Cisco Duo Review (2026)
- Starting price
- $3/user/mo
- Free trial
- Free tier + 30 days
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Best for
- Teams wanting the simplest, fastest path to strong MFA and device-trust access
Verdict: 8.5/10
Cisco Duo earns 8.5/10 in our review, weighted from 4.5/5 (~396 G2 reviews) and its feature/pricing profile. The easiest on-ramp to strong MFA and zero-trust access — generous free tier and friendly pricing make it the SMB favorite. Best for teams wanting the simplest, fastest path to strong mfa and device-trust access. Starting price: $3/user/mo.
Based on aggregated third-party ratings (4.5/5 (~396 G2 reviews)) and Cisco Duo's published feature and pricing data. Hands-on testing notes are added as we trial each tool — see how we test.
Pros
- Free tier up to 10 users
- Fastest MFA to deploy
- Low per-user pricing
Cons
- Less full-suite IAM than Okta/Entra
- Best features in higher tiers
- SSO app catalog smaller than Okta
Features
- Push + passwordless + FIDO2 MFA
- Single sign-on
- Device health + trust checks
- Risk-based adaptive authentication
- Duo Directory
- Easy self-service enrollment
How it compares
| Cisco Duo | JumpCloud | Okta Workforce Identity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $3/user/mo | Free tier available | $6/user/mo |
| Pricing model | per user | per user | per user |
| Free trial / tier | Free tier + 30 days | Free tier + 30 days | 30 days |
| Best for | Teams wanting the simplest, fastest path to strong MFA and device-trust access | SMBs/MSPs wanting cloud directory + SSO + MDM in one platform | Organizations wanting a best-of-breed, vendor-neutral identity platform with the deepest integration network |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
| G2 rating | 4.5/5 (396) | 4.5/5 (3000) | 4.5/5 (896) |
| Capterra rating | — | — | — |
| Our score | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.5 |
Affiliate link: Cisco Duo may pay us a commission if you sign up through this link. It never affects our data-driven ranking.
Full review
Cisco Duo review — 8.5/10
The easiest on-ramp to strong MFA and zero-trust access — generous free tier and friendly pricing make it the SMB favorite. Our score weights 4.5/5 (~396 G2 reviews) against feature breadth and pricing value.
Core features
- Push + passwordless + FIDO2 MFA
- Single sign-on
- Device health + trust checks
- Risk-based adaptive authentication
- Duo Directory
- Easy self-service enrollment
Pricing value
Cisco Duo starts at $3/user/mo on a per user model with a free tier. See the full pricing breakdown.
Pros & cons
Pros: Free tier up to 10 users; Fastest MFA to deploy; Low per-user pricing.
Cons: Less full-suite IAM than Okta/Entra; Best features in higher tiers; SSO app catalog smaller than Okta.
Who should buy Cisco Duo
Best for teams wanting the simplest, fastest path to strong mfa and device-trust access. If that is not you, weigh the alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Cisco Duo worth it?
- Cisco Duo earns 8.5/10 in our review, weighted from 4.5/5 (~396 G2 reviews) and its feature/pricing profile. The easiest on-ramp to strong MFA and zero-trust access — generous free tier and friendly pricing make it the SMB favorite. Best for teams wanting the simplest, fastest path to strong mfa and device-trust access. Starting price: $3/user/mo.
- What does Cisco Duo cost?
- From $3/user/mo — see the pricing page.