Cisco Duo vs Okta Workforce Identity comparison

Cisco and Okta are both solutions in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5, while Okta is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. Additionally, 95% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Okta users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

We compared Okta Workforce Identity and Duo Security across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:

Ease of Deployment: Users had mixed experiences with Okta Workforce Identity's setup, with some finding it straightforward while others found it more complex and needed assistance. Deployment time ranged from a few days to a couple of months. In contrast, Duo Security's setup was described as straightforward, easy, and quick. Deployment time varied from a few hours to weeks or months.

Features: Okta Workforce Identity is highly regarded for its user-friendly interface, ability to handle large-scale operations, and seamless integration with various systems. In contrast, Duo Security is commended for its robust two-factor authentication, straightforwardness, and compatibility with different software platforms.

Room for Improvement: Okta Workforce Identity could improve in password vaulting management, licensing and features clarity, user interface intuitiveness, and integration with major cloud providers. Meanwhile, Duo Security could enhance compatibility with other vendors, user management system intuitiveness, and offer password-free login options.

Pricing: Okta Workforce Identity is often seen as having a high setup cost, which some users feel is not worth the benefits it offers. In contrast, Duo Security provides affordable and flexible licensing choices, making it accessible to many customers.

ROI: Okta Workforce Identity provides significant benefits in terms of time savings and simplified tasks, resulting in a high return on investment. On the other hand, Duo Security offers advantages such as enhanced employee retention, heightened security, and cost savings achieved through consolidation.

Service and Support: The feedback for Okta Workforce Identity's customer service is varied, with some users finding it positive and helpful, while others have described it as strange and unpleasant. In contrast, Duo Security's customer service is highly acclaimed, with users valuing their quick and supportive assistance.

Comparison Results: Okta Workforce Identity and Duo Security both offer valuable features for securing access to applications and networks. Okta Workforce Identity is praised for its ease of use, straightforwardness, and integration capabilities. However, it has room for improvement in areas such as password vaulting management and customer support. On the other hand, Duo Security is commended for its two-factor authentication and user-friendly interface. It could benefit from enhancements in areas such as compatibility with other vendors and user-specific permissions. Pricing for both products is considered fair, but Okta Workforce Identity is seen as expensive by some.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Duo vs. Okta Workforce Identity Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. Okta Workforce Identity

August 2025

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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

iboss

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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Thomas Botts

Senior Network Engineer at a educational organization with 1-10 employees

Managing security policies effectively with seamless authentication

The feature of Cisco Duo that I prefer the most is the policies, being able to control what we need to within the policies. You can get pretty granular. There isn't a lot of training that goes on in school districts. Email is an easy way where many people give out their credentials, so the level of protection is something that we definitely need in a school district. Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system has been easy when logging in, although the teachers don't appreciate it as much. We have it configured so users essentially just hit accept. If it sees any sort of built-in risk, then it steps up authentication. It's pretty easy. I appreciate it. I've encountered advantages with Cisco Duo in that it has stopped significant pushback from teachers. It has prevented credential sharing and unauthorized access. We've seen a huge decrease since we've rolled it out across the entire district.

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SumitMundik

Lead Admin Systems at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Authentication process improves security with quick and intuitive user interface

The best feature is the speed and execution of Okta Workforce Identity. The moment you click on single sign-on, you immediately get the notification on your mobile phone, then you do the authentication and within a second you get authenticated. The entire customer experience is very good. The user interface is pretty simple, straightforward, and really good. Multi-factor authentication in Okta Workforce Identity is very useful so people who do not have access or are trying to access using just a user ID and password will be completely blocked because of this two-factor authentication. You will get the code, and as your device is authorized in the system, only that device can be used for the authentication purpose. A third person trying to access or hack your data will not be able to do that anymore. Additionally, you don't have to remember your passwords going forward. Previously, every 60 days or 90 days, passwords kept changing. With the two-factor authentication or single sign-on option in Okta Workforce Identity, you don't have to remember it anymore or write down passwords in plain text. If something goes wrong, we have the IAM team which can unlock your account immediately if you have issues.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

More iboss pros

"I lead an IT organization that has a significant amount of technical debt, and we're not in a zero-trust architecture yet. I'm pushing in that direction. Duo helps me considerably with my identity in an environment where I don't have zero trust. It's helping me bridge the gap until I can build a zero trust architecture."

"It's pretty easy for users to figure it out."

"The feature of Cisco Duo that I appreciate most is the push notifications."

"The anti-phishing feature is the most valuable."

"It is very easy. Having just wrapped up my tenure at Cisco, it was used day in and day out for security. It was always easy to log in and not have to worry about logging in multiple times."

"My impression of Cisco's identity intelligence capability to detect and respond to identity-based risks effectively is that it's a great product."

"The feature that my organization started using more recently in Cisco Duo is offline authentication."

"Regarding the valuable features, I would say that Duo Security is easy to use, has speed, and is dependable."

