Cisco Duo vs Symantec Advanced Authentication comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Cisco and Broadcom are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.9, while Broadcom is ranked #21. Cisco holds a 3.7% mindshare in AS, compared to Broadcom’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 77% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Cisco Duo

Read 160 Cisco Duo reviews

14,498 Views
7,539 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Symantec Advanced Authentic...

Read 9 Symantec Advanced Authentication reviews

1,623 Views
1,558 Comparison Views

77% willing to recommend

Cisco Duo

Symantec Advanced Authentic...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Symantec Advanced Authentication and Cisco Duo are both utilized for secure access and authentication management. Users are happier with the feature set and integration capabilities of Cisco Duo, though Symantec Advanced Authentication scores better in deployment and customer service.

What features are offered by Symantec Advanced Authentication in comparison to Cisco Duo?

Symantec Advanced Authentication provides a robust set of features tailored for enterprise-level secure access, including flexibility, customization, and high-security controls. Cisco Duo is noted for its ease of use, wide range of integration capabilities, and comprehensive features that cater to various business sizes, making it more appealing to users.

What areas of improvement can be found in Symantec Advanced Authentication in comparison to Cisco Duo?

Symantec Advanced Authentication users frequently mention the product's complexity, steep learning curve, and need for better user interface design. Cisco Duo reviews highlight the pricing structure, limited customer support responsiveness, and areas for improved reporting capabilities.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of Symantec Advanced Authentication in comparison to Cisco Duo?

Symantec Advanced Authentication requires a more intricate setup process but benefits from excellent customer service support throughout deployment. Cisco Duo is praised for its swift and hassle-free deployment but receives mixed reviews regarding customer service responsiveness.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with Symantec Advanced Authentication in comparison to Cisco Duo?

Symantec Advanced Authentication users mention higher setup costs but recognize its ROI through high security and functionality for complex needs. Cisco Duo, while noted to have more competitive initial pricing, demonstrates strong ROI through its user-friendly interface and efficiency, making it worthwhile despite a few concerns over its tiered pricing model.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Duo vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication

September 2026

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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

160

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), Access Management (5th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st), AI Data Analysis (3rd)

Symantec Advanced Authentic...

Ranking in Authentication Systems

21st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 3.7%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Authentication is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Duo	3.7%
Symantec Advanced Authentication	1.4%
Other	94.9%

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

Umair (Abu Mohaymin) Akhlaque

Group CEO at Flexsolutions

Ensures robust security features and ease of deployment, although it may lack some of the more modern authentication options

There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements are essential to meet the evolving demands of the market. It lacks features such as ActiveSync Exchange security, and it doesn't offer alternatives like password-less authentication via biometrics or patches. While Symantec mainly relies on traditional token-based or password-based methods, newer authentication methods are missing from its repertoire. Support services often lack promptness and depth of knowledge, leaving customers waiting for weeks to resolve issues. In the realm of multifactor authentication, swift resolution of problems is critical, as any slowdown or interruption can significantly impact operations. Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation.

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

"My total rating for Cisco Duo is ten out of ten."

"The features of Cisco Duo have benefited our organization in terms of security level because before, it was not secure—anybody could get your password and log in—however, with that second layer of defense, it helps us and helps our community."

"It's simple. It's reliable. I haven't had any issues with it."

"The most valuable feature of Duo Security is the ability for the user to easily approve access. The application prompts the user, and they can see the location and the IP address. This makes it easy for the user to approve it and go through the process of logging in to the VPN."

"Cisco Duo just works; that is the best feature."

"By deploying Duo, we have virtually eliminated the risk of direct deposit redirection as a result of credentials that have been compromised via phishing."

"We like the different ways that it allows you to push notifications to people. It can do text, a phone call, and email. We liked the versatility for all of our different end-users, regardless of their level of understanding of the technology."

"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

"Symantec Advanced Authentication can be useful for wherever you require a strong authentication."

"Ease of deployment: no need to keep up with physical devices for multi-factor authentication; no software to deploy on end-user computers requiring administrative rights."

"It actually increases our revenue and the customer base."

"One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability."

"The most valuable feature is that we get a wide range of authentication methods and authentication integrators, so different platforms can get service authentication with transparency to the final user while providing strong authentication forms and connectors."

"Being able to issue a soft token, but still having fairly strong security, is a big factor for us."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it's a strong authentication solution that's able to integrate with applications."

"Rules on Risk Authentication are very good."

More Symantec Advanced Authentication pros

Cons

"There could be improvements made to the dashboards and more integration with the rest of the Cisco ecosystem."

"Compared to other vendors, Cisco Duo is on the pricey end."

"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."

"General announcements when new features come out with Cisco Duo should be broadcasted to customers who are using it, which might bring more accessibility to their documents so users can be more in tune with updates."

