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Aruba Remote Access Points vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

Aruba Remote Access Points
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (12th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 5.7%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)5.7%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.2%
Other93.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of ELV and ICT at Intec Systems Solution Pvt Ltd
Efficient Setup and Strong Performance Highlight Versatile Capabilities
In terms of areas for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points, when planning for the customer's end, you need to highlight the precautions against EMF emissions and environmental emissions, as well as power management limitations. If the user is in one direction and you're transmitting everywhere, that's not good power management. Currently, all access points provide the same power requirement to the client, but we should explore what extra mile we can go. We are facing energy crises and climate issues, along with GHG and SDGs protocols. If we highlight the alignment with these protocols, it can enhance the product quality as an environmentally friendly option. Apart from that, service-wise, every unit is the same. Users can only distinguish those requirements using spectrum analyzers; otherwise, minor data delays of one or two seconds do not matter, but for high-security or high-speed needs, it becomes significant.
AS
Manager - Projects at airtel
Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion
The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Aruba Remote Access Points provide a level of protection for our IPs."
"Once we got things set up properly, we just need to do updates, and it just runs."
"The platform has the most valuable advanced filtering feature."
"The most valuable features of Aruba Remote Access Points are the easy configuration, straightforward installation, and secure security features."
"I can use the solution from my home or any remote office to access printers, servers, etc."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"Aruba works well in large spaces, especially for manufacturing. That's when you start seeing the effectiveness of Aruba."
"It’s very light."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is an excellent tool, easy to configure, and adapted to different devices, such as PCs, phones, tablets, etc., from both the IT administrator and the end user's perspective."
"What I like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is that it's easy to use, and that is its main advantage, as you can use it without the need for any setup because it's centrally pre-installed, so you just need to log in with your username and password, and I didn't experience any problems with the solution in terms of losing connectivity, as it works very well every time."
"For that task, it works well; it is stable, and we haven't had issues so far."
"Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is very stable."
"It's a very scalable solution. We are using the maximum licensing they offer, and it's very affordable given the value."
"The dashboard and interface are fine."
"This solution gives you double security because it uses both hard and soft tokens."
"Every time I have to connect to the network I use this solution; it is a customizable solution, it makes life easier for me, and it makes the global workforce work much easier and more secure."
 

Cons

"The remote access point coverage should be bigger than it is now."
"It could have better monitoring features."
"The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting."
"Our difficulty with Aruba is that the product and the license are two different items. So, if we are adding an access point, we have to pay for two items."
"There is room for improvement in terms of pricing. If they can be more competitive."
"There are some issues, like the VLAN capabilities and support for routing between two VMs."
"In terms of areas for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points, when planning for the customer's end, you need to highlight the precautions against EMF emissions and environmental emissions, as well as power management limitations."
"I don't really have any critiques at this time."
"I would like to see improvements in regards to the connectivity speed."
"The solution is great, but perhaps the security could be improved."
"In the next release, Cisco should add a chat feature."
"There are times the WiFi connectivity has disruptions and you have disconnections."
"The stability of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client could improve. We have had a lot of problems with it; once I'm disconnected from the Wi-Fi, it's not reconnecting automatically, and I need to restart it many times manually."
"If they could simplify connections via other machines, like Linux or Mac OS X, it would be helpful."
"The security could be improved."
"If there's any cloud version available, instead of on-premise, that would be ideal."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"We pay for an annual subscription. Additionally to the subscription, we thought in order to connect this solution to the Active Directory we had to purchase a Cisco ACS, Access Control System. It turns out we did not actually need it."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"The solution is based on an annual licensing model and is expensive."
"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."
"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"Sometimes there is a problem with the number of licenses for the end-user. The number of concurrent users is limited due to a valid license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
19%
Construction Company
11%
Government
6%
Healthcare Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise49
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Remote Access Points?
This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We do not use Zero Touch Provisioning with Aruba Remote Access Points because the Aruba device being expensive compared to cheaper Cisco options holds us back.
What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?
The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting. This is a significant area for improvement, especially when the dev...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) can be made better, as the product for me has not changed in the last year. The only problem is that if you want to download it somewhere else, you cannot...
What is your primary use case for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is used to make a VPN connection to work, specifically for a VPN and internet connection to my work's office.
 

Also Known As

Aruba RAP
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough
MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.