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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Cisco Secure Email comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco Secure Client enhances remote work with secure, user-friendly connectivity, offering indirect ROI through service sales and efficiency.
Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco Secure Email enhances security, reduces costs, and boosts productivity, providing ROI similar to preventive insurance against breaches.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Secure Client support is accessible and helpful, though not often needed due to strong internal expertise.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email is praised for its knowledgeable, proactive support with quick resolutions, despite occasional delays for some users.
Cisco offers very high-quality customer service.
Over the years, there's been a decline in the quality, mainly in areas such as the experience level of support engineers and the time taken to address and escalate issues.
Cisco Technical Support is very good, very friendly, and helpful.
Cisco's tech support can be hit or miss, depending on the engineer you get.
The support is pretty decent, with a rating of eight out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Secure Client is highly scalable, integrating well with systems for effective remote work and easy expansion for all sizes.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Secure Email excels in scalability, supporting large enterprises seamlessly, with minor hardware challenges noted by some users.
A smaller firewall can handle fewer sessions, while a larger one can handle tens of thousands of sessions.
The scalability of Cisco Secure Client depends on the hardware I choose.
The solution is scalable.
The on-premises hardware is not very scalable, but switching to the SaaS offering is expected to improve scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Cisco Secure Client is reliable and stable, receiving high ratings despite occasional network-related connectivity issues.
Sentiment score
8.1
Cisco Secure Email is praised for reliability, stability, and efficiency, outperforming rivals with minimal issues and high user ratings.
The stability is really good, and I would rate it up to nine.
I would rate the stability ten out of ten.
I do not encounter many issues with stability, but sometimes the hardware's capacity can be a limiting factor.
Based on my experience, the stability of Cisco Secure Email is very strong.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Client faces usability and integration challenges, lacks Linux support, and is hampered by high resource usage and cost.
Cisco Secure Email needs UI improvements, simplified pricing and deployment, enhanced features, and streamlined management for better user experience.
The various licensing options make it challenging to manage, and the cost is a significant issue for customers.
There is room for improvement in terms of endpoint security and cloud integration, which were lacking long ago.
Cisco's security portfolio, including Secure Client and the firewalls, is falling behind.
The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated into the Email Security Gateway so customers don't have to buy two products for full email protection.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Client pricing is deemed reasonable but varies by user count and term, with costs per user.
Cisco Secure Email offers robust features and value, with prices varying based on services, usage, and licensing complexity.
I perceive the pricing to be a seven, however, I have perpetual licenses.
The pricing seems to align equally with other competitors like Palo Alto during a competitive situation.
Its cost is bundled with other Cisco products.
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Client provides seamless VPN connectivity, strong security, and user-friendly remote access, ideal for scalable remote work solutions.
Cisco Secure Email offers strong spam and malware protection, seamless Active Directory integration, and customizable security features for effective threat management.
Beneficial for businesses needing secure access outside the office.
It supports secure remote work and facilitates seamless VPN access.
Cisco Secure Client's AnyConnect VPN's reliability has been absolutely wonderful, as well as the ability to connect from any network, regardless of location.
It is highly effective in catching phishing and spam emails.
It also possesses multiple modules for spam detection, malware detection, and threat intelligence, which are valuable in categorizing emails and determining actions.
It covers everything through email, like antivirus, IDS, and IPS.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (4th), ZTNA as a Service (8th)
Cisco Secure Email
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cisco Security Portfolio category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 9.8%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 1.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cisco Security Portfolio
 

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…
Kostas Karidas - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps prevent security breaches but fails to improve in the area of AI
I have not noticed any impressive advanced threat protection mechanisms in the tool. I don't know if there are any AI features in the product. I don't know if there is any other technology embedded in the solution. Cisco Secure Email successfully mitigated potential email threats. My company has seen plenty of scenarios where Cisco Secure Email successfully mitigated potential email threats, spam emails, and fraudulent domains. The product is good for dealing with spam emails, and it can take care of more than 100 spam emails per day. A huge number of spam emails are monitored with the help of Cisco Secure Email. I would not recommend the product to other businesses because you need to have some kind of expertise in configuring and knowing a bit about the tool's GUI. The tool also lacks in the area of AI mechanics. If I would like to have an overview and review another solution, I would go for another product other than Cisco Secure Email. I can definitely suggest others to look at the product and review it, but I would also recommend that they compare it with the other solutions in the market. I wouldn't prioritize Cisco Secure Email over other tools. Either the support partner of the product or I take care of the tool's maintenance phase by looking into the configurations and doing some fine-tuning. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
49%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Government
4%
Educational Organization
35%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
I am not sure about the actual pricing as I work on the technical side. However, customers often complain about the price being high.
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client is quite solid, but the license terms are complex and could be improved. The various licensing options make it challenging to manage, and the cost is a significant issue for cus...
What do you like most about Cisco Secure Email?
Cisco Secure Email is a budget-friendly solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out. I am not really concerned about the pricing because I only make recommendations, not buying decisions.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?
The user interface needs massive improvement. While the device works fine and it's not complicated to write policies, renaming menu items and showing policy flow in conjunction with the application...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. Cisco Secure Email and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.