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Google Authenticator vs Ping Identity Platform comparison

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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 Duo
Sponsored
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
176
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (5th), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st), AI Data Analysis (7th)
Google Authenticator
Ranking in Authentication Systems
14th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (3rd)
Ping Identity Platform
Ranking in Authentication Systems
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (6th), Data Governance (19th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (8th), Access Management (7th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (3rd), Directory Servers (1st)
 

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 Google Authenticator is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ping Identity Platform is 3.0%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo3.7%
Ping Identity Platform3.0%
Google Authenticator0.9%
Other92.4%
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.
Balogun Peter - PeerSpot reviewer
Digital Magazine Manager at OMC System
Strong security has protected my online accounts and keeps my access safe across platforms
In my opinion, the best feature Google Authenticator offers is the way it generates the code every one minute or thereabout, and the code keeps changing, which enhances security. I am very sure nobody can have access to my accounts without Google Authenticator. Google Authenticator has impacted my organization positively as I have first-hand assurance that nobody is breaking into any of our accounts or websites, and it saves a lot. It gives you that assurance; it makes you feel very safe. The security is top notch, and it is even amazing that it works without the internet. What is really measurable is that we do not get our things compromised now. It is more secure; it provides comfortability knowing that my account is safe, and I feel more secure.
AmitRathod - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Analyst at Toll Holdings Limited
Single sign-on has simplified access while adaptive authentication protects complex user journeys
Regarding areas for improvement in Ping Identity Platform, there is not much. In terms of licensing and implementation costs, it has premium pricing, and it has a very complex implementation. It provides greater feasibility, but it takes a very long time in terms of complete building. There is a very limited number of legacy support, which can pose potential difficulties in integrating with certain older or legacy systems. Additionally, issue troubleshooting can be difficult at times. Sometimes issues can be difficult to diagnose and require extensive technical expertise. There is also a very steep learning curve for administrative purposes and potential difficulties with offline authentication scenarios.

Quotes from Members

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

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."
"The biggest return on investment for me when using Cisco Duo is gaining time, as I don't have to look at ten different MFA apps, and I know it will work."
"Cisco Secure solutions are great for detecting and remediating threats across our infrastructure from end to end. The integration of Talos in SecureX is great. Everything is clear in one dashboard. You have a dashboard there, your dashboard, and now you can have one look in your dashboard and see everything. It's on one pane of glass."
"Cisco Duo has improved our operational efficiency and reduced costs in areas including authentication, IT support, and security operations."
"Cisco Duo just works; that is the best feature."
"The most appealing feature of Cisco Duo is the phone notification system that simply pops up on your phone."
"The feature I like the most about Cisco Duo is that it allows us to authenticate users before they can connect to our network from outside of our company."
"The deployment and installation process for Cisco Duo is quite straightforward, which is an advantage."
"The security is top notch, and it is even amazing that it works without the internet."
"Google Authenticator has helped save money, save time, and maintain reputation because of the security it provides."
"Google Authenticator has positively impacted my organization by improving security and productivity."
"The main reason why we use this product is to make sure that we can use our corporate account to log on to applications in the cloud, and from that perspective, it helps us in our account life-cycle management because if somebody is leaving the company, that account will be automatically deleted, which saves time."
"From a security perspective, I highly value the product's biometric authentication methods such as FIDO, FaceID, YubiKey, and the mobile app."
"The most valuable feature is multifactor authentication."
"The solution has a smooth and configurable user interface for single sign-on capabilities."
"I find the auto-discovery feature the most valuable. It helps us automate a lot of things using a single password across applications."
"Overall, I see PingFederate as a stable product and I do not see any bugs at the moment."
"The mobile biometric authentication option improved user experience. It's always about security because, with two-factor authentication, it's always a separate device verifying the actual user logging in."
"It is a scalable solution."
 

Cons

"Cisco Duo can be improved because people have their own personal mobile devices."
"We use Yubikey for pushing it to the phones. Yubikeys can get expensive because people tend to lose those for some reason. Fifty dollars a device is pretty high."
"An AI support robot or bot that provides direct answers to questions without requiring the search for facts or documents to find solutions would be an improvement."
"The only time I really had some negative feedback for them was about the UI of their mobile app, but they improved it in the last version. It is good on the functionality side, but their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. If you are on a monthly term or a yearly contract, you basically pay the same price, and that is very unusual. Normally, there is a discount when someone signs up for the 12-month system."
"The only issue is the price is too high when compared to other products; Cisco Duo's pricing is high."
"What I dislike about Cisco Duo is that anything that Cisco Duo lacks, we can do through Microsoft, which is a workaround because we're integrated with Microsoft, and that was the first thing I did."
"Cisco Duo is definitely not doing things that others are not doing, so there is no unique selling proposition."
"We had some trouble with the password reset function."
"I deduct one mark due to the lack of a backup and restore option."
"Ping Identity Platform must improve its UI since its management console is complicated."
"PingID would benefit from a better user interface for integration."
"Ping Identity Platform is expensive."
"From the improvement perspective, they could bring IGA capability, which right now they only have in their SaaS offering."
"In terms of licensing and implementation costs, it has premium pricing, and it has a very complex implementation."
"There is room for improvement in the solution, particularly in security."
"Many times when we are authenticating, we'd like the freedom to set the time; maybe it needs to be slightly longer, and before we can authenticate it, it ends up in an error and then we have to create everything all over again in terms of launching the application."
"In the beginning, the initial setup was very complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."
"It's a bit confusing because we're on a three-year plan with a certain number of licenses, and we've gone over that number. They told us that when we renew, they will add all these licenses. We've expanded quickly, so everyone's kind of scared because no one knows what the bill is with the long pricing cycle."
"You pay per user when using this solution and the pricing is fair."
"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."
"Duo Security's pricing is good, fair, and very comparable to today's market."
"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 haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."
"My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been good, with no issues. I am pleased that the prices remained stable after Cisco acquired the solution."
Information not available
"The product is costly."
"PingID's pricing is pretty competitive."
"Ping offers flexible pricing that's not standardized."
"Ping Identity Platform is not very expensive."
"PingID pricing is a ten out of ten because it's a little bit cheaper than other tools, such as Okta and ForgeRock, and supports multiple tools."
"The platform's value justifies the pricing, especially considering its security features and scalability."
"The pricing is neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"Ping Identity Platform is not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
21%
Construction Company
16%
Government
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business66
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise93
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise22
 

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 Google Authenticator?
Google Authenticator is the best; everything is okay regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing.
What needs improvement with Google Authenticator?
There is always room for improvement, and I just want to see Google Authenticator keep getting better. But for now, I...
What is your primary use case for Google Authenticator?
My main use case for Google Authenticator is for security purposes, to safeguard my different accounts or application...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PingFederate?
Regarding pricing for Ping Identity Platform, I would rate it eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with PingAccess?
The areas where I think PingFederate needs room for improvement include that the most significant area I would recomm...
What is your primary use case for PingAccess?
The main use case for PingFederate is that we are maintaining the centralized single sign-on with DuroSengel and Cara...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
No data available
Ping Identity (ID), PingFederate, PingAccess, PingOne, PingDataGovernance, PingDirectory, OpenDJ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
Equinix, Land O'Lakes, CDPHP, Box, International SOS, Opower, VSP, Chevron, Truist, Academy of Art University, Northern Air Cargo, Repsol
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Authenticator vs. Ping Identity Platform and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.