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Cisco Duo vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 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

Cisco Duo
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Ranking in Access Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
156
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (5th), ZTNA as a Service (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st), AI Data Analysis (3rd)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
11th
Ranking in Access Management
18th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 3.9%, down from 9.4% 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 (%)
Cisco Duo3.9%
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.1%
Other94.0%
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.
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

"It's simple. It's reliable. I haven't had any issues with it."
"Cisco Duo is a simple and effective tool that gives detailed information about users who connect to your domain."
"The most valuable feature is the ability for users to connect securely to the office using the VPN."
"It's a great solution for securing access to the applications and network because we can integrate the solution with all types of applications."
"Overall, it meets all my needs, including price point, and I've been very happy with it."
"The solution is pretty secure."
"For one of my clients, the ROI was somewhere between 25 to 27 percent in year one."
"Regarding the stability and reliability of Cisco Duo, it is very good."
"The ease of integrating into an existing authentication system."
"It is easy to use."
"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."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"Pricing was about 25% of the old solution, saving us about $500,000 over three years for 10,000 users."
"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."
"Mostly from a product expert's point of view, it provides solutions for my clients."
 

Cons

"Areas that have room for improvement in Cisco Duo include pricing, as Cisco is quite expensive, and the fact that Cisco Duo relies heavily on external identity providers such as Active Directory or Entra ID and does not offer full identity lifecycle management on its own, which leads organizations to often pair Cisco Duo with another IAM solution for complete identity governance."
"Scalability could be better if the price were reduced, as scaling is quite expensive."
"I don't see Cisco Duo playing a significant role in managing agentic AI identities at this moment."
"I think Cisco Duo can be improved."
"Certain customers can not use this product because it is cloud-based."
"Cisco Duo has not helped my company reduce its overall authentication-related costs, as it is a cost above what we already have."
"We have had instances where Duo Security stops working on a user's device, which we have fixed by uninstalling and then reinstalling it."
"The only thing I would say that may lead to a more negative experience would be allowing the engineers to help the customers whether it is a twenty-minute call or a four-hour call."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"The reporting on the VIP Manager is not correct."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"The gateway server is a RADIUS server, but it lacks the functionality of returning RADIUS attributes other than those that are required for the gateway to authenticate the users."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It was very reasonable."
"I only need the solution for IT staff, which makes it relatively cheap. If I deployed it for the whole company, it would be costly, so it depends on the number of users. Duo Security is affordable compared to other products in the segment."
"Duo Security is free."
"Cisco has the most expensive products because market leaders tend to charge a lot."
"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."
"I haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."
"With regard to pricing, for a small business buying a one off, it's pretty expensive. If it's an enterprise that has thousands of employees, however, it's really nothing to protect your data because if your network goes down or it's breached, you're losing millions of dollars every minute. When it comes to a large enterprise, it's priced where it should be because you're talking business to business. You're not talking business to consumer."
"The pricing is pretty competitive. It's pretty cheap. Anybody can adopt it."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
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 Business62
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise78
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
My experience with the pricing, the setup cost, and the licensing of Cisco Duo is that it is really inexpensive in the first place, but the value that I get in return is hard to beat, especially wh...
What needs improvement with Duo Security?
For the next release, Cisco Duo could be improved by adding touchless authentication and biometric features.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.