More Cisco Duo pros

"What I found most valuable in Okta Workforce Identity is that it worked together with VMware Workspace One, so there was this device check at the same time. My company used the trusted device method that enabled you to define that only the trusted devices including the Workspace One agent were able to access the applications directly without an additional authentication step."

"The most valuable feature in Okta Workforce Identity is the single sign-on, universal directory, and lifecycle management."

"The most valuable features are ease of operation and visibility."

"This solution has a lot of capabilities and features."

"One of the features that I have found to be very valuable is its interoperability and compatibility with all types of resources, whether it's networking, infrastructure, or applications. That is, it is compatible as well as interoperable, as far as the federated authentication is concerned."

"The most valuable features of Okta Workforce Identity are MFA, and SSO, which have high security."

"We find the solution to be reliable for our customers and it is nice that it is cloud-based and can be accessed from anywhere."

"Workforce Identity's best features include its user-friendliness and easy setup."

More Okta Workforce Identity pros

Cons

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

More iboss cons

"An enhancement they might make is if they can log it to Splunk since they're big into Splunk. Instead of me having to go into that portal to look at things when someone is trying to log in and they forgot their password, I can look in and tell them they forgot their password or didn't respond to the prompt."

"I have not seen ROI with Cisco Duo; probably the opposite, because it impedes productivity time to be able to get into the system. You have to authenticate and do your regular login and your Active Directory logins."

"Most of my colleagues from other companies use the Microsoft MFA solution because it's included in Office 365. Few people are considering Cisco Duo. That's the primary problem in our area. It's a solution mostly adopted by Cisco users."

"There is a little bit of apprehension for some users thinking, well, "How do I know this app is not collecting personal information from my personal device?""

"Cisco can further enhance the integrations, as they possess exceptional integrations with various providers' products and feature sets."

"Removing the need for a password would be a positive change as well as the ability to cover all the different enterprise applications. They don't have coverage for everything."

"I would like to see some features simplified, such as securing, configuring, and implementing Microsoft Remote Desktop. Other than that, the solution was rock solid throughout my time administering it."

"Its documentation must be in French because we are a French-speaking country. They should also provide more training documentation. Its management interface should also be improved. They should also improve its update period. If I compare its update period with other products such as Palo Alto firewalls, this solution is really slow in updates."

More Cisco Duo cons

"It would be pricing, which is a tough one because it goes against Microsoft. A lot of companies say they're a Microsoft partner, and they get all their software for free. Okta is like a luxury product, and it's not the most affordable one. I would say if they could work on pricing, it would help. Other than that, they've done great strides in developing a product that is really good. The companies that do see the value tend to invest in it."

"I would appreciate it if Okta Workforce Identity becomes more user-friendly. Its API technology is complicated. Certain applications may pose challenges in terms of integration, especially when they require IDP technologies that aren't easily codable. While I can't provide specific examples, some applications may not integrate with Okta Workforce Identity."

"Okta could improve by making their learning materials more user-friendly."

"On the admin side, we can create our own passwords instead of generating one, which is usually difficult to explain to a user."

"Okta Workforce Identity could improve the support system, they are too slow."

"There are some issues with the interface that can be improved."

"Okta Workforce Identity can improve by having more features in governance."

"The solution should have greater on-premises availability, not just cloud and more package customization in its processing."

More Okta Workforce Identity cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"The cost was reasonable. Licensing was pretty straightforward for a change."

"Overall, the pricing is fair. Customers can wrap it into their Enterprise Agreement, making it easier for them to solve their issues."

"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."

"The pricing is pretty competitive. It's pretty cheap. Anybody can adopt it."

"I haven't seen it in a while, but it's at par with everything else licensing-wise."

"Price wise, it's not cheap, but it's not expensive at all either. It's in the middle."

"Our licensing fee is currently on an annual basis."

"My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco Duo has been great. We've been there for 10 years. While we haven't gone through the setup part for a while, licensing is straightforward and convenient for higher education because student populations are included. So, we don't have to pay extra for it. We just pay for our knowledge workers, which has been great, and the cost is reasonable."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

"The licensing is per user per month and includes full technical support."

"Price-wise, Okta Workforce Identity is a cheap solution. The overall cost depends on the license since you can negotiate with Okta or any of Okta's partners only if you opt for many licenses."

"It could be a bit too pricey for small companies. Okta Workforce Identity can add a lot of benefits, but smaller companies may not have a lot of applications that need to be managed by Okta Workforce Identity. In larger organizations, there are more departments, applications, and users to manage. Okta Workforce Identity adds a bit more value to those bigger organizations. In addition to standard licensing fees, there are also additional costs for things"

"Okta has fairly competitive pricing."

"This is an expensive solution but the security makes it worthwhile."

"This solution is costly. Pricing is decent if you have less users, but it significantly goes up the more users you have, with its cost not justified."

"Workforce Identity is well-priced."

