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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Ivanti Connect Secure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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 Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in SSL VPN
1st
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA as a Service (10th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
Ivanti Connect Secure
Ranking in SSL VPN
4th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 16.5%, up from 14.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 22.1%, up from 20.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)16.5%
Ivanti Connect Secure22.1%
Other61.4%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Wouter Beer - PeerSpot reviewer
Generates revenue through service offering while needing additional safety features
The primary use case for Cisco Secure Client, including AnyConnect, is as a VPN for remote access I use AnyConnect because I have Cisco infrastructure. It utilizes certificates, which allows for automatic setup. The security features are beneficial, and the whole idea of the app is that it should…
Johan Derycke - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable remote access and tunneling enhance work efficiency, but upgrade processes need improvement
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, the browser version, and the different modules being used. On the client side, browser-initiated sessions are complex and require a more robust approach for non-admin users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client provides a secure way for users to access our systems remotely."
"This is a stable solution."
"The most valuable features of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is the reliability and scalability."
"We have plans to increase the usage of this solution, it can scale well."
"I'd rate Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client at nine out of ten for scalability."
"The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment."
"The solution has good performance. It is a simple tool to use, once I turn on Windows it automatically starts to use the VPN."
"It's fairly easy to set up."
"What I like the most about Pulse Connect Secure is that it's user-friendly. It's easy to use. You just need to connect, and that's it."
"I can safely say this is one of the best solutions I have seen for VPN access. It can achieve what other vendors may not be able to. This product will train you about exactly what an SSL should be. You can leverage it to do whatever you wish, the way you wish to do it. This is the solution if you want a perfectly scalable product for your enterprise that can help your mobile users and integrate with the latest technologies."
"It is customer-friendly. It is quite easy for our users to connect. There is also the flexibility of the features."
"Pulse Connect Secure is a stable solution."
"The new UI that they are providing right now is very good."
"The product is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Pulse Connect Secure is its ease of use."
"This solution enables secure connections for our engineers to work from home or other locations."
 

Cons

"The setup could be simplified for solutions engineers with a wizard."
"Every two weeks there was a new version to install which was annoying for the users."
"It should implement something like a kill switch."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is a stable solution. However, there have been times it has not worked and I needed to call our IT department. It could be more stable."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client can be improved by having better speed and reliability. However, the speed and reliability are already really good."
"If there's any cloud version available, instead of on-premise, that would be ideal."
"If they could simplify connections via other machines, like Linux or Mac OS X, it would be helpful."
"It would be good to have some improvements to the quality of service."
"The product could use additional dashboards."
"Setup is complex. A few users had some issues with it."
"At the moment, Pulse Connect Secure is a pretty good solution, and I don't see any issues with it. Currently, I'm not aware of a new or additional feature that's needed in Pulse Connect Secure, but it would be good if the team could look at how the speed of connection could be increased. Though it's quite seamless and I didn't face any problem with the speed, it would be better to improve the speed and keep going forward, especially as the industry's changing and people would love connections to be a lot faster."
"We need to know how many live active users there are and we can't. We even updated the server, however, we still can't see the proper level of live connections. Right now, it's showing as 300 users and my customer does not have that many users in his organization."
"Pulse Connect Secure could improve by having better integration with NAC solutions, such as Cisco ClearPass integration with Pulse Connect Secure. Additionally, they need better integration with Microsoft Azure AD and Azure Authenticator."
"The solution must be more user-friendly."
"I would like the solution to be more secure and compatible. It also needs to improve integration with other systems."
"The support team of the product needs improvement. Sometimes we have issues with multiple authentications, but there is no help from the support team."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."
"Sometimes there is a problem with the number of licenses for the end-user. The number of concurrent users is limited due to a valid license."
"The price is okay."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
"I am using a paid version of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client."
"The solution is based on an annual licensing model and is expensive."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"My company has a three-year or a four-year license. In scenarios attached to a solution where the product may be reaching an end-of-support or end-of-life phase, Cisco provides OS support in such environments."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."
"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
35%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise46
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?
From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti has always been known to be pricey, making it a rather high-cost solution.
What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, t...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Pulse Connect Secure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.