Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco AnyConnect
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Cisco offers an SSL VPN solution via AnyConnect.N/A
F5 BIG-IP
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
F5 BIG-IP software from Seattle-based F5 Networks is a load balancing and application protection solution suite available on cloud or via virtual editions, on a subscription or perpetual licensing basis.N/A
VMware NSX
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
VMware NSX is network virtualization technology. VMware NSX is no longer sold as a standalone product and is now available as a part of VMware Cloud Foundation.N/A
Pricing
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Considered Multiple Products
Cisco AnyConnect
Chose Cisco AnyConnect
The main reason that makes Cisco AnyConnect shine bright against the others is the quality of connection users have while using it. With F5 BIG-IP or Microsoft DirectAccess, users and even I experienced crashes and disconnections very often, as well as problems to start using …
F5 BIG-IP
Chose F5 BIG-IP
We are recently not evaluating, but we have started the deployment for WAF and we're using GTM, LTM, you name it. F5, we are using all of them.
VMware NSX
Chose VMware NSX
We use both ACI & NSX. They both provide a programmable network and in future releases of ACI they will allow you to stretch fabrics into the cloud like you can do with NSX. ACI, when compared to NSX, turned out to be significantly cheaper, but it also was lacking certain …
Features
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Virtual Private Network
Comparison of Virtual Private Network features of Product A and Product B
Cisco AnyConnect
9.1
27 Ratings
3% above category average
F5 BIG-IP
-
Ratings
VMware NSX
-
Ratings
AES 256-bit Encryption9.327 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Kill Switch9.020 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-Platform Support8.826 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Split Tunneling9.225 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
IP Address Masking9.224 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
No-Logs Policy8.820 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Server Locations9.022 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic Wi-Fi Protection9.422 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Simultaneous Connections9.322 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Support Services8.723 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Small Businesses
Norton 360
Norton 360
Score 7.2 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.2 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.2 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.2 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Enterprises
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.2 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.2 out of 10

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(111 ratings)
9.2
(187 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(12 ratings)
8.7
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(91 ratings)
8.8
(59 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.9
(9 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.6
(3 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(93 ratings)
9.4
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(7 ratings)
8.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.8
(3 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco AnyConnectF5 BIG-IPVMware NSX
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Providing secure remote access with a robust VPN, creating an encrypted tunnel so employees can safely access internal company resources like file servers and private apps from anywhere. It also allows enforcing device compliance: depending on policies, checks whether a device has an active antivirus and the latest OS updates before allowing it to connect. When there is not much need for remote access, the cost is too high.
Read full review
F5
Application delivery of both simple and advanced applications. It's easy to handle certificate management that do require individual certificates to be installed on each backend server, you can just install the certificate on the F5 BIG-IP and use for multiple backends. Also adding WAF is as simple as adding a generic policy and you will cover 80% of the scenarios.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
With proper design, VMware NSX can and should be deployed to virtually any VMware virtualization environment, but the deployment should be tailored to the needs of that environment. There isn't really a one size fits all deployment design for all environments. That versatility is what provides its greatest strength to a business.
Read full review
Pros
Cisco
  • All Cisco AnyConnect data transfer processes are secure to enhance security.
  • It can connect multiple terminals across various sites directly.
  • Centralized management of the workstations connected to the network became easier than ever for managers with multiple locations in the organization's workforce.
Read full review
F5
  • It's reliable. We've had very little problems with the technology. Performance is always right on. Metrics are great. They come out of it. We'd like to do more probably with it in the future as we start to grow a lot more.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
  • End to end encryption on the wire.
  • Micro-segmentation.
  • Integrates well with existing VMWare environment.
  • Integrates well with our existing network.
Read full review
Cons
Cisco
  • Cisco AnyConnect can use the system resources as long as the program is being run.
  • Account activation may be very difficult when connecting from areas requiring captive portal login, if certain settings are not allowed.
  • By default, it is possible to request the user to authenticate again at specific intervals.
Read full review
F5
  • Recently we have been deploying F5 web application firewall and we have started the deployment. We have already moved applications out there, but we are not yet to the point wherein I could comment any positive feedback or any negative feedback because we are still going through it, right. But as far as I'm concerned, I don't see any drawbacks or any shortcomings on the F5 product lineup.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
  • Interoperability in multi-vendor environments
  • Advanced networking and packet acceleration options can be improved
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
It is perhaps the second most functional tool we have, it will definitely be renewed every year. Our network is stable, which ensures that there is less for our technicians to troubleshoot, which frees them up to ensure other parts of the company are maintained. This keeps our costs low and our downtime at a minimum.