"The product's price is high. For each feature, a certain payment is required."

More Okta Workforce Identity pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	27
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	36

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	30
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	32

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

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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 Du...

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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, spe...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?

My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco Duo is honestly above my pay grade. I don't know a...

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What do you like most about Okta Workforce Identity?

Okta has introduced the Universal Directory. It has custom attribute capability and user permissions to read/write on...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Okta Workforce Identity?

Pricing for Okta is reasonably not that much, however, I don't have access to the commercial aspect.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Okta Workforce Identity?

Currently, in Okta Workforce Identity we get the two-digit authentication code. Instead of getting the two-digit auth...

See all answers

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Compared 4% of the time

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Veza vs Okta Workforce Identity

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

September 2025

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Okta Workforce Identity

August 2025

Download Okta Workforce Identity product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Duo Security

No data available

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

Cisco Duo is a cloud-based identity security tool offering easy and wide-ranging access protection for users and devices worldwide. It assures identity-first security with clear visibility across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Cisco Duo provides robust multi-factor authentication and seamless integration capabilities with existing infrastructures. Appreciated for its stability and speed, it supports distributed workforces by securing VPN access, corporate networks, and cloud services. Duo’s comprehensive identity ecosystem supports easy deployment and management through a single-pane-of-glass management interface. It seamlessly merges with popular platforms like Active Directory and Office 365 across diverse hardware.

What are Cisco Duo’s Essential Features?

Multi-Factor Authentication: Offers secure access with options like push notifications and hardware tokens.
Seamless Integration: Easily fits with existing systems and third-party applications.
User-Friendly Management: Provides centralized control with a single-pane-of-glass interface.
Wide Compatibility: Supports broad applications and devices, enhancing security management.
Stable and Fast: Reliable speed and intuitive interaction for users across platforms.

What Benefits and ROI Can Cisco Duo Users Expect?

Enhanced Security: Increases protection with versatile MFA options for critical resources.
Ease of Use: Simplifies deployment and management with intuitive interfaces.
Scalability: Adapts to growing needs with broad compatibility and integration support.
Support for Distributed Workforces: Ensures secure remote access for teams anywhere.

Cisco Duo finds extensive applications across education, finance, retail, and government sectors by fortifying network and application access security. Organizations leverage it for its MFA capabilities, integrating with ERP systems, ensuring protected connectivity with VPN and cloud-based services, crucial in maintaining secure and efficient operations.

Cisco

Okta Workforce Identity is a comprehensive identity and access management (IAM) solution designed to enhance security and streamline user experiences for businesses of all sizes. As a cloud-based platform, it offers a suite of tools that simplify user authentication, authorization, and management across a variety of applications and services.

Core Features

Single Sign-On (SSO): Enables users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials, enhancing convenience and reducing password fatigue.
Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Provides robust security by requiring additional verification factors, which can adapt based on the user's location, device, and behavior.
Lifecycle Management: Automates user account creation, updating, and deactivation, ensuring access rights are current and compliant with company policies.
Universal Directory: A centralized directory service that supports user and group management across various applications, simplifying administrative tasks.
API Access Management: Safeguards APIs by implementing policies that control how and when they can be accessed, which is crucial for protecting sensitive data.

PeerSpot users often praise Okta Workforce Identity for its ease of use and robust security features. IT professionals appreciate the streamlined integration with numerous applications and the flexibility in configuring access policies. Business executives value the enhanced security posture and the ability to enforce compliance across their digital assets.

For IT professionals, Okta Workforce Identity offers a scalable and efficient solution to manage user identities and access rights. The ability to automate routine tasks like user provisioning and deactivation significantly reduces administrative overhead, allowing IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives. Furthermore, the platform's comprehensive reporting capabilities aid in monitoring and auditing access, which is critical for maintaining security and compliance.

Business executives will find that Okta Workforce Identity aligns with broader organizational goals of operational efficiency and risk management. Its intuitive user experience minimizes disruptions to workforce productivity, while advanced security features like adaptive MFA help mitigate the risk of data breaches. The platform's cloud-based nature ensures scalability and agility, enabling businesses to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and workforce dynamics.

Okta Workforce Identity stands out as a versatile and secure IAM solution, adept at meeting the complex needs of modern enterprises. Its combination of user-friendly features and robust security measures makes it a top choice for organizations aiming to streamline their identity management processes while bolstering their cybersecurity defenses.

Okta

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Information Not Available

FedEx, Zoom, Takeda, Lululemon Athletica, GrunHub, jetBlue, McKensson, Bain & Company, Engie, Peloton, Sonos, T-Mobile, Hewlett Packard, MGM Resorts, Ally Financial, Priceline, Albertsons, Itercom, Classy, FICO, Kensho, Live Nation, Drata, Rotary, and others.

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. Okta Workforce Identity

August 2025

Free Report: Cisco Duo vs. Okta Workforce Identity

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. Okta Workforce Identity and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.

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