Workforce and customer authentication from a certificate authority
From $2/mo11 researched notes
Cisco Duo
Trusted access for all users, all devices
As of 13 November 2026, Cisco Duo is free to use. Multi-factor authentication and secure access platform from Cisco, protecting logins with device-based verification and adaptive policies. Softwr lists it under Cybersecurity.
Overview
What Cisco Duo does
Multi-factor authentication and secure access platform from Cisco, protecting logins with device-based verification and adaptive policies.
What people use it for
- Eliminating phishing with passwordless auth
- Implementing zero trust with device trust
- Protecting sessions from hijacking and theft
- Managing compliance for regulated industries
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Pricing
What Cisco Duo costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Seamless integrations
- Authenticator app
- Up to 10 users
Essentials
$3 /mo
- All Free features
- Duo Directory
- Phishing-resistant MFA
- Passwordless authentication
- SSO
- Trusted endpoints
Advantage
$6 /mo
- All Essentials features
- Identity intelligence
- Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR)
- Duo Passport
- Session theft protection
- Active Directory Defense
Premier
$9 /mo
- All Advantage features
- Complete device trust
- VPN-less remote access
- Endpoint protection verification
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceIs Cisco Duo free to try?
Yes, Duo Free offers multi-factor authentication and seamless integrations at $0/user/month for up to 10 users.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceKeep looking
Where to go from Cisco Duo
- Cisco Duo alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Cisco Duo pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Cisco Duo badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Cybersecurity softwareThe full category
- Best Cybersecurity softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Cybersecurity software for
Compare Cisco Duo with
- Entrust Identity as a Service
- Beyond Identity
- HID Global
- Authy
- Stytch
- Auth0
- Descope
- Google Authenticator
- Sardine
- Sticky Password
- Transmit Security
- HashiCorp Vault
- One Identity
- Ory Kratos
- OWASP ZAP
- Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud
- Passbolt
- Ping Identity
Other Cybersecurity software
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Free plan12 researched notesIdentity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.
Free plan9 researched notesFree TOTP two-factor authentication app that gained optional cloud sync in 2023
Free plan8 researched notesDevice intelligence and behaviour biometrics for fraud and compliance
Pricing on request10 researched notesPassword manager with autofill, digital wallet, and dark web monitoring
Free, then $2.5/mo6 researched notesCustomer identity platform built around passwordless and fraud signals
Pricing on request11 researched notesQuest-owned identity governance, PAM and Active Directory management
Pricing on request11 researched notesFree, open-source web application scanner and intercepting proxy, now governed by the Software Security Project.
Free plan10 researched notesOpen-source password manager for teams with self-hosted or cloud deployment
Free, then $4.9/mo9 researched notesEnterprise identity for workforce and customers, with a 5,000 user floor
From $3/mo11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Cisco Duo, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Cisco Duo pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Cisco Duo
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Cisco Duo badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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