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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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
7.1
Cisco Secure Client offers seamless, user-friendly connectivity, simplifying remote work despite unclear direct ROI.
Sentiment score
7.1
Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange enhances user satisfaction with reduced noise, improved visibility, and potential for further service integration.
We don't have to purchase many components such as load balancers and proxy servers that were necessary in traditional setups.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Users find Cisco support knowledgeable and effective, despite occasional access difficulties, relying often on internal IT for Secure Client.
Sentiment score
4.8
Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange's customer service is praised for responsiveness, but suffers from delayed responses and knowledge gaps affecting satisfaction.
Cisco offers very high-quality customer service.
Cisco Technical Support is very good, very friendly, and helpful.
Over the years, there's been a decline in the quality, mainly in areas such as the experience level of support engineers and the time taken to address and escalate issues.
Sometimes, support takes time since the solution has some bugs that need fixing.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Client is scalable and effective for thousands of users, with flexible licensing for diverse environments and remote work.
Sentiment score
7.7
Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform is highly scalable and adaptable, praised for performance and suitability in varied organizational needs.
A smaller firewall can handle fewer sessions, while a larger one can handle tens of thousands of sessions.
The scalability of Cisco Secure Client depends on the hardware I choose.
Regarding scalability, Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) rates as excellent because we can scale out by simply buying more licenses from the vendor.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Client is highly stable and reliable, with user satisfaction and minimal technical issues reported, scoring 8-10 regularly.
Sentiment score
7.8
Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange is stable and reliable with minor latency issues, resolved initial concerns, and strong threat monitoring.
I would rate the stability ten out of ten.
The stability is really good, and I would rate it up to nine.
Regarding the performance of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect), I have not seen any issues because performance-wise it functions properly.
 

Room For Improvement

Users desire improvements in Cisco Secure Client's interface, ease of use, connectivity, security, updates, and integration with systems.
Users report performance, configuration, support, and integration issues with Zscaler, highlighting speed, cost, and interface improvements.
I am using Intune for deployments, and it's not easy to create an automated deployment where users do not need to register server addresses.
There is room for improvement in terms of endpoint security and cloud integration, which were lacking long ago.
Cisco's security portfolio, including Secure Client and the firewalls, is falling behind.
They might be able to identify if something is missing with Zscaler.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Client pricing is reasonable with term-based licensing, but some users find it costly compared to free competitors.
Zscaler offers flexible pricing with discounts for larger enterprises, though additional licenses and gateway fees can increase costs.
Palo Alto and Fortinet provide free VPN connections, but Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) requires a license purchase.
I perceive the pricing to be a seven, however, I have perpetual licenses.
The price of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is acceptable.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Client provides seamless, secure VPN access with user-friendly setup, cross-platform support, and integration with enterprise software.
Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange excels in security, scalability, and usability, offering seamless integration and advanced cloud capabilities for organizations.
Additionally, it gives the user flexibility of working from anywhere, which is a major feature we are looking at.
Beneficial for businesses needing secure access outside the office.
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 is cloud-based with the latest inspection engines, which I find to be amazing.
 

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 Zero Trust Exchange...
Ranking in ZTNA as a Service
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (2nd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (5th), Application Control (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (10th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the ZTNA as a Service category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 3.6%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform is 17.2%, down from 22.6% 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…
Sumit Bhanwala - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud-based platform simplifies device and data center management
I find it to be good. The solution is cloud-based with the latest inspection engines, which I find to be amazing. We are less dependent on data centers and device management, which reduces our efforts significantly. It improves our device management, data center management, and updating devices. We need fewer engineers for this management, and it reduces time and efforts for data center management, device upgrades, and IT support.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
33%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 the better solution - Prisma Access or Zscaler Private Access?
We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure access service edge (SASE) designed to deliver network security in a cloud-deliver...
What do you like most about Zscaler SASE?
The most valuable features of Zscaler Private Access are reliability, scalability, and availability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler SASE?
Zscaler SASE is quite expensive compared to other solutions. The price is not fixed and it does not include all of the features, so my advice for organizations would be to evaluate their specific n...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Zscaler SASE, Zscaler DLP, Zscaler CASB, Zscaler CSPM, Zscaler Browser Isolation, Zscaler Posture Control
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Siemens, AutoNation, GE, NOV
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.