Appgate SDP vs Cisco Duo comparison

Appgate and Cisco are both solutions in the ZTNA as a Service category. Appgate is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0, while Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.7. Appgate holds a 3.5% mindshare in ZaaS, compared to Cisco’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Appgate users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

We compared Appgate SDP and Duo Security across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:

Ease of Deployment: Appgate SDP's setup process was considered moderately complex and time-consuming, taking several days or even a week to complete. On the other hand, the initial setup for Duo Security was generally described as simple, easy, and fast, with few problems encountered.

Features: Appgate SDP is highly praised for its adaptability, reliability, and powerful customization options. Conversely, Duo Security stands out in delivering dual-factor authentication, effortless registration, and seamless integration with diverse platforms.

Room for Improvement: Based on the reviews, Appgate SDP has room for improvement in terms of cost, non-split tunnel functionality, enterprise-level solutions, and user interface. On the other hand, Duo Security can improve compatibility, user management, password-free login, and integration options.

Pricing: Appgate SDP's setup cost is considered expensive. In contrast, Duo Security offers flexible and affordable licensing options, making it accessible to a wide range of customers. Some small businesses find Duo Security expensive, but large enterprises see the cost as justified due to potential data breaches.

ROI: Appgate SDP's ROI is uncertain, whereas Duo Security offers a positive ROI through enhanced security, defense against cyber-attacks, compliance with regulations, and cost reduction.

Service and Support: Appgate SDP's customer service receives positive feedback for technical assistance and quick response times. Some customers believe that support could be enhanced. On the other hand, Duo Security's customer service is highly acclaimed, providing remote assistance and prompt issue resolution. Users with upgraded licenses receive even better support. However, without a service agreement, response times may be slower, potentially leading to financial losses.

Comparison Results: Appgate SDP requires a more intricate setup process, but it offers flexibility, resilience, and powerful configuration options. It is considered costly and lacks user-friendly interface. Conversely, Duo Security has a simple setup, provides two-factor authentication, and is commended for its simplicity and time-saving advantages. It faces some compatibility and integration difficulties, but offers affordable pricing and a favorable return on investment. Customer service and support receive high praise for both products.

To learn more, read our detailed Appgate SDP vs. Cisco Duo Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Appgate SDP vs. Cisco Duo

June 2026

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the ZTNA as a Service category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Appgate SDP is 3.5%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Duo is 2.5%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

ZTNA as a Service Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Duo	2.5%
iboss	3.5%
Appgate SDP	3.5%
Other	90.5%

ZTNA as a Service

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

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Sachin Mohanty

Cloud Operations Engineer at PowerSchool India Pvt.Ltd

Zero trust access has strengthened security and now streamlines remote work across all sites

The reporting can be improved, as Appgate SDP is strong but could benefit from enhanced reporting features. This would improve visibility and simplify operational monitoring, along with simpler initial deployment. The initial setup and configuration require a good understanding of Zero Trust principles. The user interface can also be improved, as the administrative interface and policy workflows would make day-to-day operations easier for security teams. Additionally, more AI-driven insights such as anomaly detection and automated policy recommendations would further enhance security operations, along with richer reporting and dashboard capabilities. Regarding scalability, we can improve it for larger-scale deployments, making the platform more effective for growing enterprises and benefiting organizations with large and distributed user populations. Many users starting with Appgate SDP would see improvements from better centralized policy management for large environments and more efficient handling for large-scale deployments while improving monitoring and reporting across multiple regions. Additional automation capabilities would also support expanding infrastructures.

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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

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"As I mentioned, the return on investment is significant, as it saved our office locations' bandwidth because when you are working remotely at home, your internet traffic routes directly to iboss and will not go to your office building, saving bandwidth bottlenecks and ensuring that issues with our building internet circuits will not impact your internet connectivity because you are directly going to the iboss data center."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

More iboss pros

"Appgate SDP is the best solution for micro-segmentation and supplying VPN solutions."

"The flexibility of the tool is valuable; it is very robust, has a very robust configuration capability, is pretty well documented, and is also good interface-wise."

"Appgate SDP has positively impacted my organization by strengthening our security posture and providing more granular control over access to internal resources we handle daily."

"It is a scalable solution...The support answers your questions very fast."

"The simplicity of the SDP platform is a standout feature; instead of navigating through intricate details, users can seamlessly connect to the company's network or switch to the internet with minimal effort."

"Appgate SDP has positively impacted my organization, as we are using it to securely access the internet after the cyber attack."

"The interface is really friendly. It's simple to understand."

"One of the most important features is stopping lateral movement across our network."

More Appgate SDP pros

"We get fewer threats to remediate due to the two-factor authentication, which does not allow as many threats through."

"What I most appreciate about Cisco Duo is the ease of use."

"Cisco Duo has benefited our company overall by giving us the ability to have multi-factor authentication."

"The stability and good performance of the MFA are notable since it responds within seconds, and perhaps the algorithm is good when compared to other providers' MFA algorithms."

"Duo has allowed us to add an additional layer of security to our organization and to establish trust for every access request and secures our environment."

"Duo offers dual-factor authentication for our logins; I put in my credentials and hit go, then I get an alert on my Apple Watch and approve it, and that part is just phenomenal."

"My experience with Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system has been good; it performs very well when logging in."

"In terms of operational efficiency, Cisco Duo has improved our security workflow significantly."

More Cisco Duo pros

Cons

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

More iboss cons

"One thing that kind of sticks out to me is the ability to do a proper non-split tunnel."

