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Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Yubico YubiKey comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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 Duo
Sponsored
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
163
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (5th), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), AI Data Analysis (7th)
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator
Ranking in Authentication Systems
5th
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (10th), Identity Management (IM) (15th)
Yubico YubiKey
Ranking in Authentication Systems
9th
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 3.7%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is 3.1%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Yubico YubiKey is 2.6%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo3.7%
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator3.1%
Yubico YubiKey2.6%
Other90.6%
Authentication Systems
 

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.
reviewer2848395 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Business Development Manager at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Multi-factor security has improved device protection but still needs broader application coverage
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could be improved in its cost structure. Although it is not expensive, other solutions offer more value for less money. Cisco Duo provides better value in this regard and connects to web applications much more easily, scaling effectively in that sense. While I have never used Cisco Duo to secure other devices in IoT environments, I know Cisco Duo is capable of doing so, whereas Fortinet FortiAuthenticator cannot. Additionally, Cisco Duo is also cheaper. These are the main reasons why we switched away from Fortinet FortiAuthenticator, as it was very limited compared to other solutions available. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator was primarily missing the ability to scale to web applications.
reviewer2859021 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Hardware authentication has reduced password resets and now secures access against phishing
The best features Yubico YubiKey offers are the major reasons we use it as a hardware MFA to create a token because it is phishing resistant. It guarantees the authentication works on a valid cryptographically verified domain, and it supports multiple protocols and authenticator capability. It is based on challenge-response mode, and it has extremely physical durability. It has a dual interface where you can plug it into a laptop or against an iOS and Android mobile phone. The private keys are generated directly on the internal secure chip and can never be exported by the host system or malware. Reducing password reset and MFA lockout support tickets by 75% has reclaimed the engineering capacity, which can be redirected towards more core infrastructure priorities, such as automating the security pipelines, improving asset management, and building internal CLI AI tooling. It has eliminated employee downtime and has simpler compliance and lower operational friction.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"My advice to others looking into using Cisco Duo is that it is a great product, and I recommend it for everyone, specifically for those using Cisco Secure Client."
"Cisco Duo has benefited our company overall by giving us the ability to have multi-factor authentication."
"Cisco Duo has helped my organization reduce its overall authentication-related costs."
"Cisco Duo's authentication means people cannot get into our network without the second step."
"We get fewer threats to remediate due to the two-factor authentication, which does not allow as many threats through."
"The features of Cisco Duo that I like the most are all of the above, especially the multifactor authentication that is very easy to use now."
"The biggest overall impact of Cisco Duo on our company has been the peace of mind it provides, helping us sleep a little more soundly at night knowing that we have that layer there, and operationally, it has fostered more trust when it comes to logging into systems."
"I rate it highly because it's something that can grow with you, whether you have very little security or a lot of security, whether it's already Cisco or not, and whether you have a mixed mess that you're trying to put into some kind of order."
"It keeps track of users and their IPs no matter where they are in the network. When users roam, we don't have to worry about not mapping them to an IP."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator are easy to configure, secure, and the application has good performance."
"This is a very important product if a company wants to use a VPN."
"The current version is stable...Scalability-wise, it is a fine solution"
"Using this product strengthens enterprise security."
"We use multi-factor authentication for enhancing security."
"Intuitive interface and easy to deploy."
"The product’s most valuable feature is integration with FortiGate, FortiToken, FortiTalk, and multi-factor authentication."
"The solution is simple to use and we have installed it in our clients' endpoints. The tool is just plug-and-play for the end user. The end user can just put in the key to the security computer and log in without any hassle. The solution is efficient, user-friendly, and easy to use."
"Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones."
"It's small and lightweight. Like a phone, it doesn't run out of battery. It also doesn't have to be unlocked. It doesn't break. Moreover, they're very durable and it's very convenient."
"YubiKey is a hardware security device with advanced security features."
"The most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
"Reducing password reset and MFA lockout support tickets by 75% has reclaimed the engineering capacity, which can be redirected towards more core infrastructure priorities, such as automating the security pipelines, improving asset management, and building internal CLI AI tooling."
 

