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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) comparison

Cisco and F5 are both solutions in the SSL VPN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7, while F5 is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1. Cisco holds a 8.5% mindshare in SV, compared to F5’s 13.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of F5 users who would recommend it.
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Read 48 Cisco IOS SSL VPN reviews
  • 660 Views
  • 381 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Read 16 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reviews
  • 718 Views
  • 585 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Cisco IOS SSL VPN and F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) are major competitors in the secure remote access market. Cisco IOS SSL VPN holds an advantage in ease of use and scalability, whereas F5 BIG-IP APM is often preferred for its comprehensive features and advanced customization capabilities.

Features: Cisco IOS SSL VPN is recognized for its simple user-based authentication, robust encryption, and high scalability, making it reliable and straightforward for quick configuration creation. F5 BIG-IP APM shines with advanced network integration abilities, offering customizable user portals and solid performance, favorable in large enterprise settings for managing complex networking challenges.

Room for Improvement: Cisco IOS SSL VPN could improve its pricing, support for multi-layered networks, and integration with newer technologies, as its graphical interface is seen as outdated. F5 BIG-IP APM faces criticism for its complex initial setup, with users seeking better reporting and operational deployment, along with enhancements in pricing, automation, and integration capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable and easy to deploy, especially in hybrid and on-premises environments, with strong local and partner support. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager provides versatile deployment choices and good customer support, though its cloud capabilities require further advancement. Both receive favorable technical support feedback, with Cisco noted for consistent and globally responsive service.

Pricing and ROI: Both Cisco IOS SSL VPN and F5 BIG-IP APM are considered expensive. Cisco’s various licensing options align with its comprehensive security features, yet users demand more flexible pricing. F5 BIG-IP APM is straightforward in licensing but perceived as costly. Users report strong ROI for each, with Cisco's bundled security features particularly validating its higher cost.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Report (Updated: March 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
March 2025
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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 IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (9th)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (19th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), Remote Access (11th), Access Management (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 8.5%, down from 11.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 13.9%, down from 16.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Rupesh Kolhapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers easy setup phase but needs to improve connectivity
For our company's remote workforce connectivity, the tool was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In general, the VPN functionality offered by the product was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In terms of the product's ability to secure third-party access, the tool works very well. The most valuable feature of the product in terms of network security stems from the fact that the tool provides access to the whole network, and even if users give access to some special applications, it is still really helpful. The clientless access feature is not available for clients. My company installed the product for its clients. If the product offers a clientless access feature, then it is okay and can be very helpful for our company. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a reliable product. The product is very helpful for a work-from-home setup as the tool can be used to access our company's internal network, which Falls outside the network of our organization. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
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Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure
I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.
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 solution's technical support is very good."
"It is highly scalable, speedy, and reliable."
"IOS is user-friendly and simple. You connect to a particular VPN, and that's it. You become seamless after that."
"The setup and installation was easy."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is reasonably priced, and its technology is flexible."
"I like to work with the CMD command line because it's easy and it doesn't take very long to configure."
"It helps us access networks from anywhere."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is very stable. We never experience issues with it."
More Cisco IOS SSL VPN pros
"In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"Our customers have never complained about the stability"
"The performance of the solution is valuable."
"Our organization is small - a college with about 3,500 students. We use F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager to protect our site, especially from the Iranian attacks we faced last year. We restrict access to only inside the country."
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros
 

Cons

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN doesn't support the configuration of multiple VPNs."
"The solution does not give us options if the connectivity to one server is not available."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"The administration should be improved."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"It can be difficult to find service and at times we cannot connect with the internet easily."
"I would like Cisco IOS SSL VPN to provide a faster connection."
"In terms of what needs improvement, it should have better integration. Although, it might have already been taken care of."
More Cisco IOS SSL VPN cons
"The operational deployment is not great."
"Regarding price, I'm not directly involved in purchasing, but our CIO thinks the product is very expensive. He's considering moving from the tool to Citrix NetScaler WAF because it's cheaper, and we already have Citrix for VDI. We got NetScaler almost free as part of our VDI deal. Three years ago, I convinced him to use the solution because it's better, but now, with budget constraints, he may want to switch."
"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better"
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The technical support’s response time must be improved."
"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."
"I have had a lot of issues in the past few months with the agents, which was disappointing."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."
More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive product."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"The platform is expensive."
"The tool is expensive."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"The product costs less."
More Cisco IOS SSL VPN pricing and cost advice
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"The product is very expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Educational Organization
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
The solution is pretty fast.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
It is an expensive product.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Sometimes, the product does not connect with the Wi-Fi. It usually does, but sometimes, if I'm using another Wi-Fi apart from my work Wi-Fi, it does not connect. It shows some error. If I have to w...
See all answers
What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten.
See all answers
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
Sometimes, if I erase or add a new agent in the policy, I can't go backwards, even if I haven't saved the access policy. I want the option to delete it, however, there's no option. I need to create...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time
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CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
Compared 9% of the time
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Ivanti Connect Secure vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
Compared 8% of the time
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BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
Compared 6% of the time
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Compared 3% of the time
More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
March 2025
Cisco IOS SSL VPN reportDownload Cisco IOS SSL VPN product report
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
March 2025
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reportDownload F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
F5 Access Policy Manager
 

Overview

Cisco SSL VPN solutions help you easily and securely extend the network to users who have access to the Internet and a web browser. You can customize access and extend the reach of your corporate network to individuals based on their roles, including teleworker contractors and business partners.
Cisco

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access. 

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

  • Ease of use
  • Flexibility
  • Ability to integrate with other systems
  • Security features
  • Granular access control
  • Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

  • Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
  • Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
  • Integration with third-party MFA solutions
  • DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
  • SAML 2.0 identity federation support
  • Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
  • SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
  • AAA server authentication and high-availability
  • Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
  • BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
  • Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

F5
 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Buyer's Guide
Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
March 2025
Free Report: Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
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We monitor all SSL VPN 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.