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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 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
7.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN offers strong security with high ROI, easy installation, minimal resource impact, and positive user feedback.
Sentiment score
8.0
Organizations experience significant ROI from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager through cost savings, security improvements, and critical access availability.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is praised for its responsive, skilled customer support and clear documentation, reducing direct contact needs.
Sentiment score
7.8
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager support is professional and helpful, but users suggest improved response times and communication.
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.
We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.
Most of the technical support is managed in-house due to our extensive experience with F5 products.
If there is a solution, they don't always communicate it.
F5 technical support is responsive and helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

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.
Sentiment score
7.8
F5 BIG-IP APM offers high scalability and usability for enterprises, with straightforward scaling and valuable traffic analysis tools.
It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.
The product's flexibility and company culture contribute to resolving these challenges.
I would rate the scalability of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) between seven and eight.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for stability but can experience intermittent issues and requires frequent updates.
Sentiment score
8.0
F5 BIG-IP APM is highly rated for stability, enabling reliable remote work despite minor log issues.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten.
Sometimes, the logs are not quite informational or easy to understand.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS SSL VPN needs better integration, usability, compatibility, language support, and simplified licensing to enhance user experience.
F5 BIG-IP APM needs improvements in usability, integration, documentation, reporting, and support to enhance cloud integration and competitiveness.
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.
The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5.
If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great.
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) does not have a direction for SaaS.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is expensive but valued by enterprises; pricing is $60 per seat for over 100 users.
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager is costly but valued for its reliability; licensing is simplified, though cloud costs vary.
For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS SSL VPN offers strong encryption, reliable connectivity, seamless integration, multi-factor authentication, and practical management for secure remote access.
F5 BIG-IP APM offers a robust, scalable platform with secure remote access, customization, and easy integration, ideal for corporate environments.
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.
The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.
APM is quite flexible for customers to use, providing secure remote access through various host-checking conditions for both machines and users.
It provides robust security and offers integration with multi-factor authentication systems, which is crucial for an organization's security policy.
A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (9th)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (17th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), Remote Access (9th), Access Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 9.4%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 12.4%, down from 16.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure
I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Compatibility can sometimes be a challenge. There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility. For instance, Windows 11 ( /products/window...
What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does not have a direction for SaaS. Most solutions focus more on remote access and acc...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
F5 Access Policy Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.