Cisco Duo vs Netskope Private Access comparison

Cisco and Netskope are both solutions in the ZTNA as a Service category. Cisco is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0, while Netskope is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 2.2% mindshare in ZaaS, compared to Netskope’s 5.2% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Netskope users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Cisco Duo and Netskope Private Access are two prominent solutions in the network security space. While Cisco Duo excels in pricing, ease of deployment, and customer service, Netskope Private Access stands out in its feature set and long-term ROI, making it the choice for users prioritizing comprehensive functionality.

What features are offered by Cisco Duo in comparison to Netskope Private Access?

Cisco Duo offers two-factor authentication, secure remote access, and a reliable, simple user experience. Netskope Private Access provides zero trust access, advanced analytics, and deep visibility and control, which create a more comprehensive and robust security toolset.

What areas of improvement can be found in Cisco Duo in comparison to Netskope Private Access?

Cisco Duo could enhance its integration capabilities with other software, expand its authentication methods, and improve mobile user experience. Netskope Private Access could improve user onboarding, provide more detailed usage documentation, and streamline its setup process to reduce complexity.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of Cisco Duo in comparison to Netskope Private Access?

Cisco Duo is praised for its straightforward deployment process and excellent customer support, with quick setup times and timely support resolutions. Netskope, while receiving positive feedback for its deployment, is slightly more complex due to its extensive features. However, users find Netskope’s customer service responsive and helpful.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with Cisco Duo in comparison to Netskope Private Access?

Cisco Duo is generally viewed as more cost-effective, with users highlighting lower setup costs and favorable return on investment. Netskope Private Access, although higher in initial cost, offers significant ROI through its rich features and extensive security capabilities, which many users find justify the investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Duo vs. Netskope Private Access Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. Netskope Private Access

June 2025

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the ZTNA as a Service category, the mindshare of iboss is 1.9%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Duo is 2.2%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope Private Access is 5.2%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

ZTNA as a Service

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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Patrick Stevenson

Senior Network Engineer at Shentel

Centralized authentication simplifies logins and saves time

There aren't any new features or functionalities in Cisco Duo that my company has started using recently; we use it primarily for the authentication portion. There are other features we can use, yet we haven't turned those options on yet, so that's more a matter of time than anything. We have many different vendors and types of devices that we require MFA for login. That said, Duo helps bring all of those accounts into one system, in conjunction with ISE, you have one username, one password, and you access all the devices instead of having every device have its own credentials. It lowers the number of passwords you need to have. Cisco Duo is on the right track for improvement. A lot of their devices already integrate with it now. They keep adding features for more devices that interact natively with it, instead of having to have a third-party server to reach out to Duo. I would rate Cisco Duo overall about an eight out of ten; it's a strong product.

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Christian Dagal

Security Architect Manager at Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.

Provides network visibility, infrastructure protection and advanced security protections, especially the DLP (Data Loss Protection)

Room for improvement is more on the policies offered for DLP. Netskope detects certain data or contents, but there are some limitations on how we can customize those policies for DLP. In the next release, I hope we can see more use cases for mobile devices, not just for laptops or servers but also for key features that will be available on mobile devices or smartphones.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

More iboss pros

"It has definitely reduced embedding. We found a lot of problems with attackers being able to compromise accounts. Now, when they try to access accounts, they are not able to do so because there is an added layer of protection. Once we know that a username and password are compromised, we just reset the password to protect the company."

"Duo Security improved my organization by helping us secure all access points within the company infrastructure."

"Cisco Duo is quick to deploy and easy to start."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Duo for us is the multi-factor authentication."

"All features of the solution are effective, particularly those involved in identifying vulnerabilities and updates."

"We like the different ways that it allows you to push notifications to people. It can do text, a phone call, and email. We liked the versatility for all of our different end-users, regardless of their level of understanding of the technology."

"Multifactor authentication is the most valuable feature."

"I love Duo Security's push notifications. It's simple, fast, and secure. From the user's perspective, the solution is seamless. The security aspect is great."

