Cisco Duo vs RSA Authentication Manager comparison

Cisco and RSA are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while RSA is ranked #19. Cisco holds a 5.3% mindshare in AS, compared to RSA’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of RSA users who would recommend it.

Cisco Duo

Read 85 Cisco Duo reviews

6,543 Views
4,711 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

RSA Authentication Manager

Read 12 RSA Authentication Manager reviews

1,059 Views
1,027 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Duo

RSA Authentication Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

RSA Authentication Manager and Cisco Duo are both prominent products in the identity and access management sector. Cisco Duo stands out with its extensive feature set, justifying its higher cost based on the results of the comparisons in each section.

What features are offered by RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager offers comprehensive security policies, flexibility, and robust support. Cisco Duo provides seamless integration, a range of authentication methods, and a user-friendly experience. The broader feature set of Cisco Duo gives it a competitive edge.

What areas of improvement can be found in RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager has a steep learning curve, outdated interfaces, and complexity. Cisco Duo faces occasional integration issues and a desire for more diverse authentication options. The complexity of RSA is a more pressing concern than Duo's minor integration hiccups.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager's deployment is challenging and time-consuming, yet it has responsive and knowledgeable customer service. Cisco Duo is recognized for its straightforward deployment process and effective customer support, making it a preferable option for setup and reliability in support.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with RSA Authentication Manager in comparison to Cisco Duo?

RSA Authentication Manager is viewed favorably for its cost-effectiveness and satisfactory return on investment. Cisco Duo, despite its higher price, delivers greater overall value due to its superior features and ease of use. Cisco Duo's higher cost is justified by its enhanced capabilities, leading to stronger user satisfaction.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 879,443 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in Authentication Systems

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (3rd), Access Management (4th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (2nd), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st)

RSA Authentication Manager

Ranking in Authentication Systems

19th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 5.3%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Authentication Manager is 2.3%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Duo	5.3%
RSA Authentication Manager	2.3%
Other	92.4%

Authentication Systems

Featured Reviews

Charles Slaustas

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.

Read full review

Uwe Schomäcker

VP Business Development at SDVG

Enhancing security with seamless single sign-on and Microsoft integration

We use RSA Authentication Manager for web applications and internal applications. We have a number of applications connected to it, serving over thirty thousand clients. It is integrated into everything from our standard login to Windows in the morning, as well as our applications Due to its…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is reliable and easy to use."

"The biggest benefit of Cisco Duo for my customers is the license because they count licenses for the user—one user can use many applications integrated with Cisco Duo."

"We're working remotely. It helps us keep people more safe. Its adoption has been fine. I like the fact that you can bypass it if you need to because there are situations where the internet doesn't work, etc."

"All features of the solution are effective, particularly those involved in identifying vulnerabilities and updates."

"The feature of Cisco Duo that I prefer the most is the policies, being able to control what we need to within the policies."

"Cisco Duo has positively impacted my organization by helping to implement zero trust, ensuring that every user is protected against phishing or password theft, and reducing security incidents according to my records and reports for a year."

"The flexibility is the most valuable feature. We use it for the app on the phone. When we're at different locations, the phone is usually there, so we can use that. It has just been a very flexible option."

"Clients I implemented Cisco Duo at immediately feel more confident in their security environment, and we can see a lot of illegal attempts to get in, giving me faith in the product."

More Cisco Duo pros

"The most valuable feature is the SecurID."

"RSA Authentication Manager is a robust solution that provides comprehensive protection for both on-premise and cloud-based applications."

"It is a stable solution. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."

"The most valuable feature is the provision part. The mapping and the logging is also very good. In addition, the troubleshooting, from a console point of view, is easy for administration and on the provisioning and logging part."

"Easy setup, deployment, and integration in different infrastructures, including virtual ones."

"I have found RSA Authentication Manager to be scalable."

"RSA Authentication Manager is the best available solution."

"The single sign-on feature is the most important."

More RSA Authentication Manager pros

Cons

"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."

"Cisco Duo could be improved, possibly by adding features for the healthcare space. If you're selling something to a healthcare provider, there needs to be consideration for how to launch Cisco Duo with a handheld device that is not native, where you can install the application."

"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."

"Regarding the stability and reliability of the Cisco Duo solution, we have experienced some outages over the last few years that are significant because people can't log in."

"For the back-end, there could be a few more security features applied."

"I'm unsure how to disable the ping notification sound on my phone when using Cisco Duo. I don't know how to silence it."

"I have not seen ROI with Cisco Duo; probably the opposite, because it impedes productivity time to be able to get into the system. You have to authenticate and do your regular login and your Active Directory logins."

