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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

"Once configured and operational, they tend to function reliably, with few reported issues from clients or customers."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"I can use the solution from my home or any remote office to access printers, servers, etc."
"The authentication features are valuable."
"This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages."
"The tool's most valuable features are its ease of configuration and deployment."
"It is a very stable tool."
"Once we got things set up properly, we just need to do updates, and it just runs."
"Our company outsources our services to our customers, we use many different technologies, and from my experience, overall I find this solution to be quite good."
"Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is established in our network with no teething issues."
"The solution is very stable."
"It is a reliable solution, and the users face no problems or errors."
"Configuration policy, posture assessment, and other things can be done in great detail."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is its ease of use and simple interface. It's always available as long as I have a good network connection."
"The posturing is working well, we have network access control, it's nice to have and easy to manage and easy to add routes, and we can easily add the route over the VPN whenever we have a new network."
"Given that we work from home, the value of the solution is the ability to connect to the VPN remotely."
 

Cons

"The product needs an increased level of security for the end user."
"One thing that would be beneficial is for the Aruba Central mobile app to work more effectively. Currently, it does not function as expected when I really need it."
"It would help if the remote APs had some kind of SoHo environment with built-in firewall features. That way it could connect directly in a client-to-site type of environment, or a site-to-site VPN environment. That way users could have a complete office setup without coming to the private cloud."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"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. We have to pay to add the access point in the controller and we have to pay for the license."
"I don't really have any critiques at this time."
"There are some issues, like the VLAN capabilities and support for routing between two VMs."
"It could have better monitoring features. Not all features are available on the monitoring dashboard."
"The interface could be a little more modern looking and it would be nice for other users if it had easier integration."
"We'd like the product to be cheaper."
"We have faced some connectivity issues."
"Setting up Cisco Secure Client, especially when using certificates, is quite a job and complicated."
"The company should try to catch up with their competitors like Palo Alto and Check Point, because they're falling behind."
"Frequency of updates could be reduced."
"The solution's performance and stability are average."
"They can redesign the reset password, reset function, and user interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"The solution is reasonably priced and costs $600 for a five-year license in our scenario."
"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
"The price is okay."
"I would rate the pricing for the license of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client around four to five out of ten. It's not the cheapest option, but it's also not overly expensive."
"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"My company has a three-year or a four-year license. In scenarios attached to a solution where the product may be reaching an end-of-support or end-of-life phase, Cisco provides OS support in such environments."
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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.