"An enhancement they might make is if they can log it to Splunk since they're big into Splunk. Instead of me having to go into that portal to look at things when someone is trying to log in and they forgot their password, I can look in and tell them they forgot their password or didn't respond to the prompt. That would be an improvement."

"When you come to the push in Duo Security, there are some integrations where you have to use the code instead of the push functionality."

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

"It could be a little bit more intuitive when it comes to the sign-up process. I know they send out an email, but sometimes our users get a little confused. It could be an end-user problem, but Cisco could work on that a little."

More Cisco Duo cons

"The initial setup of the tenant is a big cost element of the service and we were doing multiple tenants for our customer."

"Advanced Authentication talks about the Device ID. But how the device ID is captured, I want to know more about that."

"This solution could be improved with risk-based authentication. I think that this product has everything that most customers are looking for, but modern technology has people looking for security tools with risk-based authentication, which they have a separate tool for. If they could integrate this, it would improve Symantec Advanced Authentication. They have to look at what's newly trending and how things are moving forward, and then adapt and adopt those features. Symantec's technical support should also be improved, in terms of response time."

"They definitely need to automate a few processes like the Wiley process."

"Arcot itself is based on a browser technology. This means that the office ID is effectively stored as a cookie in the browser."

"Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation."

"We have seen quite a few issues with bugginess. It is indeed pretty buggy and we have had to install some fixes."

"It needs faster implementation on the cloud for our customers."

More Symantec Advanced Authentication cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Duo Security's pricing is good, fair, and very comparable to today's market."

"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."

"It was very reasonable."

"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."

"I believe the licensing model is excellent as it offers flexibility to our customers, allowing them to adopt a crawl, walk, or run approach."

"My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been good, with no issues. I am pleased that the prices remained stable after Cisco acquired the solution."

"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."

"With regard to pricing, for a small business buying a one off, it's pretty expensive. If it's an enterprise that has thousands of employees, however, it's really nothing to protect your data because if your network goes down or it's breached, you're losing millions of dollars every minute. When it comes to a large enterprise, it's priced where it should be because you're talking business to business. You're not talking business to consumer."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

"The price is reasonable."

"There are eventually going to be implementation costs. Sometimes you're required to have custom code developments there, so that has to be part of the implementation price."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

20%

Construction Company

17%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	64
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	80

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Large Enterprise	7

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?

Regarding Cisco Duo's affordability for the Ukrainian market, I think it is affordable. It depends on an installation base. For a medium and mid-range market, I think it is a fully affordable price...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Duo Security?

Cisco Duo is a fully cloud-based solution. It would be beneficial if Cisco provided a fully on-premise solution. I have discussed this with the local Cisco office in Kyiv regarding any possibility ...

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Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 6% of the time

Okta Platform vs Cisco Duo

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

Auth0 Platform vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

RSA Authentication Manager vs Symantec Advanced Authentication

Compared 13% of the time

RSA Adaptive Authentication vs Symantec Advanced Authentication

Compared 7% of the time

Symantec VIP Access Manager vs Symantec Advanced Authentication

Compared 6% of the time

Thales Authenticators vs Symantec Advanced Authentication

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Symantec Advanced Authentication

Compared 4% of the time

More Symantec Advanced Authentication Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

September 2026

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Advanced Authentication

August 2026

Download Symantec Advanced Authentication product report

Also Known As

Duo Security

CA Advanced Authentication, CA Strong Authentication, CA Risk Authentication, Arcot WebFort, Arcot RiskFort

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

Symantec Advanced Authentication provides robust security solutions aimed at safeguarding digital identities through multifactor authentication, ensuring secure access control for businesses.

With increasing cyber threats, businesses need reliable authentication systems. Symantec Advanced Authentication delivers enhanced security protocols, blending risk-based authentication with seamless user experiences. It supports a range of authentication methods and integrates effortlessly into existing systems, offering scalable security options.

What are the key features of Symantec Advanced Authentication?

Risk-Based Authentication: Evaluates risks in real-time to adjust security measures dynamically.
Multifactor Authentication: Supports various means like biometrics, tokens, and smart cards for secure login processes.
Cloud and On-premise Options: Flexible deployment choices to suit different IT environments.
Integration Capabilities: Easily integrates with existing IT infrastructure for seamless operation.

What benefits can users expect from reviews?

Enhanced Security: Reliable protection against unauthorized access.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business needs without compromising on performance.
Flexibility: Multiple authentication options catering to different user preferences.
Cost Efficiency: Reduction in potential security-related financial losses.

Symantec Advanced Authentication is utilized in healthcare, finance, and other industries to secure sensitive information. In healthcare, it enables compliance with regulations by safeguarding patient data. Financial institutions leverage it to protect client information and ensure secure transactions. Its versatility makes it an ideal choice for industries requiring strict security protocols.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Global bank, Large Filipino Bank and SK Infosec

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication

September 2026

Free Report: Cisco Duo vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication

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