Cisco Duo vs Secret Double Octopus comparison

Cisco and Secret Double Octopus are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while Secret Double Octopus is ranked #32. Cisco holds a 4.8% mindshare in AS, compared to Secret Double Octopus’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Secret Double Octopus users who would recommend it.

Cisco Duo

Read 116 Cisco Duo reviews

7,616 Views
4,950 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Secret Double Octopus

Read 1 Secret Double Octopus review

543 Views
445 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Duo

Secret Double Octopus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Duo and Secret Double Octopus based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

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

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 884,933 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

116

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (3rd), Access Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st)

Secret Double Octopus

Ranking in Authentication Systems

32nd

Average Rating

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Passwordless Authentication (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 4.8%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Secret Double Octopus is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Duo	4.8%
Secret Double Octopus	0.7%
Other	94.5%

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.

Read full review

Gaurav Gaurav

Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

A solution with good capabilities across a wide range of platforms that comes with a useful mobile application, but upgrades cause issues

We have noticed that patches and upgrades cause issues with how the application functions, due to the lack of stability of the product. However, we would recommend the solution because it has good capabilities, across a wide range of platforms, and the mobile application allows for use via Bluetooth, so users don't have to be connected to the internet. I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

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

"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."

"It is very easy. Having just wrapped up my tenure at Cisco, it was used day in and day out for security. It was always easy to log in and not have to worry about logging in multiple times."

"Multifactor authentication is the most valuable feature."

"I can recommend Cisco Duo because it is very easy to accept and understand."

"It's easy to use for the security part, and it helps to improve our security posture."

"The most valuable aspect is the authentication and the SSO."

"The UI of Cisco Duo is easy to use, especially the web backend, and it's really intuitive and easy to set up."

"I believe Cisco Duo is worth the investment, offering a good return on investment, as it is expensive but works very well without any downtime or high maintenance, and the support is also good."

More Cisco Duo pros

"This solution has a mobile application, which comes with multi-factor authentication; allowing for more flexible usage, without having to sacrifice system security."

Cons

"The experience of the deployment with Cisco Duo is pretty rough."

"One downside of Cisco Duo is the expense, as there are clients that can afford only the basic package, which does not include Geo-fencing, leaving them unable to pay for the more expensive level, which I do not feel justifies the double price of that upper tier version."

"Scalability could be better if the price were reduced, as scaling is quite expensive."

"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 Entra ID and does not offer full identity lifecycle management on its own, which leads organizations to often pair Cisco Duo with another IAM solution for complete identity governance."

"I think the prices of Cisco Duo are quite fair, but the main problem is that Microsoft Authenticator is built-in with Microsoft 365, so everyone is switching to that and not using Cisco Duo because it is a standalone product that costs extra, despite the price being fair."

"Cisco Duo is stable, but occasionally there are emails about incidents that affect some services temporarily."

"Often, people do not receive expiration messages, and sometimes, for security reasons, accounts get disabled without notifying the end user, so they mistakenly think something has gone wrong when it really just needs to be re-enabled on the external system."

More Cisco Duo cons

"The product suffers from frequent disturbances in service, that have impacted our end users when we deploy software updates."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"Our licensing fee is currently on an annual basis."

"I haven't seen it in a while, but it's at par with everything else licensing-wise."

"The cost was reasonable. Licensing was pretty straightforward for a change."

"It's very simple. Its price is fair. We use the hardware tokens as well. You get what you pay for. In terms of licensing, Cisco has very complicated products, but Duo Security was surprisingly easy."

"It falls in line with everything else."

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

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Authentication Systems solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

24%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Educational Organization

11%

Hospitality Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	41
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	54

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...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 5% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs Secret Double Octopus

Compared 21% of the time

Thales Authenticators vs Secret Double Octopus

Compared 18% of the time

HYPR vs Secret Double Octopus

Compared 14% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Secret Double Octopus

Compared 13% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs Secret Double Octopus

Compared 13% of the time

More Secret Double Octopus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

March 2026

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

March 2026

Download Secret Double Octopus product report

Also Known As

Duo Security

Octopus Authenticator

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

Secret Double Octopus (SDO) is the most widely deployed workforce Passwordless MFA solution today. It offers the most non-disruptive and comprehensive way for enterprises to gain the benefits of truly secure authentication.

SDO is the only passwordless MFA provider that enables organizations to achieve passwordless benefits incrementally, with options that range from extending existing MFA solutions to desktops to implementing full end-to-end passwordless MFA across all use cases end users encounter.

SDO is FIDO-certified and makes access frictionless and passwordless secure for desktop end users, administrative users, remote workers and legacy app users.

https://doubleoctopus.com/

Secret Double Octopus

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

United Technologies (UTC), American Family Association, ASL Airlines France, BNP Paribas, A Fortune 50 Bank, Bingham County Idaho, Britannia Financial Services, Carolina Behavioral Health Alliance LLC, European Commission, County of Midland Michigan, JRM Construction Management, Greer Commission of Public Works, Poste Italiane, Kennedy Wilson Europe, Key Mechanical, Marker Therapeutics Inc, Mediawan, Ministero Dell'interno, FairPrice, NTUC Health, Mercatus, TBC, Techni-Photo, Tinsa Group, Yates Law, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Z-Medica Corporation, A Member of the 5 largest US law firms.

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

March 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: March 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Authentication Systems vendors.

We monitor all Authentication Systems reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.