Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs GoodAccess comparison

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Cisco IOS SSL VPN

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Cisco IOS SSL VPN and GoodAccess are both competing for prominence in secure remote access solutions. GoodAccess seems to have the upper hand based on user reviews for ease of use and simplicity.

Features: Users highlight extensive security capabilities, robust integration options, and detailed configurations in Cisco IOS SSL VPN. GoodAccess is praised for ease of use, simplicity, and user-friendly design, particularly beneficial for smaller teams or those without dedicated IT support.

Room for Improvement: Cisco IOS SSL VPN users report needing improvements in setup complexity, ongoing management, and overall usability. GoodAccess users highlight the need for more advanced security features, enhanced integration options, and a more comprehensive feature set for advanced users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco IOS SSL VPN users find deployment complex, requiring significant IT expertise, but customer support is rated highly. GoodAccess is praised for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service, standing out for teams needing quick set-up without deep technical knowledge.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco IOS SSL VPN is reported to have higher setup costs but delivers robust long-term ROI, making it ideal for enterprises that can justify the initial investment. GoodAccess is seen as more cost-effective initially with quicker returns, especially for smaller organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. GoodAccess Report (Updated: December 2025).

Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. GoodAccess

December 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

6.7

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for its security, ease of use, and minimal impact on performance.

Sentiment score

7.3

GoodAccess provides quick ROI, with many users citing essential IT investment and time savings despite higher costs.

No quotes available

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No quotes available

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Customer Service

Sentiment score

7.3

Cisco IOS SSL VPN users praise the effective customer support, highlighting timely service, comprehensive documentation, and strong local assistance.

Sentiment score

7.4

GoodAccess provides 24/7 responsive customer support with quick resolutions and effective communication, though occasional delays are noted.

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.

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.

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Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions

No quotes available

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Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.8

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and efficient, supporting diverse user bases with flexible licensing and expandability.

Sentiment score

8.1

GoodAccess is scalable and user-friendly, with adaptable licensing, though some desire improved gateway locations and bandwidth.

It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS SSL VPN report

Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the GoodAccess report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.0

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly stable and reliable, with users experiencing minimal issues and continuous service even during power failures.

Sentiment score

8.7

GoodAccess offers reliable, stable connectivity with minimal downtime, quick updates, and efficient support ensuring seamless user experiences.

Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is extremely stable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS SSL VPN report

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the GoodAccess report

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS SSL VPN requires improvements in language support, pricing, GUI, compatibility, deployment processes, and enhanced remote access options.

GoodAccess should enhance features, flexibility, and support while addressing connection issues and expanding security measures.

There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility.

Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions

I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS SSL VPN report

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

I would like to see more options and more granular controls for users who know what they are doing as an administrator.

Gytenis Borusas

Director, Information Technology at Veriheal

For more quotes and insights, download the GoodAccess report

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is costly compared to FortiGate and Aruba, though discounts exist and pricing reflects its stability.

GoodAccess offers competitive pricing with premium features, scalable for varied budgets, advising essential plans and monitoring annual costs.

For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS SSL VPN report

Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the GoodAccess report

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides secure, user-friendly remote access with strong encryption, seamless integration, and efficient management, ensuring high user satisfaction.

GoodAccess provides secure, fast VPN services with global gateways, dedicated IPs, and easy administration for enhanced accessibility and collaboration.

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.

Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions

Cisco IOS SSL VPN definitely helps with our efficiency as it is one of our primary VPN solutions.

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS SSL VPN report

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

GoodAccess has positively impacted my organization as we have fewer IPs to whitelist and limited access for anybody outside of our organization into our internal systems.

Gytenis Borusas

Director, Information Technology at Veriheal

For more quotes and insights, download the GoodAccess report

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

8th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

SSL VPN (2nd)

GoodAccess

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

19th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (21st), ZTNA (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GoodAccess is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN	2.0%
GoodAccess	0.4%
Other	97.6%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted

student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. 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.

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Gytenis Borusas

Director, Information Technology at Veriheal

Limits outside access and secures internal systems through straightforward setup

The best features GoodAccess offers are that it is very simple to use for users and very simple to set up for administrators.When I say it is simple to set up, I mean it has a simple interface with not many options to explore, and it is very straightforward.GoodAccess has positively impacted my organization as we have fewer IPs to whitelist and limited access for anybody outside of our organization into our internal systems.This has definitely increased security, but I do not have a measurable number to indicate how much it improved in percentage or absolute terms.

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881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	24

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco IOS SSL VPN?

The solution is pretty fast.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?

I am not sure about the pricing of Cisco IOS SSL VPN.

What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?

I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GoodAccess?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is straightforward; my colleague handled it, but the pricing is competitive and straightforward.

What needs improvement with GoodAccess?

GoodAccess can be improved by providing more editable options on the admin side.I would like to see more options and more granular controls for users who know what they are doing as an administrator.

What is your primary use case for GoodAccess?

My main use case for GoodAccess is to limit outside IPs, so we whitelist only one IP.I use GoodAccess for all our internal employees to connect to our internal systems, and they can do so only thro...

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Product Reports

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Cisco IOS SSL VPN

January 2026

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January 2026

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN

No data available

Overview

Cisco SSL VPN solutions help you easily and securely extend the network to users who have access to the Internet and a web browser. You can customize access and extend the reach of your corporate network to individuals based on their roles, including teleworker contractors and business partners.

Cisco

GoodAccess is a cybersecurity platform designed for medium-sized enterprises to implement Zero Trust Architecture efficiently, offering a rapid, hardware-free deployment that integrates smoothly with existing infrastructures.

GoodAccess provides organizations a powerful means to secure their networks through a scalable zero-trust cybersecurity platform. It supports remote and hybrid work environments by protecting critical assets and enabling seamless connectivity. This platform ensures robust security, facilitating compliance with the latest standards while integrating with SaaS and legacy systems. Businesses with 50 to 5000 employees across several industries benefit from its advanced capabilities, which include device security, multi-factor authentication, and identity-based access control.

What are the key features of GoodAccess?

Remote Access and BYOD: Ensures device security through inventory checks.
Multi-factor Authentication: Provides unified MFA for all critical systems.
Identity-Based Access Control: Enables zero-trust access control by identity.
Network Encryption and Segmentation: Reduces attack surface via granular segmentation.
Full Control and Visibility: Integrates with SIEM for comprehensive security logs.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Easy Integration: Seamless with existing systems, enhancing operational efficiency.
Rapid Deployment: Quickly deploys, improving time to protection.
Improved Security: Superior security with high-speed, flexible remote access.
Cost-Effectiveness: Provides robust protection at a manageable cost.
Comprehensive Support: Reliable service supporting diverse environments.

GoodAccess is widely implemented across industries needing secure, adaptable connectivity. It is ideal for sectors prioritizing remote and hybrid workforces, like tech and professional services, ensuring seamless access and compliance with complex regulatory requirements. Companies benefit from its application in controlling geolocation requirements, facilitating secure video conferencing, and ensuring high-speed access regardless of location.

Sample Customers

MST Systems

Information Not Available