"Often, people do not receive expiration messages, and sometimes, for security reasons, accounts get disabled without notifying the end user, so they mistakenly think something has gone wrong when it really just needs to be re-enabled on the external system."

More Cisco Duo cons

"The product's capabilities to protect cloud environments need improvement."

"RSA Authentication Manager is perfect. We do not see current missing products or enhancements yet emphasize the importance of a continuous development roadmap."

"We are not planning on using the solution in the future."

"We found technical support was not very responsive to our requests for assistance."

"Our major problem is the authentication via Microsoft, via Microsoft cloud systems. This is our major aim, to be a valued product for the future. The biggest problem is to work against cheap cloud systems. Cloud identification is our main problem at this time."

"Enhancing the user interface and expanding their marketing efforts in regions like Nigeria and West Africa could be beneficial."

"There is room for improvement in the RSA support."

"Perhaps parts of the the user interface should become more intuitive."

More RSA Authentication Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From a business perspective, it is a little bit costly. The licensing is on a per-user basis."

"It was very reasonable."

"I believe the licensing model is excellent as it offers flexibility to our customers, allowing them to adopt a crawl, walk, or run approach."

"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."

"Duo Security is free."

"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."

"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."

"Duo Security's pricing is good, fair, and very comparable to today's market."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

"As a new customer, the minimum cost would be four dollars, but you have room for negotiation, potentially bringing it down to as low as three dollars."

"The solution is costly."

"The pricing is a little bit complicated because sometimes resellers are able to make prices that are too low. Our price, with a discount, is typically not as high as some of our competitors."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Authentication Systems solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

879,443 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	38

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	7

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 Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...

See all answers

What do you like most about Duo Security?

They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, specifically in single sign-on.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that one of the most powerful features is the licensing model and the price. According to the pricing, it is really fantastic to get th...

See all answers

What needs improvement with RSA Authentication Manager?

RSA Authentication Manager is perfect. We do not see current missing products or enhancements yet emphasize the importance of a continuous development roadmap.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for RSA Authentication Manager?

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering RSA Authentication Manager?

RSA Authentication Manager is the best available solution. However, for other companies, it might seem expensive. It's important for RSA to keep developing new features and maintain a robust roadma...

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 7% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Cisco Duo

Compared 6% of the time

Silverfort vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 17% of the time

RSA SecurID vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 6% of the time

SecurEnvoy SecurAccess vs RSA Authentication Manager

Compared 6% of the time

More RSA Authentication Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

December 2025

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

December 2025

Download RSA Authentication Manager product report

Also Known As

Duo Security

ACE/Server

Overview

Cisco Duo is a cloud-based identity security platform safeguarding critical resources for any user and device worldwide. Known for its ease of use, Duo offers seamless protection across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Cisco Duo is designed to secure access with identity-first protection and provides extensive visibility throughout an organization's identity ecosystem. Offering multi-factor authentication, Duo facilitates easy integration and management, allowing teams to protect data effectively on VPNs, applications, and networks. Its single-pane management improves security processes while enhancing trust, making it suitable for diverse IT infrastructures.

What are the key features of Cisco Duo?

Multi-factor Authentication: Strengthens user verification with multiple methods.
Push Notifications: Simplifies authentication with quick approvals.
Single Sign-On: Enhances convenience by allowing one set of credentials.
VPN Access: Secures remote connections with reliable authentication.
User Activity Visibility: Offers comprehensive insights into access patterns.

Which benefits and ROI should users consider?

Quick Deployment: Facilitates rapid integration within existing systems.
Effective Management: Streamlines IT operations with centralized control.
Regulatory Compliance: Aids in meeting industry standards for data protection.
Enhanced Trust: Strengthens security posture across networks.
User-friendly Approach: Simplifies authentication for non-technical users.

In industries like education and finance, Cisco Duo is widely employed to secure multi-factor authentication across platforms such as email, databases, and servers. Its integration capabilities with Microsoft 365, Active Directory, and VPNs like AnyConnect are instrumental in verifying user identities using mobile apps or OTPs, catering effectively to both remote and on-premise environments.

Cisco

RSA Authentication Manager is the platform behind RSA SecurID that allows for centralized management of the RSA SecurID environment including authentication methods, users, applications, and agents across multiple physical sites. It verifies authentication requests and centrally administers authentication policies for organizations' end users.

RSA

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Tiera, Fred Loya, BRE Leasing, ADP, BlueFort Security, New Hanover County

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

879,443 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cisco Duo vs. RSA Authentication Manager report.

See our list of best Authentication Systems vendors.

We monitor all Authentication Systems reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.