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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 SSL VPN
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (8th)
OpenVPN Community Edition -...
Ranking in SSL VPN
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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.
An-Pham - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a user-friendly UI and remote access of PCs to users
The product's initial setup phase was a little bit complex because there was a need to work on the configuration part. For the deployment process, you need access to an executable file, which can be a .ASA file, along with a configuration file to edit. When you open the application, you have to put in the config file in the software and then run it to make it work. The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. The solution can be deployed in a few hours. If you have some assistance from the IT service or IT team, the deployment can be done within a few hours.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is highly scalable, speedy, and reliable."
"The solution is quite transparent."
"It's a very stable solution and I'd say it works perfectly."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA."
"I have found that Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable."
"The product is very stable."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the management portal."
"The product's most valuable features are security, stability, and troubleshooting capabilities."
"We use the solution to connect to our internal infrastructure in our data center."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its stability and user-friendly UI."
 

Cons

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should improve its pricing."
"The product's RPA tools need enhancement for simplified business process automation."
"Cisco has a history of problems with the area of web filtering, because of which my company sometimes had to change the vendor and the appliance."
"I think the administration can be improved to include web interfaces."
"I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration, as Linksys switches are a little bit easier to manage and set up compared to Cisco switches."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The pricing is a stumbling block to scaling our utilization of Cisco products and we would prefer to use more of them."
"It would be nice if we could use this not just on mobile, but on laptops and desktops as well."
"The product's initial setup phase is not straightforward, making it an area where improvements are required."
"I would like to get less updates from the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"The tool is expensive."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is more expensive than the Aruba VPN, but it is worth the money."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
No data available
 

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?
It's hard for me to say how Linksys could be improved. I can't think of any specific improvements needed. I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier m...
What do you like most about OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?
The most valuable features of the solution are its stability and user-friendly UI.
What advice do you have for others considering OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?
We have one system administrator who maintains this product on the server side. OpenVPN Community Edition is small, convenient for our purposes, and works fine. I would recommend the solution to ot...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.