Overview
Duo Security was founded in 2010 by Dug Song and Jon Oberheide in Ann Arbor, Michigan, initially to provide multi-factor authentication, and joined Cisco in 2018[2]. The company says it reached 2,000 customers by 2015 and, as part of Cisco Security, now serves more than 40,000 customers in over 100 countries[2].
Duo’s best-known component is its push-notification authenticator app, which asks users to approve a sign-in on their phone. The product line has since grown into phishing-resistant MFA, passwordless authentication, single sign-on, a user directory, device trust and identity threat detection[1][2]. Duo Free covers up to ten users with MFA, integrations and the authenticator app; Essentials adds Duo Directory, phishing-resistant MFA, passwordless login, SSO, trusted endpoints and unlimited applications[1].
Advantage adds Cisco Identity Intelligence for cross-identity visibility, identity security posture management and identity threat detection and response, plus session theft protection, Active Directory defence and risk-based authentication[1]. Premier adds VPN-less remote access to private resources and full device trust with endpoint protection checks[1]. Duo’s prices are published, unusually for this category, and a 30-day trial can be activated with a credit card[1].
Cisco Duo features
- Push, passcode and passwordless authentication
- Phishing-resistant MFA
- Duo Directory and SSO (Essentials)
- Trusted Endpoints device checks
- Risk-based authentication (Advantage)
- Identity threat detection and response (Advantage)
- VPN-less private access (Premier)
Cisco Duo pricing
Free: $0 for up to 10 users. Essentials: $3 per user per month. Advantage: $6 per user per month. Premier: $9 per user per month. 30-day free trial; purchase by credit card available.
Cisco Duo strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Free tier for up to ten users
- Transparent per-user pricing
- Wide integration library
- Device trust built in
Limitations
- Risk-based authentication requires Advantage
- Push approvals can be targeted by fatigue attacks unless number matching or phishing-resistant methods are enforced
- Full ITDR features only on higher tiers
Appears in
Cisco Duo alternatives and competitors
Alternatives to Cisco Duo: companies ranked in the same lists.
Microsoft Power BI- Okta
Yubico YubiKey
Ping Identity
RSA ID Plus
JumpCloud- OneLogin
- HYPR
Silverfort- Thales SafeNet Trusted Access
Auth0
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