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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cisco Duo vs Quantexa

Cisco Duo logo

Cisco Duo

Cybersecurity

Trusted access for all users, all devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Quantexa logo

Quantexa

Cybersecurity

Entity resolution and network analytics for financial crime investigation

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Cisco Duo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cisco Duo free tier limited to 10 users maximum; Quantexa pricing is never published and lands in the seven figure range annually for a tier one deployment, so it is out of reach for mid-sized institutions no matter how well the analytics would fit.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Cisco Duo and Quantexa differ
AttributeCisco DuoQuantexa
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Quantexa does not also cover.

Only in Quantexa

  • Entity resolution
  • Network generation
  • Contextual monitoring
  • Investigation workspace
  • Data fusion
  • Deployment on customer cloud

What people use each for

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

Cisco Duo

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

Quantexa

  • A bank whose AML alert backlog is dominated by false positives and wants network context to close them fasternot Cisco Duo
  • Sanctions investigation where the sanctioned party is not the account holder but a connected director or shareholdernot Cisco Duo
  • Merging customer records across retail, commercial and wealth divisions after an acquisition to see total exposurenot Cisco Duo
  • A tax or benefits agency looking for organised fraud rings rather than individual claimantsnot 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

Quantexa

  • Pricing is never published and lands in the seven figure range annually for a tier one deployment, so it is out of reach for mid-sized institutions no matter how well the analytics would fit.
  • Output quality is bounded by input data quality, and organisations without governed customer data spend the first phase of the programme fixing feeds rather than catching criminals.
  • Implementation typically requires a systems integrator and runs into quarters rather than weeks, so the business case has to survive a long period with no operational benefit.
  • The platform augments rather than replaces existing transaction monitoring, so you keep paying for the incumbent system alongside it and total compliance technology spend rises before it falls.
  • Skills are scarce; the platform needs people who understand both Spark scale data engineering and financial crime typologies, and those people are hard to recruit and easy to lose.

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

Quantexa

On request
  • Quantexa Platform$undefined/year
    • Entity resolution and network generation
    • Deployed in customer cloud tenancy
    • Priced by data volume and use case count

Which should you pick?

Choose Cisco Duo if

  • You want to start without paying.

Choose Quantexa if

  • You need entity resolution.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want network generation.

Questions people ask

Is Cisco Duo or Quantexa better?
Neither clearly leads. Cisco Duo starts at Free and Quantexa at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cisco Duo or Quantexa?
Cisco Duo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cisco Duo and On request for Quantexa.
Does Cisco Duo or Quantexa run on more platforms?
Cisco Duo runs on Web. Quantexa runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Cisco Duo for free?
Yes. Cisco Duo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Quantexa starts at On request.
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 Quantexa is typically brought in for.
What can Cisco Duo do that Quantexa cannot?
Quantexa covers Entity resolution, Network generation, Contextual monitoring, Investigation workspace.

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
Quantexa: Does Quantexa replace our transaction monitoring system?

No. It usually sits alongside it, adding network context to the alerts that system generates and to investigations.

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
Quantexa: Where does our data go?

Into your own cloud tenancy in the normal deployment model. Quantexa does not require you to send customer data to a shared multi-tenant service.

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
Quantexa: How is it priced?

Not publicly. Expect an annual subscription scaled by data volume and number of use cases, plus separate implementation cost.

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
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