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Secret Double Octopus vs Yubico YubiKey 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
6.8
Number of Reviews
168
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)
Secret Double Octopus
Ranking in Authentication Systems
36th
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (9th)
Yubico YubiKey
Ranking in Authentication Systems
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (2nd), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (4th)
 

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 Secret Double Octopus is 0.7%, up from 0.6% 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%
Yubico YubiKey2.6%
Secret Double Octopus0.7%
Other93.0%
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.
Gaurav Gaurav - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
A solution with good capabilities across a wide range of platforms that comes with a useful mobile application, but upgrades cause issues
We have noticed that patches and upgrades cause issues with how the application functions, due to the lack of stability of the product. However, we would recommend the solution because it has good capabilities, across a wide range of platforms, and the mobile application allows for use via Bluetooth, so users don't have to be connected to the internet. I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
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

"Duo Security has helped remediate threats more quickly and offers security end to end."
"Multifactor authentication is the most valuable feature."
"I feel that I am using a good product that not only secures my accounts but also will not be a headache to use."
"The best feature Cisco Duo offers is its simplicity."
"From the front end, it's very fast and it hasn't missed a beat, so to say."
"The UI of Cisco Duo is easy to use, especially the web backend, and it's really intuitive and easy to set up."
"The best feature Cisco Duo offers is a very easy-to-use web interface."
"Overall, it meets all my needs, including price point, and I've been very happy with it."
"This solution has a mobile application, which comes with multi-factor authentication; allowing for more flexible usage, without having to sacrifice system 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."
"YubiKey is a hardware security device with advanced security features."
"Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones."
"The most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"Reducing or eliminating the "telephony credits" system used by Duo would be great."
"Its management interface should also be improved. They should also improve its update period."
"My experience with Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system is that sometimes there are difficulties, and sometimes users just won't be able to log in. We have to reset their password so they can use Duo."
"While two-factor authentication with mobile devices provides a high level of security, it's still not foolproof, as someone could potentially steal your phone. It would be beneficial to have information about the authentication location."
"In Cisco Duo, what could be improved is having more features."
"If you want easier management, Duo wouldn't meet that need."
"There are limitations because Cisco Duo does not support Hotmail accounts, which many people use to log in to their systems."
"To improve Cisco Duo, wherever the team can try to reduce the number of clicks an end user needs to go through to authenticate would be good."
"The product suffers from frequent disturbances in service, that have impacted our end users when we deploy software updates."
"Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India."
"Currently, an area where the product lacks is in addressing service needs."
"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."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."
"With regard to pricing, for a small business buying a one off, it's pretty expensive. If it's an enterprise that has thousands of employees, however, it's really nothing to protect your data because if your network goes down or it's breached, you're losing millions of dollars every minute. When it comes to a large enterprise, it's priced where it should be because you're talking business to business. You're not talking business to consumer."
"The cost was reasonable. Licensing was pretty straightforward for a change."
"Cisco's licensing is always a bit complicated to understand, but the price is fair. It could be more expensive than others, but the way they integrate everything, it has a fair price."
"Our licensing fee is currently on an annual basis."
"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."
"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."
"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
"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
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
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 Business65
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise87
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...
Ask a question
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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
Octopus Authenticator
YubiKey
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
United Technologies (UTC), American Family Association, ASL Airlines France, BNP Paribas, A Fortune 50 Bank, Bingham County Idaho, Britannia Financial Services, Carolina Behavioral Health Alliance LLC, European Commission, County of Midland Michigan, JRM Construction Management, Greer Commission of Public Works, Poste Italiane, Kennedy Wilson Europe, Key Mechanical, Marker Therapeutics Inc, Mediawan, Ministero Dell'interno, FairPrice, NTUC Health, Mercatus, TBC, Techni-Photo, Tinsa Group, Yates Law, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Z-Medica Corporation, A Member of the 5 largest US law firms.
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 Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: October 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.