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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cisco Duo vs Teleport

Cisco Duo logo

Cisco Duo

Cybersecurity

Trusted access for all users, all devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Cisco Duo and Teleport differ
AttributeCisco DuoTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud

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 Teleport does not also cover.

Only in Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

What people use each for

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

Cisco Duo

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

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot Cisco Duo
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot Cisco Duo
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot Cisco Duo
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

Which should you pick?

Choose Cisco Duo if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cisco Duo review

Choose Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is Cisco Duo or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. Cisco Duo starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cisco Duo or Teleport?
Cisco Duo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cisco Duo and On request for Teleport.
Does Cisco Duo or Teleport run on more platforms?
Cisco Duo runs on Web. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Cisco Duo for free?
Yes. Cisco Duo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport 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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can Cisco Duo do that Teleport cannot?
Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

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
Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

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
Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

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
Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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