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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Ivanti Secure Access Client (ISAC) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 20, 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 IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
Ivanti Secure Access Client...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
25th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Secure Access Client (ISAC) is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.2%
Ivanti Secure Access Client (ISAC)1.6%
Other95.2%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
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 probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.
BabarShahbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Saleas Lead at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
A cloud solution to access the corporate network with BYOD policy
Ivanti Secure Access and Zscaler provide secure access to corporate networks, their methods and features may differ. Ivanti Secure Access offers granular control over network access, allowing for on-demand VPN connections when accessing corporate resources. This means users may not need to initiate a VPN connection manually but can access resources seamlessly when accessing corporate websites or applications. This granular feature helps enhance security and user experience by providing secure access only when needed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution. In my company, we haven't faced any issues related to the product's stability. I rate the product's stability a ten out of ten."
"We provide remote access solutions, internet access, and Voice over IP for our customers, as well as IT operational support."
"The user interface is user-friendly."
"The solution is very easy to work with; this is its most valuable feature, and they also did a good job surrounding how you configure the devices."
"The product's setup phase was easy."
"The solution is pretty fast."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an easy-to-use and straightforward solution."
"It is a product that is very robust and durable."
"Pulse Client is a very good solution; it is very easy to manage, and very stable."
"The most valuable feature of Pulse Client is integration with Google authenticator for two-factor authentication."
"It also provides an auto-connect feature. When you turn on your laptop and put it on auto-connect, it automatically connects."
"The scalability of Pulse Client is good."
 

Cons

"Sometimes browsers are not able to support a certain file, so that is something that can improve."
"Sometimes the connection drops, and we don't like that. I'm not sure the reason, but sometimes it will take time to connect or it will disconnect fast."
"The solution takes some time to log in because of some unavoidable security barriers, but it would be better if that could happen faster."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"Compatibility can sometimes be a challenge. There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN doesn't support the configuration of multiple VPNs."
"Ivanti Secure Access and Zscaler provide secure access to corporate networks, their methods and features may differ."
"Pulse Client could improve the system tokens for authentication."
"Pulse Client could improve the reports. The reports are not in PDF and we can't check the details in the reports of users who are using the VPNs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is more expensive than the Aruba VPN, but it is worth the money."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"Pulse Client has two types of licenses. One is subsistence-based and the second is perpetual-based. The license cost is good, it is not very costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Performing Arts
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
Pulse Client
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Ivanti Secure Access Client (ISAC) and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,394 professionals have used our research since 2012.