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Cisco Duo vs Fortinet FortiAuthenticator comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 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
6.7
Cisco Duo enhances security, reduces breaches, boosts morale, and lowers costs, despite integration challenges for larger enterprises.
Sentiment score
5.1
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator improved security and compliance, yet financial gains are hard to quantify with some citing reduced costs.
I think Cisco Duo offers a good return on investment for startups, newer organizations, or those utilizing cloud-based applications.
Identity and Access Management Principal at Mobily
I have not seen ROI with Cisco Duo; probably the opposite, because it impedes productivity time to be able to get into the system.
Network Engineer at West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation, Inc.
From my point of view, the biggest return on investment when using Cisco Duo is the security and the ease of setting it up.
Chief Technology Officer at University of Redlands
It enhances security by ensuring only the right person can access systems, even if their login credentials are compromised.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Duo's customer service is praised for expertise and reliability, though some experience delays and difficulty contacting experts.
Sentiment score
6.8
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator offers generally responsive support with some variance in effectiveness based on complexity and local availability.
They got back to us quickly, were nice, and gave us what we needed.
Infrastructure Engineer at a government with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate their support 10 out of 10.
Senior Network Engineer Specialist at Zenith Comp Co.,Ltd.
I would rate support for Cisco Duo a 10, as I have never had a negative experience.
Information Technology Contractor at Insight global
At times, some technical staff lack knowledge, which delays issue resolution.
DevOps Engineer at YASH Technologies
Customer service and support are excellent.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Technical support from Fortinet deserves a rating of 10.
Infrastructure Manager at Scandinavian Highlands Holding A/S
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Cisco Duo is a scalable, cloud-based solution integrating smoothly with systems, supporting growth without performance limits or licensing issues.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator offers scalable user capacity and integrates well, though minor manual adjustments may be needed.
In my last contracting position, it was a large one for a major worldwide airline that had hundreds of thousands of devices that could use Cisco Duo, and it scaled very well.
Information Technology Contractor at Insight global
I believe Cisco Duo is very scalable because it is cloud-based.
Identity and Access Management Principal at Mobily
We started out with just the basics, getting a token, and then we changed to push, and now, we have added the offline mode.
Network Engineer at West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation, Inc.
The scalability of FortiAuthenticator is good, and I would rate it an eight on a scale of one to ten.
IT Manager at PTECH
I find Fortinet FortiAuthenticator to be highly scalable, and I would rate it an eight out of ten for scalability.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator should be sufficiently scalable.
Network Engineer at Coop Money
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Cisco Duo is exceptionally stable and reliable, with seamless integration and quick issue resolution, maintaining high performance.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is generally stable, though hardware defects and syncing issues affect performance in high-volume environments.
We have not had any Cisco Duo outages across all the companies I have worked for that utilize Cisco Duo.
Senior Engineer at a legal firm with 1-10 employees
When there is a bigger problem, we get notifications from Cisco Duo saying, 'Hey, we have a problem,' and that has helped us.
Network Engineer at West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation, Inc.
We have never experienced any downtime.
Vice President at Next Info Tech Solutions Inc
It remains stable even when the number of concurrent users increases.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Duo needs better integration, simpler authentication, improved documentation, faster updates, easier deployment, and reduced telephony credit reliance.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator needs improved usability, integration, support, affordability, customization, and stability for better user authentication efficiency.
If you don't have internet access, you can't access your computer, only local access is available.
Security and Network Team Lead
Cisco should allow easier integration with third-party equipment because Cisco's own equipment is expensive.
Procurement Officer at Emerging Systems
There needs to be consideration for how to launch Cisco Duo with a handheld device that is not native, where you can install the application.
Director, Customer Success at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees
For example, authentication for wireless users expires after 24 hours, requiring re-authentication daily.
Head of computer systems at Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology(IIST)
I recommend Fortinet make its images migratable between environments.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
The technical support could be improved as some staff lacks the necessary knowledge to assist effectively.
DevOps Engineer at YASH Technologies
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Duo is viewed as affordable with flexible licensing, though some find its pricing structure confusing, especially in long-term contracts.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is praised for its affordable, straightforward user-based pricing, especially compared to Cisco solutions.
The pricing is acceptable to them.
Vice President at Next Info Tech Solutions Inc
Their website lists $3 per month per user for the Essential license.
Senior Network Engineer Specialist at Zenith Comp Co.,Ltd.
One of my customers recently received a billing statement charging 3,600 US dollars for 100 users for one year.
Sr. Network Security Engineer at Topnet Internet Services Provider. Riyadh, Saudi A
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is not overly expensive compared to other Fortinet subscriptions.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Duo enhances security with diverse authentication, seamless integration, ease of use, and robust two-factor authentication for remote access.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator offers easy setup, cost-effectiveness, strong integration, detailed logging, and flexible two-factor authentication options.
From a management perspective, I appreciate that we can enroll or control devices on the back end for people who get a new phone and forget to handle Cisco Duo properly and need to add a new device.
Network Engineer at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Our company benefits from all those features of Cisco Duo with confidence, and we feel very secure with it in terms of authentication of our logins.
Vice President at Next Info Tech Solutions Inc
The benefit of having a complete passwordless environment in our organization is that it's gotten people away from using the sticky note under their keyboard - which is a huge problem.
Director, Technology at Deer Creek High School
The integration with FortiToken is outstanding, adding a layer of security for authentication.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
We use multi-factor authentication for enhancing security.
DevOps Engineer at YASH Technologies
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator can be used from anywhere in the world, and the authenticator services function globally.
Assistant Manager-Networks at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Duo
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
3rd
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (4th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (3rd)
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
6th
Ranking in Authentication Systems
3rd
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 3.5%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is 3.7%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Single Sign-On (SSO) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Duo3.5%
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator3.7%
Other92.8%
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

Featured Reviews

Charles Slaustas - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Contractor at Insight global
Supports seamless authentication for users across multiple organizations and personal portals
The features I use in Cisco Duo include Duo Pushes to confirm my identity to the device, and eventually as MFA security was increased, I actually had to use exchange passcodes. Sometimes, I have to go into the site and get into Cisco Duo to retrieve the passcode, and many of them have been two-factor, where the sites send a passcode that I have to enter into Cisco Duo. It has been more of the latter. I have not seen issues with lagging or crashing on Cisco Duo's end; it was usually on the client end, often because someone set up a bad upgrade or there were connection issues with the Cisco Duo cloud through the administrative site.
Yonas Abebe - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Integration capabilities simplify authentication and migration challenges need addressing
The integration capabilities of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator are very interesting, as it can be integrated with third-party devices easily and is straightforward to configure. The integration with FortiToken is outstanding, adding a layer of security for authentication. In addition, it can be used by integrating with zero trust single access, enhancing overall security measures.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What do you like most about Duo Security?
They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, specifically in single sign-on.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that one of the most powerful features is the licensing model and the price. According to the pricing, it is really fantastic to get th...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could benefit from some artificial intelligence functionality and resolution of some glitches that may exist.
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
FortiAuthenticator
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.