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Okta vs Duo Security (Cisco)(2026)

Okta is better for teams that need industry standard. Duo Security (Cisco) is the stronger choice if best-in-class mfa ux. Okta is paid (from $6/user/mo) and Duo Security (Cisco) is freemium (from $3/user/mo).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

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Okta logo

Okta

paid

Okta is the leading enterprise identity platform providing SSO, MFA, lifecycle management, and API access management — used by 17,000+ organizations to secure workforce and customer identity.

Starting at $6/user/mo

Visit Okta
Duo Security (Cisco) logo

Duo Security (Cisco)

freemium

Duo Security by Cisco provides multi-factor authentication, zero trust access policies, and device health verification — protecting every application with user-friendly 2FA.

Starting at $3/user/mo

Visit Duo Security (Cisco)

How Do Okta and Duo Security (Cisco) Compare on Features?

FeatureOktaDuo Security (Cisco)
Pricing modelpaidfreemium
Starting price$6/user/mo$3/user/mo
SSO (SAML/OIDC)
MFA
Lifecycle management
Universal Directory
API access management
Zero Trust policies
Okta Integration Network (7,000+ apps)
MFA (push/TOTP/hardware keys)
Zero Trust access
Device trust policies
SSO
Remote access
Trusted Endpoints
Risk-based authentication

Okta Pros and Cons vs Duo Security (Cisco)

O

Okta

+Industry standard
+7,000+ pre-built integrations
+Best enterprise support
+Comprehensive IAM
Very expensive
Complex for smaller teams
Recent security incidents
D

Duo Security (Cisco)

+Best-in-class MFA UX
+Free up to 10 users
+Cisco enterprise support
+Easy user enrollment
MFA-first (not full IAM)
Cisco acquisition adds bureaucracy
SSO less feature-rich than Okta

Should You Use Okta or Duo Security (Cisco)?

Choose Okta if…

  • Industry standard
  • 7,000+ pre-built integrations
  • Best enterprise support

Choose Duo Security (Cisco) if…

  • Best-in-class MFA UX
  • Free up to 10 users
  • Cisco enterprise support

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