version of Azure AD. So, if you don't do a lot of advanced features, then you can use the free version, which is no cost at all because it is underpinning Office 365. Because Microsoft gives it to you as a SaaS, so there are no infrastructure costs whatsoever that you need to incur. If you use the free version, then it is free. If you use the advanced features (that we use), it is a license fee per user."
"As a new customer, the minimum cost would be four dollars, but you have room for negotiation, potentially bringing it down to as low as three dollars."
"The pricing is a little bit complicated because sometimes resellers are able to make prices that are too low. Our price, with a discount, is typically not as high as some of our competitors."
"The solution is costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise54
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business88
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise160
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise7
 

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?
I cannot speak to the financial planning of the organization, but I can confirm that Cisco Duo falls within the secur...
What needs improvement with Duo Security?
Areas that have room for improvement in Cisco Duo include pricing, as Cisco is quite expensive, and the fact that Cis...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID is that it is decent.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release.
What is your primary use case for Azure Active Directory?
My main use cases for Microsoft Entra ID are managing all users and everything related to user management.
What needs improvement with RSA Authentication Manager?
RSA Authentication Manager is perfect. We do not see current missing products or enhancements yet emphasize the impor...
What is your primary use case for RSA Authentication Manager?
We use RSA Authentication Manager for web applications and internal applications. We have a number of applications co...
What advice do you have for others considering RSA Authentication Manager?
RSA Authentication Manager is the best available solution. However, for other companies, it might seem expensive. It'...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
ACE/Server
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Tiera, Fred Loya, BRE Leasing, ADP, BlueFort Security, New Hanover County
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: March 2026.
885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.