Cisco Duo vs Nok Nok Labs comparison

Cisco and Nok Nok Labs are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7, while Nok Nok Labs is ranked #34. Cisco holds a 4.2% mindshare in AS, compared to Nok Nok Labs’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Nok Nok Labs users who would recommend it.

Cisco Duo

Read 117 Cisco Duo reviews

8,973 Views
5,474 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Nok Nok Labs

Read 1 Nok Nok Labs review

467 Views
453 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Duo

Nok Nok Labs

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Duo and Nok Nok Labs based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems.

To learn more, read our detailed Authentication Systems Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

March 2026

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Helped 886,664 peers since 2012

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

7.0

Number of Reviews

117

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), Access Management (4th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st)

Nok Nok Labs

Ranking in Authentication Systems

34th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 4.2%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nok Nok Labs is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Duo	4.2%
Nok Nok Labs	0.8%
Other	95.0%

Authentication Systems

Featured Reviews

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.

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reviewer1217064

Head : Security Architecture at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Easy to use, reliable, and offers a straightforward setup

We are customers and end-users. We've dealt with the solution for a long time. We've seen how they developed as a startup, and how they've matured over time. They're actually quite advanced and they are sometimes cutting edge compared to other competitors. I'd recommend the solution. They do things very differently. They're very advanced and they're standards-based. They basically have got a very good vision in terms of how they do strong authentication. Other companies are actually following suit and following what they've done to support standards. They're quite advanced and simple to use, with a good support model. They have the edge compared to other solution providers. In general, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most appealing feature of Cisco Duo is the phone notification system that simply pops up on your phone."

"It's a great solution for securing access to the applications and network because we can integrate the solution with all types of applications."

"Cisco Duo seems very scalable—in my experience, I started with a small-medium business, and in my last contracting position, it was a large one for a major worldwide airline that had hundreds of thousands of devices that could use Cisco Duo, and it scaled very well."

"The best feature Cisco Duo offers is its simplicity."

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

"The authentication process is very smooth and secure."

"Duo is a very consistent product and flexible in how it can be deployed and has good support."

"Multifactor authentication and secure two-factor authentication are the most valuable features. It's been around for a while, but now it's becoming an enforced behavior as opposed to something that you used to do as optional."

More Cisco Duo pros

"They are sometimes cutting edge compared to other competitors and have a very good vision in terms of how they do strong authentication, being quite advanced, simple to use, and standards-based with a good support model, giving them an edge compared to other solution providers."

"The technical support is quite good."

Cons

"I evaluate the stability and reliability of the solution as somewhat tricky. Cisco Duo Access Gateway is mostly VM-based, and while I'm not sure whether there is an on-premises hardware-based solution, having this VM-based solution can be buggy."

"My experience with Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system is that sometimes there are difficulties, and sometimes users just won't be able to log in. We have to reset their password so they can use Duo."

"The cost will become expensive for large user accounts."

"Cisco Duo could be improved if there were a way to make two-factor authentication quicker."

"Regarding the stability and reliability of the Cisco Duo solution, we have experienced some outages over the last few years that are significant because people can't log in."

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

"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."

"We have a 24 hour timer for our Duo cookie and we would like to reduce this to a shorter time when using Duo."

More Cisco Duo cons

"There's nothing wrong with the solution that we can see. However, maybe they could improve slightly by incorporating decentralized identity blockchain models into their solution."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"It's a bit confusing because we're on a three-year plan with a certain number of licenses, and we've gone over that number. They told us that when we renew, they will add all these licenses. We've expanded quickly, so everyone's kind of scared because no one knows what the bill is with the long pricing cycle."

"Price-wise, the solution has been very, very reasonable...Licensing is the last thing I think about Duo Security because it's so easy, and I had no problems with it."

"The licensing is very good because it does not cost a lot of money. It's affordable for all-sized customers, including enterprises. There is an additional cost for premium support."

"It is affordable for what's coming to the table with it, but in this day and age, the cost is looked at under a microscope, and companies need to very finely define what is needed versus what is critical. In some cases, it might not be cost-effective for a company to have it. In a lot of other cases, it is the cost of doing business."

"From a business perspective, it is a little bit costly. The licensing is on a per-user basis."

"The product’s pricing is reasonable."

"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	42
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	57

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...

See all answers

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

I cannot speak to the financial planning of the organization, but I can confirm that Cisco Duo falls within the security budget that has been allocated to us.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Duo Security?

Areas that have room for improvement in Cisco Duo include pricing, as Cisco is quite expensive, and the fact that Cisco Duo relies heavily on external identity providers such as Active Directory or...

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Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs Nok Nok Labs

Compared 43% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs Nok Nok Labs

Compared 29% of the time

OneSpan DIGIPASS vs Nok Nok Labs

Compared 27% of the time

More Nok Nok Labs Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

April 2026

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

March 2026

Download Nok Nok Labs product report

Also Known As

Duo Security

No data available

Overview

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

Nok Nok Labs software solutions enable organizations to deploy simple, secure and scalable FIDO-based authentication across their internal and consumer-facing infrastructure, including mobile and web applications. The Nok Nok solution allows organizations deploying end-user applications to provide superior user engagement, better security and increased privacy, all while lowering development, deployment and support costs.

Nok Nok Labs

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

FIDO Alliance

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

March 2026

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