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Google Authenticator vs Thales Authenticators 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)
Thales Authenticators
Ranking in Authentication Systems
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Thales Authenticators is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo3.7%
Google Authenticator0.9%
Thales Authenticators1.9%
Other93.5%
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.
Gustavo Merighi - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation and Telecommunications Analyst at Grupo Energisa
Has an easy-to-use management interface and a straightforward initial setup process
Our primary use cases include multifactor authentication for VPN connections and access to security tools like jump servers and firewalls. We also use it to enhance security measures in an enterprise environment The most valuable feature is the YAML 2.0 integration. It has an easy-to-use…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Duo has provided substantial value, primarily in saved time, but also in low cost because administrators do not have a significant workload with Cisco Duo."
"I would strongly recommend Cisco Duo if any industry or company is looking for those kinds of capabilities."
"The solution is pretty secure."
"The single pane of glass management is very important and it is part of the reason we went with Duo, and anything we can do to save time for our administrators, help desk staff, and engineers, is valuable to us."
"All features of the solution are effective, particularly those involved in identifying vulnerabilities and updates."
"My impression of Cisco's identity intelligence capability to detect and respond to identity-based risks effectively is that it's a great product."
"Being able to just use a thumbprint makes it very fast."
"I appreciate the secured push feature of Cisco Duo, which requires you to choose a number, because it enhances the security of your users, especially when combined with geolocation for a Verified Push, benefiting my company and our customers by making logins much more secure."
"The security is top notch, and it is even amazing that it works without the internet."
"Google Authenticator has positively impacted my organization by improving security and productivity."
"Google Authenticator has helped save money, save time, and maintain reputation because of the security it provides."
"The solution has helped our organization by allowing all users to connect securely."
"We use this solution to log into virtual machines like VMware and VMware Horizon."
"I like how the solution allows me to support different types of hardware tokens and integrate with OTP."
"The technical support services are good."
"The solution is scalable and stable."
"The most valuable feature of SafeNet Authentication Manager is authentication."
 

Cons

"When we try to sell Cisco Duo for any license, sometimes customers approach us and say that Cisco Duo is expensive compared to competitors or that the features are not as good."
"There are limitations because Cisco Duo does not support Hotmail accounts, which many people use to log in to their systems."
"Its management interface should also be improved. They should also improve its update period."
"Cisco Duo can be improved by exploring a way to make it a more seamless integration and by deploying an in-house server."
"For the back-end, there could be a few more security features applied."
"I would appreciate seeing Cisco Duo improved with a tighter integration with Active Directory to secure not just Remote Desktop to a server, but all the remote levels of connection that you can make to a server."
"I know that Cisco Duo is pretty expensive; we have affiliates that use the Microsoft product just because Cisco Duo is so expensive, and they don't want to pay for it."
"One downside of Cisco Duo is the expense, as there are clients that can afford only the basic package, which does not include Geo-fencing, leaving them unable to pay for the more expensive level, which I do not feel justifies the double price of that upper tier version."
"I deduct one mark due to the lack of a backup and restore option."
"The scalability could improve, we have a lot of downtimes two years ago; this was in the cloud environment, because we purchased SafeNet Authentication Manager as a cloud service, and sometimes it was down for two or three hours."
"The solution should allow for support of multi-tenant architecture."
"The stability could improve."
"The problem with SafeNet is that it's not integrated with Microsoft 365."
"The product could be improved by adding more features for sending tokens via SMS or phone calls."
"I'd like to see integration with other platforms."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."
"Price wise, it's not cheap, but it's not expensive at all either. It's in the middle."
"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."
"It has a fair pricing model. I know they have different tiers, but it would be nice to have different types of licenses for certain groups of users in our organization. That way, we wouldn't have to lump everybody into one group. That would be also one complaint."
"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."
"The product’s pricing 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."
"I believe the licensing model is excellent as it offers flexibility to our customers, allowing them to adopt a crawl, walk, or run approach."
Information not available
"There is an annual licensing fee."
"Thales is more expensive than its competitors."
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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%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business66
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise93
No data available
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 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...
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Also Known As

Duo Security
No data available
Gemalto Ezio, Ezio, Gemalto Authenticators, SafeNet Authentication Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB)
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Authenticator vs. Thales Authenticators and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.