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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cisco Duo vs Jitsu

Cisco Duo logo

Cisco Duo

Cybersecurity

Trusted access for all users, all devices

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Jitsu logo

Jitsu

Developer Tools

Open source event pipeline that streams behavioural data to your own warehouse

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cisco Duo free tier limited to 10 users maximum; Jitsu jitsu is a pipeline, not a customer data platform, so identity resolution, audience building and reverse ETL are absent and a marketing team expecting Segment parity will be disappointed.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cisco Duo and Jitsu actually diverge.

Attributes where Cisco Duo and Jitsu differ
AttributeCisco DuoJitsu
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by event volume
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, iOS, Android
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cisco Duo

Nothing recorded that Jitsu does not also cover.

Only in Jitsu

  • Event collection
  • Warehouse destinations
  • Connector syncs
  • Transformations
  • Bundled ClickHouse
  • Event debugger
  • Self-hosting
  • Custom domains

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cisco Duo

  • Eliminating phishing with passwordless authnot Jitsu
  • Implementing zero trust with device trustnot Jitsu
  • Protecting sessions from hijacking and theftnot Jitsu
  • Managing compliance for regulated industriesnot Jitsu

Jitsu

  • A team paying five figures a year to a customer data platform when all it actually does is send events to Snowflakenot Cisco Duo
  • An engineering group that needs event collection running inside its own VPC for data residency or security review reasonsnot Cisco Duo
  • A product analytics setup that wants raw events in the warehouse as the source of truth rather than trapped in a vendor toolnot Cisco Duo
  • A startup that needs first-party event collection on its own domain to reduce loss from tracker blocking without paying CDP pricesnot Cisco Duo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cisco Duo

  • Free tier limited to 10 users maximum
  • Licenses must be purchased in 10-user increments (under 100 users) or 25-user increments (100+ users)
  • Pricing is per-user per-month with minimum purchase increments

Jitsu

  • Jitsu is a pipeline, not a customer data platform, so identity resolution, audience building and reverse ETL are absent and a marketing team expecting Segment parity will be disappointed.
  • Connector sync frequency is deliberately tiered, with the free plan limited to manual runs and one daily sync, so anything approaching operational freshness requires the paid plan or self-hosting.
  • Self-hosting means you own the reliability of a system that drops data silently when misconfigured, and event loss is uniquely hard to notice because nothing errors, the numbers are just quietly lower.
  • The connector catalogue is far smaller than Fivetran or Airbyte, so if your requirement is pulling from many SaaS sources rather than pushing events, Jitsu is the wrong half of the problem.
  • It is a small company with a small commercial team, so enterprise procurement processes around security review, contractual SLAs and support escalation take longer than with an incumbent vendor.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cisco Duo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
    • Seamless integrations
    • Authenticator app
  • Essentials$3/month
    • All Free features
    • Duo Directory
    • Phishing-resistant MFA
  • Advantage$6/month
    • All Essentials features
    • Identity intelligence
    • Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR)
  • Premier$9/month
    • All Advantage features
    • Complete device trust
    • VPN-less remote access

Jitsu

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licence
    • Self-host on any cloud
    • No usage limits
  • Cloud FreeFree
    • Unlimited captured events
    • 200,000 active events per month
    • Manual connector runs only
  • Business$99/month
    • 2,000,000 active events per month
    • $40 per additional million events
    • Hourly connector sync frequency
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom event volume
    • One minute sync frequency
    • Unlimited active syncs

Which should you pick?

Choose Cisco Duo if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cisco Duo review

Choose Jitsu if

  • You need event collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, iOS, Android.
  • You also want warehouse destinations.
Jitsu review

Questions people ask

Is Cisco Duo or Jitsu better?
Neither clearly leads. Cisco Duo starts at Free and Jitsu at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cisco Duo or Jitsu?
Cisco Duo starts at Free and Jitsu at Free.
Does Cisco Duo or Jitsu run on more platforms?
Cisco Duo runs on Web. Jitsu runs on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, iOS, Android.
Can I use Cisco Duo for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cisco Duo best used for?
Cisco Duo is most often used for eliminating phishing with passwordless auth, implementing zero trust with device trust, protecting sessions from hijacking and theft, managing compliance for regulated industries. Of those, eliminating phishing with passwordless auth and implementing zero trust with device trust are not what Jitsu is typically brought in for.
What can Cisco Duo do that Jitsu cannot?
Jitsu covers Event collection, Warehouse destinations, Connector syncs, Transformations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cisco Duo: How much does Cisco Duo cost?

Cisco Duo Free is $0/user/month (up to 10 users). Paid plans start at $3/user/month (Essentials), $6/user/month (Advantage), and $9/user/month (Premier). Billing is per-user per-month.

Source
Jitsu: Is Jitsu the same as Jitsi?

No. Jitsu is an open source event data pipeline. Jitsi is an unrelated video conferencing project.

Cisco Duo: Is Cisco Duo free to try?

Yes, Duo Free offers multi-factor authentication and seamless integrations at $0/user/month for up to 10 users.

Source
Jitsu: Can I self-host for free?

Yes. The project is MIT licensed with no usage limits when self-hosted.

Cisco Duo: What is the minimum purchase for Cisco Duo?

Organizations must buy licenses in 10-user increments for under 100 users, or 25-user increments for 100 or more users. Plans are modifiable at any time.

Source
Jitsu: How does the cost compare with Segment?

The Business plan is 99 US dollars a month for two million active events, where a per-tracked-user CDP typically costs orders of magnitude more at comparable volume.

Cisco Duo: What does the Advantage plan add over Essentials?

Advantage ($6/user/month) adds identity intelligence, Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR), Duo Passport, session theft protection, Active Directory Defense, and risk-based authentication.

Source
Jitsu: Does Jitsu do identity resolution?

No. It transports and transforms events; identity stitching and audiences are not part of the product.

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