Cisco Duovs
1Password
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Cisco Duo
Trusted access for all users, all devices
As of 29 August 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Cisco Duo
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Cisco DuovsBitdefender Total Security
Bitdefender Total Security: The world's #1 rated antivirus
- Cisco DuovsLastPass
LastPass: Simplify online life with LastPass password manager
- Cisco DuovsNorton 360
Norton 360: Powerful protection against evolving threats
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
- 1Password
- Norton 360
- Bitdefender Total Security
- LastPass
- Authy
- Stytch
- Descope
- Google Authenticator
- Sardine
- SentinelOne
- Shufti Pro
- Signicat
- Silent Eight
- Socket
- SentinelOne Singularity
Other Cybersecurity software
Workforce and customer authentication from a certificate authority
From $2/mo11 researched notesPhishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login
Pricing on request11 researched notesPhysical access control, credential issuance and workforce authentication hardware and software
Pricing on request10 researched notesTwilio's free authenticator app with encrypted cloud backup, mobile only since the desktop clients were withdrawn in 2024.
Free plan14 researched notesIdentity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.
Free plan13 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 notesIdentity verification and AML screening at the low cost end of the market
Pricing on request11 researched notesEuropean digital identity hub connecting national eID schemes
Pricing on request10 researched notesAI adjudication of sanctions screening and AML alerts
Pricing on request10 researched notesSupply chain security platform detecting and blocking malicious dependencies
Free, then $25/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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