More Cisco Duo pros

"In the VPN scenario, what was happening, the user would get back to the complete source. But in NPA, the application will go to the user. There is an outbound connection. There is no inbound. Storage providers are also not there. It's the best feature because it is the replacement of the VPN."

"We can block and alert the ports and allow the public traffic software in our environment."

"The most valuable feature is being able to see who is accessing the application, whether it is a managed device or a bring-your-own-device published by Netskope."

"There are several valuable features, like advanced security protections, especially the DLP (Data Loss Protection), and there's also browser and web filtering, or content filtering for our users to protect them when accessing certain links or websites, ensuring their security and permission."

"With private access or next-gen VPN, they are able to keep you secure, but they are invisible in terms of how they do it. Anybody working from home and trying to bring up VPN quickly can pretty much get VPN up and running in a matter of minutes because this doesn't require any VPN technology on-prem. All the VPN technologies that you're using to access applications on-premise can be eliminated by using their software. If you're accessing Microsoft 365 or salesforce.com, you can go straight out from your home office or home internet to that application rather than having to come through a VPN. It still has all the policies enforced, and it mitigates any business risks in terms of how that user is accessing that application and what they're doing inside of it. VPN piece is really critical, especially at this time of Covid, and your latency also goes down. Your latency gets better by using the platform because they're intercepting your traffic, routing it through their local data center, and then sending it to whichever SaaS service or whatever you're going to. It does it better, faster, and quicker with all your governance policies enforced, rather than you having to go through your data center. So, all the traffic gets hauls there, and then that traffic has got to route somewhere else, and then it has got to go up to the cloud. Your latency actually goes down. They can guarantee 15 milliseconds or less pretty much across anywhere on the planet for about 95% or 90% of it."

"It is a stable solution."

"Netskope Private Access covers a wide range of use cases with solutions for client-server and server-to-client connectivity patterns."

"The base features have been fantastic. The ability to be able to granularly assign application access to end-users has been really good."

More Netskope Private Access pros

Cons

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

More iboss cons

"General announcements when new features come out with Cisco Duo should be broadcasted to customers who are using it, which might bring more accessibility to their documents so users can be more in tune with updates."

"Its documentation must be in French because we are a French-speaking country. They should also provide more training documentation. Its management interface should also be improved. They should also improve its update period. If I compare its update period with other products such as Palo Alto firewalls, this solution is really slow in updates."

"It is easy to use when logging in, but at times, there's a delay in getting the pop-up on a phone, requiring users to occasionally retry authentication depending on backend services."

"There was an issue related to integration with third parties."

"I would appreciate seeing Cisco Duo improved with a tighter integration with Active Directory to secure not just Remote Desktop to a server, but all the remote levels of connection that you can make to a server."

"We already have Active Directory enabled in our routers and switches. However, if we could do two-factor authentication, then it could go a long way since no one's getting into them unless you want them to."

"The technical engineers in the first line of support should improve their knowledge."

"I have not seen ROI with Cisco Duo; probably the opposite, because it impedes productivity time to be able to get into the system. You have to authenticate and do your regular login and your Active Directory logins."

More Cisco Duo cons

"The major problem that we are facing is if we deploy Netskope on the server level or if we get a new server in the EMEA factor, it will affect all the machines. Recently, this has caused us to fail some reviews."

"I would rate the stability around seven out of ten. Sometimes, we face some difficulty, but it depends upon the complexity of the environment."

"We faced certain issues with China users as it can be rather challenging for them due to the presence of Great Firewall."

"The solution needs to develop faster features. Its interoperability feature is not working. It takes six months to one year for any product to implement the improvements. However, the process should be faster to implement the changes quickly."

"The cost has room for improvement."

"The product is not easy to use."

"The main challenge we are facing across various Trust Network Access (TNA) technologies, including Netskope, is their inability to support broadcast applications or those relying on broadcasting protocols."

"Netskope Private Access allows mapping only one DNS server. If a user uses a secondary DNS on-premises, Netskope fails to disconnect them. This is an issue that needs to be addressed."

More Netskope Private Access cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It falls in line with everything else."

