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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Ivanti Secure Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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 Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (1st), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
Ivanti Secure Access
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
21st
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 December 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 6.6%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Secure Access is 2.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)6.6%
Ivanti Secure Access2.3%
Other91.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Manager - Projects at airtel
Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion
The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.
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

"I like the ability to share the connections or simply to be able to pass the credentials for a connection to other colleagues without bothering too much about the connection being tracked or about security, because each and every user will require a secret password, so I don't really care about sending the details. It's very secure."
"This solution gives you double security because it uses both hard and soft tokens."
"You can use it from anywhere."
"AnyConnect SMC's best features are that it's secure and connects seamlessly to clients' networks."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client provides a secure way for users to access our systems remotely."
"I like how I don't need to see the solution or start it up. I just use my computer and have it working in the background. I start my laptop and it's there and working. That's the most important feature."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is very stable."
"The solution works very well. You just click and it's working."
"The scalability of Pulse Client is good."
"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."
 

Cons

"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client could improve by making a feature to set it apart from other competitors."
"There is a speed limit for VPNs because of the encryption."
"I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN."
"The support could be more proactive in their recommendations. I noticed that the Cisco support agents tend to leave customers to do what they need to do in many ways, and you can choose how you want to do it. However, it would be great if they could proactively be involved in best practices and let other customers know how most people are doing it."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client would be perfect if it weren't for the fingerprint feature."
"The deployment process should be improved, specifically making it easier. Fully automated deployments are quite challenging."
"It would be useful to have an automatic install process where if you connect and you don't have the latest version, it should be automatically done."
"Complicated scenarios are difficult to deploy. On a scale from one to ten, with one being the most difficult, I'd give a rating of between two and three for the initial setup."
"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."
"Ivanti Secure Access and Zscaler provide secure access to corporate networks, their methods and features may differ."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"I am using a paid version of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client."
"We pay for an annual subscription. Additionally to the subscription, we thought in order to connect this solution to the Active Directory we had to purchase a Cisco ACS, Access Control System. It turns out we did not actually need it."
"The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."
"We are in the North African region, and Cisco products are expensive for us. On a scale from one to ten with one being very affordable and ten being expensive, I'd rate the price at eight."
"The price is okay."
"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"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
Computer Software Company
31%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Performing Arts
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise45
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
At times there is confusion regarding when to keep the proxy on or off, a problem faced by some users.
What needs improvement with Pulse Client?
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 o...
What is your primary use case for Pulse Client?
We use the solution to access the corporate network.
What advice do you have for others considering Pulse Client?
The tool is a preferred option for making the tunnel from these cloud VPNs. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Pulse Client
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. Ivanti Secure Access and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.