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F5
Stability of product and easy way to have account manager contact. F5 support team is also always available to help with major issues. Last year during the major OS upgrade F5 team and F5 leadership always shared clear information and F5 team was dedicated to help us to have it closed in record time
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
It is very useful tool for companies having hybrid work culture. It will allow their employees to work seamlessly from home, office, other branches. This tool will increase your productivity as it will facilitates your employees to access corporate applications 24x7. Overall it is easy to use, deploy and integrate.
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F5
It actually satisfies the use cases, but I would like to know what it can do more than just the use cases, which is what I'm looking for, to talk at some point with somebody and figure out what to do next. We probably maybe could be able to do more that we don't know yet.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Cisco
I have been using Cisco AnyConnect for past two years and thus I can say very firmly that I have never seen the outage from the Cisco AnyConnect services either It is VPN, System Scans or the Network Connectivity. Talking about the errors likewise major errors I have faced throughout my period of use.
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F5
No answers on this topic
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
Absolutely no speed issues, and I see no evidence of slowdowns across any of the multiple platforms I use daily. It's operation is completely invisible most of the time, except where there is a loss of connection due to server issues or a loss of power. Everything loads quickly and accurately.
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F5
No answers on this topic
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
I don't know but nobody provides proper support for us as end user. They should have people to check whether end user is facing issues or not. Cisco AnyConnect having very high charges and still there is no proper support! Many requests and many tickets have opened, but the working speed is very low for the support team! They should have it to optimize.
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F5
I've supported F5 for three different companies. Our F5 support has been very consistent, regardless who the customer is. F5 technicians are very experienced and provide good support, even when issues are more related to knowledge than they are with the ability of the product to do what you need it to do.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
F5
Practical cases and hands on , many hours of training with tipical cases
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cisco
Our Managed Services vendor helped us with the implementation. When we initially setup our AnyConnect using MFA for remote connectivity, the setup was easy and straight forward and worked just fine. After a year, we decided to change to an "always on" feature and use machine and user based security certificates instead of MFA. We had to open a ticket with Cisco support and have their assistance getting this feature to work. Turned out they had a small bug in the code for that version of AnyConnect and it has since been corrected. We have had no issues with the upgrades since that time. The deployment of the software to the user machines was done with SCCM and was straight forward. The user machine upgrades are easy - when the user machine connects and sees a new version available, it upgrades itself! What could be easier?
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F5
implementation is fine
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VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
Cisco is one of our core partners besides Microsoft and SAP. And so yes, we are utilizing very many projects from Cisco. I would mention the whole networking equipment, the routing equipment, the wireless LAN, and also when it comes to infrastructure to compute infrastructure, we are utilizing Cisco servers within our converged infrastructure Flex spot. So we have been running a flex bot from Cisco, NetApp, and VMware for 12 years, and we are still very satisfied with the product. We are looking forward to upgrading to the newest blades and fabric interconnect to continue this journey.
Read full review
F5
That's the one thing that really stood out. It was a lot easier to use from an administrator standpoint, so I think that's the one thing that really made our team decide to go with this product versus another competitor. Just ease of use.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
We use both Cisco ACI and VMware NSX, and while they have different strengths and capabilities, I would recommend VMware NSX, as it can be used in all VMware environments, without costly physical infrastructure changes. Cisco ACI provides some of the same capabilities, but not all. It's focus relies on physical networking changes.
Read full review
Scalability
Cisco
Cisco AnyConnect has been a speedy, reliable, and efficient tool for the creation of your own VPN whatever location that you've brought your laptop. Customer support is consistently top-notch, coming up with quick fixes to whatever difficulties are thrown your way. I would not hesitate to reccommend Cisco AnyConnect to any business that needs connected employees throught the world.
Read full review
F5
No answers on this topic
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • We are able to seamlessly work on multiple clients daily, and it allows us to quickly handle more projects at the same time.
  • Cisco AnyConnect has allowed our own company's coworkers to remotely connect back to the corporate network, easily assisting work schedules and processes, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being forced to work remotely, meant our processes still happened quickly and efficiently, by being able to leverage and use Cisco AnyConnect VPN.
  • Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have worked 100% remotely for a few years now. This was always due to the reliable connectivity and ease of use with Cisco AnyConnect VPN. I live 2+ hours from our nearest corporate office, and even further from some of my client locations, and I have always been able to connect to any of my multiple Cisco AnyConnect VPN connections, within seconds.
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F5
  • The F5 BIG-IP has improved all our load balancing needs, we have over 400 LTM VIPs in our environment this all use to be done with DNS round Robin configurations.
  • we have created unique APM solutions to support our external customer base
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
  • Ability to move workloads more easily with the ability to stretch/move networks across multiple physical locations.
  • The added flexibility allows you to expedite tech refreshes since you're no longer constrained by the hardware.
Read full review
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