No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Duo vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
Ranking in Access Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
160
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st), AI Data Analysis (3rd)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
12th
Ranking in Access Management
22nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
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 VIP Access Manager is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Duo3.7%
Symantec VIP Access Manager1.9%
Other94.4%
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.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Duo has improved our operational efficiency and reduced costs in areas such as authentication, IT support, and security operations by enhancing our security workflows; pretty much everyone is using MFA at work, making it easy for us to see who is actually accessing our network and computers."
"It's easy to use for the security part, and it helps to improve our security posture."
"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."
"I am happy that we went with Cisco Duo because it is just easier to use."
"Cisco Duo has definitely improved my operational efficiency and reduced costs in areas like authentication and IT support, as evidenced by a reduction in security tickets since we don't see too many password change requests or forgotten password calls anymore."
"If you have to log in to something, you must go to Duo Security to confirm that you're who you are on your phone."
"Cisco Duo scales very well with the growing needs of my company; during COVID, when we had a higher number of users, there were no problems at all."
"Right now, I do not think there is anything about Cisco Duo that I would improve; I have been happy with everything so far."
"I like the whole solution, and I would recommend it."
"VIP is a strong, cloud-based authentication service that enables organizations to secure access to networks and applications to prevent unauthorized logins to company resources, even when passwords have been compromised or shared."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
"It is easy to use."
"After the initial integration, the overall support calls dropped, and customer satisfaction for VPN increased."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"Integration with Citrix Access Gateway, Microsoft Office 365 and Single Sign-On (through Symantec Validation and ID Protection Access Manager) has increased the productivity of the employees for accessing resources."
"If you're looking for a fairly lightweight client that works very well for remote access purposes, I think Symantec is definitely a good product."
 

Cons

"Scalability could be better if the price were reduced, as scaling is quite expensive."
"Cisco Duo is not MSP ready by default."
"Technical support seems to be lacking. It takes a long time for them to come back to the customer."
"Duo Security should have more customized use cases. For example, if a client needs to have more customization, it would be better to connect directly with Duo's R&D to try to discuss the issues together in order to add customizations."
"If I could improve Cisco Duo, I would suggest providing some notification back that the Cisco Duo system was not able to reach the remote device, because I was left in a situation where I did not know if it was actually my cell phone or something was wrong with Cisco Duo."
"More automation and device insights would be helpful in achieving a seamless single pane of glass. Having the additional capability to streamline processes would also make things better."
"I think Cisco Duo can be improved by integrating it more with developer tools; there is not a lot in terms of developer tooling with respect to authenticating to command line toolsets."
"Removing the need for a password would be a positive change as well as the ability to cover all the different enterprise applications. They don't have coverage for everything."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"At times, the relay server could not contact Symantec; it would fail open and allow access without a passcode."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"Our only issue was with user training. The additional challenge was not well received."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Duo Security's pricing is good, fair, and very comparable to today's market."
"My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco Duo has been great. We've been there for 10 years. While we haven't gone through the setup part for a while, licensing is straightforward and convenient for higher education because student populations are included. So, we don't have to pay extra for it. We just pay for our knowledge workers, which has been great, and the cost is reasonable."
"It has a fair pricing model. I know they have different tiers, but it would be nice to have different types of licenses for certain groups of users in our organization. That way, we wouldn't have to lump everybody into one group. That would be also one complaint."
"It falls in line with everything else."
"Price wise, it's not cheap, but it's not expensive at all either. It's in the middle."
"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 rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Authentication Systems solutions are best for your needs.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise80
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

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?
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...
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 ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.