"If I could change or improve anything about Appgate SDP, it would be to enhance the user experience by improving the UI so that it is more explanatory."

"The user interface should be improved as it is not very easy to work with the updates."

"On the cloud, when you make some changes, it may be difficult."

"It would be better to connect to an application portal from any device. Documentation and support could be better."

"The reporting can be improved, as Appgate SDP is strong but could benefit from enhanced reporting features."

"They could provide a single-box solution to manage tools for 4000 users. Additionally, they could add extra features to enhance remote micro connection."

"One limitation is that it's harder to provide access to multiple applications in the company with Appgate, but that's probably because of poor management."

More Appgate SDP cons

"We already have Active Directory enabled in our routers and switches. However, if we could do two-factor authentication, then it could go a long way since no one's getting into them unless you want them to."

"The pricing for Cisco Duo is kind of okay, but most of the time, your competitor is someone like Microsoft who gives it out for free with their offering, making it tough to argue with customers why they should spend additional dollars to also get Duo to improve their setup, but I think the pricing is fair."

"I think Cisco Duo can be improved. I found the onboarding was very difficult, even for engineers who have been using similar solutions before."

"Cisco Duo did not help reduce the cost of the overall authentication method that we have in our company; instead, it increased, obviously."

"Integration was probably the toughest part for us with Cisco Duo, as with any new product."

"The product price needs improvement."

"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."

"Cisco Duo is a modern product that does not support older applications, lacking backward compatibility. It should work on supporting legacy applications and legacy approaches."

More Cisco Duo cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We pay $100 per user per month. One license for the site is around $17."

"The pricing is according to the market price. It is not a very cheap solution. They have some very aggressive promotions to sell the product in the market."

"It is a pretty expensive tool. It is maybe about $20,000 per year for a hundred users or so."

"Its price is reasonable. It is not highly expensive."

"The pricing is pretty competitive. It's pretty cheap. Anybody can adopt it."

"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."

"Overall, the pricing is fair. Customers can wrap it into their Enterprise Agreement, making it easier for them to solve their issues."

"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."

"During testing we are allowed a certain number of licenses for free."

"You pay per user when using this solution and the pricing is fair."

"Cisco has the most expensive products because market leaders tend to charge a lot."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	62
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	78

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

We used iBoss mainly for Internet Access by having an Agent on Windows laptops Primarily because when we try to use i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

I am not involved in pricing, but as per the information I have, during that time, the Blue Coat proxies we were usin...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Appgate SDP?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that this whole thing is managed by the security team, and t...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Appgate SDP?

If I could change or improve anything about Appgate SDP, it would be to enhance the user experience by improving the ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Appgate SDP?

My main use case for Appgate SDP is for security purposes. We are trying to use it to connect with our VPNs and the n...

See all answers

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 Du...

See all answers

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

My experience with the pricing, the setup cost, and the licensing of Cisco Duo is that it is really inexpensive in th...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Duo Security?

For the next release, Cisco Duo could be improved by adding touchless authentication and biometric features.

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

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Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Appgate SDP

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Appgate SDP

Compared 7% of the time

Twingate vs Appgate SDP

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Appgate SDP

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Appgate SDP

Compared 4% of the time

More Appgate SDP Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

Okta Platform vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

June 2026

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Buyer's Guide

ZTNA

June 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

June 2026

Download Cisco Duo product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Duo Security

Overview

Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.

Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.

iboss

Appgate SDP provides a comprehensive approach to network access control, optimizing security with robust configurations and a user-friendly interface, featuring flexible deployment and server concealment to mitigate risks.

Appgate SDP has been designed to enhance security operations through reliable access management. It prides itself on offering strong documentation, substantial scalability, and an interface that supports easy deployment, creating a seamless experience for local and remote connections. It enables organizations to implement micro-segmentation and integrate multifactor authentication, thus elevating their security posture. Recent updates reflect improvements, yet aspects like cost, cloud modification difficulties, VPN customization needs, and an upgraded interface remain areas for future enhancement. Ideal for hybrid environments, Appgate SDP aids transitions from traditional VPNs, protecting digital assets and preventing lateral network threats.

What are the key features of Appgate SDP?

Robust Configuration: Allows flexible setups to meet specific requirements.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies deployment, enhancing user experience.
Server Concealment: Minimizes exposure to threats by hiding servers.
Scalability: Accommodates growing organizational needs with stable performance.
Access Rule Granularity: Provides detailed options for managing network access.

What benefits should be considered in user reviews?

Security Enhancement: Improved protection against lateral movement and ransomware.
Deployment Ease: Streamlined processes for faster implementation.
Strong Support: Reliable assistance from the vendor ensures sustained use.
Remote Work Optimization: Facilitates safe remote access, vital for modern work environments.

Appgate SDP is prevalent in industries shifting from traditional VPNs to more secure architectures. It supports enterprises embracing cloud technologies by providing reliable network access solutions, especially in hybrid work settings, ensuring the security of digital assets while accommodating multifactor authentication and micro-segmentation strategies.

Appgate

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

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

United States Air Force FINRA Weight Watchers Rackspace DataDog SageNet Verdant Norwegian Cruise Line VoiceBase The Third Floor

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Appgate SDP vs. Cisco Duo

June 2026

Free Report: Appgate SDP vs. Cisco Duo

Find out what your peers are saying about Appgate SDP vs. Cisco Duo and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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