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AWS Direct Connect vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (2nd), ZTNA as a Service (9th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.8%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 6.2%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)6.2%
AWS Direct Connect1.8%
Other92.0%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2231871 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Offers secure high-bandwidth connectivity without internet-related risks
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The customer, from the customer side to AWS, receives an ethernet point-to-point connection, and that is it. The interface and everything along with the communication with AWS, the customer has to do by themselves to build the routes and everything. The connection speed that our clients are using ranges from 100 megabits up to 10 gigabits. The main concern is the port costs. Clients do not report technical problems, so it is mainly always an issue of money. The solution is nice, but sometimes they avoid it because the port costs are high. This is not a problem AWS has exclusively; Azure has the same costs, and these port costs are quite expensive. I would rate this review as an 8 out of 10.
AS
Manager - Projects at airtel
Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion
The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"It is a stable solution."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"The security features are beneficial, and the whole idea of the app is that it should not be in the way."
"Configuration policy, posture assessment, and other things can be done in great detail."
"The system is reliable, simple and secure."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"Technical support is always helpful."
"The solution provides secure and easy access to corporate network resources."
"What I like most about Cisco AnyConnect VPN is its reliability and stability."
"The most valuable features are that it is really secure and very easy to use."
 

Cons

"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high."
"The price could be reduced."
"More frequent updates would be ideal."
"I haven't found there are any shortcomings in the product. For how I use it, it works well."
"In terms of areas for improvement in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, from my point of view, the solution works well and right now I don't see the need to improve it. Probably a better user interface could be created for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, but its core is VPN creation, and that works well, though I'm not a VPN specialist, and I'm not an expert on how to create a VPN, how the VPN gateway works, how it's implemented, and what's the architecture behind it. A two-factor authentication feature was recently added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client. In the past, you only needed to log in with your username and password, but now, there's a token, and the user interface for that token isn't that good. That's another area for improvement. Cisco should also make the two-factor authentication better in the solution. What I'd like added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client in its next release is a better two-factor authentication, in particular, the validity of the code being shorter because sometimes when I get the code and I add it to the client, it's invalid, though I'm unsure if it's centrally set up that way or if its a characteristic of the product. Making the interface of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client more user-friendly is also what I'd like to see in the next release of the solution."
"The various licensing options make it challenging to manage, and the cost is a significant issue for customers."
"One improvement could be ensuring better backward compatibility."
"The solution should not rely on tokens from the mobile application for logins."
"We'd like the product to be cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The solution is based on an annual licensing model and is expensive."
"The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."
"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
"The solution is reasonably priced and costs $600 for a five-year license in our scenario."
"I would rate the pricing for the license of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client around four to five out of ten. It's not the cheapest option, but it's also not overly expensive."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"The price is okay."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise46
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.
What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
We encountered issues with the connection. The VPN was not connecting on multiple occasions.
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I'm not an end user of any of those SAP products. I wanted to have a comparison between different solutions for process mining and process modeling, but I'm not an end user of any. I have Microsoft...
What do you like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
At times there is confusion regarding when to keep the proxy on or off, a problem faced by some users.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.