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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Zscaler B2B 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 Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in ZTNA as a Service
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (1st), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
Zscaler B2B
Ranking in ZTNA as a Service
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the ZTNA as a Service category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 3.6%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler B2B is 0.7%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ZTNA as a Service
 

Featured Reviews

Wouter Beer - PeerSpot reviewer
Generates revenue through service offering while needing additional safety features
The primary use case for Cisco Secure Client, including AnyConnect, is as a VPN for remote access I use AnyConnect because I have Cisco infrastructure. It utilizes certificates, which allows for automatic setup. The security features are beneficial, and the whole idea of the app is that it should…
SK
Enables secure remote access and seamless app connectivity with reduced attack surfaces
Zscaler B2B ( /products/zscaler-b2b-reviews ) provides significant security benefits by reducing attack surfaces through Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) implementation. It improves performance over traditional VPN-based security models and offers seamless VPN-less access to corporate applications. It also features cloud-native architecture, global data centers for traffic optimization, and auto-scaling policies. The solution supports multi-tenant security models and segmented security policies tailored to large enterprises.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Based on my experience, I would recommend Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) to other people without any doubt."
"The dashboard and interface are fine."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is very stable."
"Support does solve our issues."
"This solution gives you double security because it uses both hard and soft tokens."
"You can use it from anywhere."
"Cisco Secure Client's AnyConnect VPN's reliability has been absolutely wonderful, as well as the ability to connect from any network, regardless of location."
"The solution certainly simplifies processes for a remote workforce by ensuring secure and efficient connectivity."
"Zscaler B2B provides significant security benefits by reducing attack surfaces through Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) implementation."
 

Cons

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is its ease of use and simple interface. It's always available as long as I have a good network connection."
"If you're just turning on your laptop, it should connect automatically without keying in the credentials."
"There are times the WiFi connectivity has disruptions and you have disconnections. It doesn't work with two connections. I have two switches back and forth sometimes. It doesn't have a failback scenario feature. However, on the gateway side, it does, but on the user device, it doesn't have that kind of option. It would be nice to have this feature."
"The notifications need to be improved. If the VPN is disconnected for a long period of time, they should push out notifications. We need to manually check if the VPN is connected or not. Sometimes it automatically disconnects, but the user doesn't get notifications, and we need to troubleshoot or open the client to manually reconnect. Auto-reconnection would be an improvement."
"If they could simplify connections via other machines, like Linux or Mac OS X, it would be helpful."
"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."
"In terms of areas for improvement in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, from my point of view, the solution works well and right now I don't see the need to improve it. Probably a better user interface could be created for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, but its core is VPN creation, and that works well, though I'm not a VPN specialist, and I'm not an expert on how to create a VPN, how the VPN gateway works, how it's implemented, and what's the architecture behind it. A two-factor authentication feature was recently added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client. In the past, you only needed to log in with your username and password, but now, there's a token, and the user interface for that token isn't that good. That's another area for improvement. Cisco should also make the two-factor authentication better in the solution. What I'd like added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client in its next release is a better two-factor authentication, in particular, the validity of the code being shorter because sometimes when I get the code and I add it to the client, it's invalid, though I'm unsure if it's centrally set up that way or if its a characteristic of the product. Making the interface of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client more user-friendly is also what I'd like to see in the next release of the solution."
"It should autodetect or monitor it, when I am in the office it goes to the network in the office, or when I'm not at the office, it automatically activates my VPN connection."
"Some areas for improvement include the SSL inspection, as decrypting and inspecting encrypted traffic induces latency."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is based on an annual licensing model and is expensive."
"The price is okay."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"The pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."
"Sometimes there is a problem with the number of licenses for the end-user. The number of concurrent users is limited due to a valid license."
"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."
"I am using a paid version of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client."
"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
34%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler B2B?
Zscaler B2B operates on a subscription-based pricing model with various bundles. Specific pricing details are not available.
What needs improvement with Zscaler B2B?
Some areas for improvement include the SSL inspection, as decrypting and inspecting encrypted traffic induces latency. Performance may vary based on the nearest data center, and occasionally, false...
What is your primary use case for Zscaler B2B?
I use Zscaler B2B ( /products/zscaler-b2b-reviews ) for a variety of purposes including Zero Trust Network Access ( /categories/ztna ) (ZTNA ( /categories/ztna )), cloud firewall, data loss prevent...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
ZB2B
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Sanmina Corporation, MAN Energy Solutions
Find out what your peers are saying about Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, Cato Networks and others in ZTNA as a Service. Updated: July 2025.
864,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.