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Cisco Duo vs Delinea Authentication Service 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Duo
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
156
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (3rd), Access Management (4th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st), AI Data Analysis (3rd)
Delinea Authentication Service
Ranking in Authentication Systems
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Bridge (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 4.0%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Delinea Authentication Service is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo4.0%
Delinea Authentication Service0.7%
Other95.3%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Charles Slaustas - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Francesco Panacea - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Deloitte Risk Advisory
Offers a reliable platform for securing administrative access and reduces cloud maintenance overhead
I have not found many drawbacks in Delinea Authentication Service, but perhaps they could focus more on the development of the platform for all of the products. I mean, rather than having Secret Server and Privilege Manager as silos, they could have a unique platform. In future updates of this solution, I would like to see features that other PAM vendors are adding, such as machine identities, AI, agentic security, and perhaps certificate security for Delinea. Delinea integrates with third-party tools by having some out-of-the-box connectors, but not for all. Adding more connectors could be an evolution for the next product. Responsiveness could be another area of improvement. They are pretty much slow to respond or perhaps I don't get the answers I want.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"My total rating for Cisco Duo is ten out of ten."
"Since Duo Security provides a single place to log in for our SaaS applications, we don't have to manage user accounts and remember passwords for each specific application."
"The most valuable features of Duo Security are visibility and OTP authentication. The OTP is very important because it is a self-enrollment feature, you are able to enroll users very quickly with a shorter time period."
"The biggest benefit of Cisco Duo for my customers is the license because they count licenses for the user—one user can use many applications integrated with Cisco Duo."
"The benefit of the features of Cisco Duo is that it secures our environment; nobody can access or join the network without it, and Cisco Duo will recognize and ensure that only people who are allowed in our environment can access our devices."
"My advice for other companies that are considering getting Cisco Duo is to try it, and you will be amazed at how easy and how productive this tool is."
"I like the set time that users can log into devices during the day and how many times they can do so. I also like the ability to restrict the regions from which the user can get in. Users outside of our country or even the town cannot log in."
"Duo is a very consistent product and flexible in how it can be deployed and has good support."
"The best feature of Delinea Authentication Service, in my opinion, is that Delinea is a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for PAM solutions, particularly with Secret Server, which we used, and also the Privilege Manager."
 

Cons

"We first deployed Duo Security for our company with the VPN, and afterward, about a year later, we implemented it for a customer of ours where we offered infrastructure as a service. When I tried to establish a VPN connection through Duo Security, it did not function well on that version, which was the latest one at the time. So, I had to make a copy of the machine and then implement Duo Security with the VPN because it did not function well with the newer version."
"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."
"Integration with a product such as Microsoft Sentinel would be great. As the product continually improves, I'm unsure if this feature is available."
"Cisco Duo can be improved, but additional features that should be included in the next release are not my area of responsibility."
"The only issue is the price is too high when compared to other products; Cisco Duo's pricing is high."
"Scalability could be better if the price were reduced, as scaling is quite expensive."
"I am not certain how Cisco Duo has helped me evolve in my IAM strategy from simple authentication to a more comprehensive identity security platform."
"While two-factor authentication with mobile devices provides a high level of security, it's still not foolproof, as someone could potentially steal your phone. It would be beneficial to have information about the authentication location."
"Responsiveness could be another area of improvement. They are pretty much slow to respond or perhaps I don't get the answers I want."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Duo Security is free."
"I haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."
"Overall, the pricing is fair. Customers can wrap it into their Enterprise Agreement, making it easier for them to solve their issues."
"From a reseller perspective, it's still challenging to explain the whole license strategy to a client, so we really have to be ahead of that for all the true forward conversations."
"Cisco has the most expensive products because market leaders tend to charge a lot."
"You pay per user when using this solution and the pricing is fair."
"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."
"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise78
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
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 the first place, but the value that I get in return is hard to beat, especially wh...
What needs improvement with Duo Security?
For the next release, Cisco Duo could be improved by adding touchless authentication and biometric features.
What needs improvement with Delinea Authentication Service?
I have not found many drawbacks in Delinea Authentication Service, but perhaps they could focus more on the development of the platform for all of the products. I mean, rather than having Secret Se...
What is your primary use case for Delinea Authentication Service?
I use the product to secure the system administrators' access to the crown jewels of the customer.
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
Centrify Authentication Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: July 2026.
906,852 professionals have used our research since 2012.