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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Cisco Secure Email 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
Cisco Secure Client enhances remote connectivity with robust security, ease of use, and varied ROI experiences across organizations.
Sentiment score
6.1
Cisco Secure Email is valued for security and efficiency, though financial benefits are mixed and hard to quantify.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Cisco Secure Client provides reliable performance, with support generally quick and effective, though access sometimes requires contracts and has delays.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email's superior customer service, marked by prompt, reliable support, is rated highly over competitors like Fortinet.
Cisco offers very high-quality customer service.
Manager - Network Services at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Cisco technical support is difficult, and it requires lots of contracts.
Technical Manager at Gannexion BV
Over the years, there's been a decline in the quality, mainly in areas such as the experience level of support engineers and the time taken to address and escalate issues.
Director/ Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Regarding my interaction with the technical support of Cisco Secure Email, it was zero downtime for the mail production.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
Cisco's tech support can be hit or miss, depending on the engineer you get.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The support is pretty decent, with a rating of eight out of ten.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Client efficiently scales for organizations, providing secure access while integrating with existing infrastructures despite potential hardware challenges.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email provides flexible scalability and security enhancements, supporting large setups with positive user experiences and expansion options.
A smaller firewall can handle fewer sessions, while a larger one can handle tens of thousands of sessions.
Director/ Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The scalability of Cisco Secure Client depends on the hardware I choose.
Network Architect at Sysnet Solutions Bangladesh Limited
Regarding scalability, Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) rates as excellent because we can scale out by simply buying more licenses from the vendor.
Senior Network Engineer Specialist at Zenith Comp Co.,Ltd.
The on-premises hardware is not very scalable, but switching to the SaaS offering is expected to improve scalability.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
My thoughts on the scalability level of Cisco Secure Email is nine because of the delay in making a configuration and the slowness in the console.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Client is praised for its stability and reliability, effectively handling remote connectivity despite minor flaws.
Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Email is valued for stability and reliability, with minimal issues and efficient operation, requiring minimal maintenance.
I would rate the stability ten out of ten.
Sr. I&C Enginner at Reliance Industries Ltd
The stability is really good, and I would rate it up to nine.
Manager - Network Services at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Regarding the performance of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect), I have not seen any issues because performance-wise it functions properly.
Manager - Projects at airtel
Based on my experience, the stability of Cisco Secure Email is very strong.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Client faces usability and integration challenges, including outdated support, cumbersome authentication, and issues with pricing and technical support.
Cisco Secure Email faces complex UI, integration issues, high costs, and lacks advanced features, affecting usability and scalability.
I am using Intune for deployments, and it's not easy to create an automated deployment where users do not need to register server addresses.
Chief Technologies Officer at ASTORG PARTNERS
Vendors offer more features, such as a kill switch.
Technical Manager at Gannexion BV
Cisco's security portfolio, including Secure Client and the firewalls, is falling behind.
Director/ Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated into the Email Security Gateway so customers don't have to buy two products for full email protection.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
It may take nearly an hour to get back to normal while configuring policies.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Client licensing offers flexible annual terms but is sometimes considered costly compared to Fortinet and Palo Alto.
Cisco Secure Email is costly yet valued for features, with variable pricing based on factors like environment and user count.
Palo Alto and Fortinet provide free VPN connections, but Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) requires a license purchase.
Senior Network Engineer Specialist at Zenith Comp Co.,Ltd.
I perceive the pricing to be a seven, however, I have perpetual licenses.
Technical Manager at Gannexion BV
The pricing seems to align equally with other competitors like Palo Alto during a competitive situation.
Director/ Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Its cost is bundled with other Cisco products.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Client provides reliable, cross-platform VPN access with multi-factor authentication and seamless Active Directory integration for enhanced security.
Cisco Secure Email offers advanced protection, integration, and user-friendly management, enhancing security against malware, spam, phishing, and ransomware.
Beneficial for businesses needing secure access outside the office.
Director/ Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Additionally, it gives the user flexibility of working from anywhere, which is a major feature we are looking at.
Manager - Projects at airtel
Cisco Secure Client's AnyConnect VPN's reliability has been absolutely wonderful, as well as the ability to connect from any network, regardless of location.
Sr. I&C Enginner at Reliance Industries Ltd
It also possesses multiple modules for spam detection, malware detection, and threat intelligence, which are valuable in categorizing emails and determining actions.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
It is highly effective in catching phishing and spam emails.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
The integration of Cisco AMP for Advanced Malware Protection with Cisco Secure Email has helped our organization's security posture.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (1st), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (6th), ZTNA as a Service (9th)
Cisco Secure Email
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Cisco Security Portfolio category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 12.3%, up from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 4.3%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cisco Security Portfolio Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)12.3%
Cisco Secure Email4.3%
Other83.4%
Cisco Security Portfolio
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Manager - Projects at airtel
Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion
The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.
KS
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
Email security has protected financial data and provides clear tracking for every branch message
The areas of Cisco Secure Email that could be improved or enhanced are the slowness in the console. I don't think it was a database error or something, but we feel some slowness in configuring DLP and other content filters compared to other consoles. It may have been due to on-premises, but it was much noisy at some times while configuring DLP. When we tried to configure a DLP policy, the console became much slower. In that case, we cannot see what had happened in the mail which was blocked at that time. It may take nearly an hour to get back to normal while configuring policies. That is the major issue in the product.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise46
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) can be made better, as the product for me has not changed in the last year. The only problem is that if you want to download it somewhere else, you cannot...
What do you like most about Cisco Secure Email?
Cisco Secure Email is a budget-friendly solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?
The areas of Cisco Secure Email that could be improved or enhanced are the slowness in the console. I don't think it was a database error or something, but we feel some slowness in configuring DLP ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. Cisco Secure Email and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.