Cons

"Smart Licensing needs improvement. It's terrible. We have problems with it every year and we need to involve support to fix it."
"I think that the dashboard needs to be improved."
"More automation and device insights would be helpful in achieving a seamless single pane of glass. Having the additional capability to streamline processes would also make things better."
"Reducing or eliminating the "telephony credits" system used by Duo would be great."
"To improve Cisco Duo, the biggest consideration is the licensing standpoint; the most common issue I've found is customers not setting up the Active Directory sync properly, leading to inflated licensing usage when they try to delete inactive users that are still being charged."
"I evaluate the stability and reliability of the solution as somewhat tricky. Cisco Duo Access Gateway is mostly VM-based, and while I'm not sure whether there is an on-premises hardware-based solution, having this VM-based solution can be buggy."
"I believe there are two new features. I am interested in adding auto-admin services and incorporating icons for easier navigation. This could contribute to a new business idea platform. I have seen the features, and they make things easier, resolving issues from before. The platform has been updated, and there's now another link in my platform for media access. When it comes to improvements, the UI can be more user-friendly, and there is room for easier navigation. Perhaps there could be enhancements in customization. I haven't faced issues in storage or backup, but I am open to improvements in customization functionality. It's not my environment, but I see possibilities for improvement in the deployment of funds. The addition of new features is appreciated, and for customization, it could provide more freedom for users."
"However, I know that sometimes integrating it with the Linux environment is a bit of a pain."
"The solution's command line interface could be improved to provide better support for low-level debugging and advanced configurations."
"I think the tool could provide this solution on the cloud. It's currently an on-premises solution. A cloud-based version could make setup, installation, and management easier. With on-premises, you must pay capital expenses (CapEx) upfront. However, if the solution was cloud-based, it would be operational expenses (OpEx), which is often easier to manage. You can pay monthly instead of paying the total cost at once. In my opinion, OpEx is more easily manageable than CapEx."
"Their technical staff needs improvement because they take too much time to resolve issues."
"I would like to see support for more credential authentication protocols."
"The stability of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is rated as six out of ten, indicating some instability issues."
"For scalability, you need to size FortiAuthenticator properly. It's not 100%, maybe 80% on the scalable side."
"No SMS gateway from the ISP"
"I have had stability issues with FortiAuthenticator."
"Currently, an area where the product lacks is in addressing service needs."
"Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India."
"It's a hardware device, so it isn't cost-effective to use for all your accounts. You might have a hard time getting budget approval. It's better to take a strategic approach and use it only for critical accounts. You can use other forms of authentication for the rest."
"Yubico YubiKey is one per user and I do not believe it is very scalable."
"It would be better if the product can come up with a serial number for the keys. It would be nice if they had a numbering system as a configuration identity that would help the IT and technical teams to identify the keys because they look all the same. It would be more like putting a tag on them."
"Yubico YubiKey is inconvient. No one likes the idea of having to put a USB device into the system, having to remember to take it out, and having passwords. It may be very good for security but it is not great for people to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price wise, it's not cheap, but it's not expensive at all either. It's in the middle."
"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."
"I only need the solution for IT staff, which makes it relatively cheap. If I deployed it for the whole company, it would be costly, so it depends on the number of users. Duo Security is affordable compared to other products in the segment."
"From a reseller perspective, it's still challenging to explain the whole license strategy to a client, so we really have to be ahead of that for all the true forward conversations."
"Its price is reasonable. It is not highly expensive."
"During testing we are allowed a certain number of licenses for free."
"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."
"Price-wise, the solution has been very, very reasonable...Licensing is the last thing I think about Duo Security because it's so easy, and I had no problems with it."
"The pricing is fair."
"FAC is an affordable solution for Middle Range (200E/400E) and also needs a package of mobility agents (2,000) perpetual."
"I would start off with a VM including the base license and scale according to the number of users you need to authenticate."
"I rate the product price as two or three on a one-to-ten scale, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."
"We pay for licensing on a yearly basis."
"The price seems okay. It's not that expensive compared to other authenticators."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator a three out of five."
"We paid 100 bucks for one Yubikey."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise82
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise11
No data available
 

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 Du...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
Regarding the pricing, what actually happened was that we got the product purchased through our HQ, so the costing as...
What needs improvement with Duo Security?
I do not have a straight answer for how Cisco Duo can be improved at this time. With the implementation that we are g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
My experience with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator's pricing found the pricing to be good. There are better solutions ava...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could be improved in its cost structure. Although it is not expensive, other solutions of...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator was implemented as a multi-factor authentication solution to serve as a second barrier fo...
What needs improvement with Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey is an industry gold standard for phishing-resistant hardware, though immutable firmware and password k...
What is your primary use case for Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey is my main hardware security key designed to provide multifactor authentication and for logging into m...
What advice do you have for others considering Yubico YubiKey?
Regarding Yubico YubiKey's AI capabilities, it does not embed AI or machine learning capabilities in itself. Rather t...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
FortiAuthenticator
YubiKey
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Google Inc., Salesforce, Novartis, Facebook, GitHub, CERN, Duke University, Code Enigma, Luther Burbank High School, ZorgSaam, Agfa, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Dyson Ltd, Portugal Telecom, Boral, Canonical Ltd
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs. Yubico YubiKey and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.