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Cisco Duo vs Yubico YubiKey comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
Yubico YubiKey
Ranking in Authentication Systems
6th
Ranking in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 4.3%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Yubico YubiKey is 3.4%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo4.3%
Yubico YubiKey3.4%
Other92.3%
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.
KM
Co-Founder at LBR Infosolutions
Robust authentication boosts security in restricted environments
Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones. The security features of Yubico YubiKey make it stand out among other MFA products in India, as it prevents anyone from accessing my password or PIN. Additionally, it supports receiving OTPs on phones.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If you have to log in to something, you must go to Duo Security to confirm that you're who you are on your phone."
"Duo Security simplified establishing trusted connections, making it easier to implement distributed network solutions."
"With respect to our users feeling safe, secure, supported, and included, Duo Security is among the best solutions that we have ever used."
"Multifactor authentication and secure two-factor authentication are the most valuable features. It's been around for a while, but now it's becoming an enforced behavior as opposed to something that you used to do as optional."
"In the world of network security, it is outstanding and very strong."
"The best feature Cisco Duo offers is its simplicity."
"The two-factor authentication is valuable because that is the use case for which we are using it."
"The feature that my organization started using more recently in Cisco Duo is offline authentication."
"YubiKey is a hardware security device with advanced security features."
"The most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
"Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones."
"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 most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
"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

"For upgrades, there should be a better notification of when they're coming out. We always have a testing phase, so we need to be ahead of it. It takes us longer before we can upgrade to the newest version."
"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."
"Cisco can further enhance the integrations, as they possess exceptional integrations with various providers' products and feature sets."
"We have a 24 hour timer for our Duo cookie and we would like to reduce this to a shorter time when using Duo."
"End-users find it more annoying than anything else."
"The technical engineers in the first line of support should improve their knowledge."
"We have users who move throughout the world, and their levels of connectivity change. It can be a challenge, if someone is in Bahrain, to authenticate via Duo."
"It is good on the functionality side, but their pricing model is a little bit weird."
"Currently, an area where the product lacks is in addressing service needs."
"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."
"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."
"Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India."
"Yubico YubiKey is inconvenient. 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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"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."
"Cisco has the most expensive products because market leaders tend to charge a lot."
"It's very simple. Its price is fair. We use the hardware tokens as well. You get what you pay for. In terms of licensing, Cisco has very complicated products, but Duo Security was surprisingly easy."
"My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco Duo has been great. We've been there for 10 years. While we haven't gone through the setup part for a while, licensing is straightforward and convenient for higher education because student populations are included. So, we don't have to pay extra for it. We just pay for our knowledge workers, which has been great, and the cost is reasonable."
"It was very reasonable."
"The cost was reasonable. Licensing was pretty straightforward for a change."
"We paid 100 bucks for one Yubikey."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise58
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 Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
I cannot speak to the financial planning of the organization, but I can confirm that Cisco Duo falls within the security budget that has been allocated to us.
What needs improvement with Duo Security?
I believe Cisco Duo needs to be improved on the delay process because there is a delay when we send a Duo Push or when we are signing into any applications. We can work on making it faster and spee...
What needs improvement with Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India. In India, administrators typically have control over all security devices, bu...
What is your primary use case for Yubico YubiKey?
I primarily use Yubico YubiKey ( /products/yubico-yubikey-reviews ) for authentication in environments such as Active Directory, cloud administration, trading room, and dealing room where phones ar...
What advice do you have for others considering Yubico YubiKey?
From an individual perspective, no improvements are required for Yubico YubiKey. However, at a corporate or enterprise level, a central control mechanism is necessary, which is currently lacking in...
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
YubiKey
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 Cisco Duo vs. Yubico YubiKey and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
892,487 professionals have used our research since 2012.