"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."

"I haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."

"I haven't seen it in a while, but it's at par with everything else licensing-wise."

"Its price is reasonable. It is not highly expensive."

"The pricing is pretty competitive. It's pretty cheap. Anybody can adopt it."

"The pricing was a lot more than what we were paying for our previous solution."

"It's very simple. Its price is fair. We use the hardware tokens as well. You get what you pay for. In terms of licensing, Cisco has very complicated products, but Duo Security was surprisingly easy."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

"The tool's price is normal. It is not very cheap but good compared to the competitors."

"When it comes to pricing, Netskope Private Access is relatively cheap compared to other solutions."

"It is significantly cost-effective compared to its contenders."

"It is not the most expensive option, being more affordable than Zscaler, but it's also not the most budget-friendly choice available."

"I believe that the price for Netskope Private Access is included in the features or functionality my company purchased from NetSkope."

"Netskope Private Access is more inexpensive than other products."

"The pricing of the solution is cheap."

"There was about 60% ROI, just in terms of savings. We had 40% to 60% reduction in monthly operational costs by using Netskope."

More Netskope Private Access pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

See all answers

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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, spe...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?

I find the pricing of Cisco Duo to be reasonable.

See all answers

What do you like most about Netskope Private Access?

Even without extensive training, if you're a proficient IT professional, you can easily configure it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Netskope Private Access?

Netskope Private Access could improve by enhancing visibility of user performance and application performance. It sho...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Netskope Private Access?

Our primary use case for Netskope Private Access ( /products/netskope-private-access-reviews ) was for internal acces...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 18% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 14% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 13% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Cisco Duo

Compared 8% of the time

RSA SecurID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 38% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 27% of the time

Cloudflare One vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 9% of the time

Appgate SDP vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 7% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 7% of the time

More Netskope Private Access Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

June 2025

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Netskope Private Access

May 2025

Download Netskope Private Access product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Duo Security

No data available

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

Cisco Duo is a cloud-based identity security tool offering easy and wide-ranging access protection for users and devices worldwide. It assures identity-first security with clear visibility across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Cisco Duo provides robust multi-factor authentication and seamless integration capabilities with existing infrastructures. Appreciated for its stability and speed, it supports distributed workforces by securing VPN access, corporate networks, and cloud services. Duo’s comprehensive identity ecosystem supports easy deployment and management through a single-pane-of-glass management interface. It seamlessly merges with popular platforms like Active Directory and Office 365 across diverse hardware.

What are Cisco Duo’s Essential Features?

Multi-Factor Authentication: Offers secure access with options like push notifications and hardware tokens.
Seamless Integration: Easily fits with existing systems and third-party applications.
User-Friendly Management: Provides centralized control with a single-pane-of-glass interface.
Wide Compatibility: Supports broad applications and devices, enhancing security management.
Stable and Fast: Reliable speed and intuitive interaction for users across platforms.

What Benefits and ROI Can Cisco Duo Users Expect?

Enhanced Security: Increases protection with versatile MFA options for critical resources.
Ease of Use: Simplifies deployment and management with intuitive interfaces.
Scalability: Adapts to growing needs with broad compatibility and integration support.
Support for Distributed Workforces: Ensures secure remote access for teams anywhere.

Cisco Duo finds extensive applications across education, finance, retail, and government sectors by fortifying network and application access security. Organizations leverage it for its MFA capabilities, integrating with ERP systems, ensuring protected connectivity with VPN and cloud-based services, crucial in maintaining secure and efficient operations.

Cisco

Netskope Private Access is an integral component of the Netskope Security Cloud platform that provides zero-trust secure access to enterprise applications and data in hybrid IT (public cloud and data center) environments. It offers comprehensive policy management, compliance assessment, and supports any application, protocol, and device to reduce risk and simplify security operations.

Netskope

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Information Not Available

Evalueserve, Stroock, Apria, Ather Energy

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. Netskope Private Access

June 2025

Free Report: Cisco Duo vs. Netskope Private Access

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. Netskope Private Access and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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