Google Authenticator vs. Yubico YubiKeys

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Authenticator
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Google Authenticator is a mobile authentication app.N/A
Yubico YubiKeys
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Yubico YubiKeys make the internet safer with phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA) by providing simple and secure access to computers, mobile devices, servers, and internet accounts. The Yubico YubiKey stops account takeovers at scale by mitigating phishing and ransomware attacks, and delivers users authentication with a simple touch or tap.
$3.94
per month per user
Pricing
Google AuthenticatorYubico YubiKeys
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google AuthenticatorYubico YubiKeys
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google AuthenticatorYubico YubiKeys
Considered Both Products
Google Authenticator
Chose Google Authenticator
Reputed platform.
Chose Google Authenticator
Other options exist for 2FA: IBM, ATT, RSA, Authy, and other hardware and software-based companies provide 2FA services to individuals and organizations. Google Authenticator was chosen for its ease-of-use, reliability, robust security, and accessibility to the entirety of the …
Yubico YubiKeys
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator are both consumer (and commercial) grade products so they are expected to be easy to use. When you move to a more advanced product such as Yubico, there's a reason why you are not using the "easier" methods. The reasons may …
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
I've never really used any other physical keys, I mean I've used multifactor authentication from Google Authenticator or Duo, but never another physical key, so this is my first experience with that.
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
If you compare it to authenticator apps, I'd say it's much more easy to set this up for the individual user. Well, it's Swedish. It's also very well documented. There are a lot of guides on how to use them and I have a lot of faith in the security posture of Yubico and how the …
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
Don't need to use personal devices
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
Yubico YubiKeys make login seamless for our users compared to having to sync auth tokens between phones.
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
More robust security, phishing resistant, easier than typing in a code from the app
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
Yubico YubiKeys are way better than those old RNG tokens where you have to type in the number. The YubiKey enters the number for you and often can be used in other modes that don't require number entry at all. It is modern and convenient. I prefer authenticator apps like Google …
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
Yubikeys are considerably faster than utilizing authentication apps. Even better they can be used in addition to other 2FA implementations.
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
Yubico YubiKeys are a nice addition to a TOTP like GA. Since they are not battery based, they are incredibly reliable and always available, even if you've dropped your phone into the toilet. The only downside relative to TOTP is that some devices may not have the appropriate …
Chose Yubico YubiKeys
I liked the Kensington Verimark fingerprint scanner initially because it made signing into Windows simple and secured it within the household, but didn't like the additional complexities of setting it up and needing a driver. That would have required the IT support team to …
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User Ratings
Google AuthenticatorYubico YubiKeys
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(51 ratings)
9.4
(102 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(7 ratings)
9.2
(4 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.8
(2 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.8
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.6
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(3 ratings)
Configurability
4.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google AuthenticatorYubico YubiKeys
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Logging into my work accounts is where Google Authenticator works best. Also, I had a personal account get hacked. I had an account created to book hotels, but someone was constantly resetting my password. To prevent further hacking attempts, I set up Google Authenticator. I do not believe it would be appropriate for banking accounts.
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Yubico
I think, as I said, it's perfectly suited for second-factor authentication where all you have to do is a security team registers the key and you put it in your laptop and then you use it as a second factor. I think that's the best use case governing all access to making it a mandatory second factor so not relying on your cell phone or authenticator app, you just have this hardware thing which is much more secure and you can carry it with you as well when you are traveling.
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Pros
Google
  • One strength is in how it checks identity to stop unwanted people from getting access.
  • Another strength is in cutting down on the frustration of users for the authentication process.
  • With the pandemic and needing to work away from the office it also provided additional security in keeping our network/infrastructure safe.
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Yubico
  • Remote access. I'm able to sign documents with the certificates that we have placed on our Yubico YubiKeys, so it's nice to be able to sign a document from anywhere, from any computer with my YubiKey instead of having to look for an adapter for my common access card.
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Cons
Google
  • I once performed a factory reset of my smartphone which had Google Authenticator. I didn't have a backup for the device. When I restored my phone with the same google account, I was not able to restore the authenticator app settings. I had to add all the keys back into the app to use it. This is cumbersome, but I understand it is set up this way for security reasons.
  • I don't like the ease with which it lets you delete a key. If I accidentally delete a key, I am doomed to get my 2FA key reset, unless I still have the QR code saved somewhere.
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Yubico
  • It can be about access control because either right now it's just you have access or you don't have access. I think there can be a use case where you are allowed a particular set of servers and not a particular set of servers. I think maybe it's there or we don't use it, but I haven't seen that. I think I've used Yubico YubiKeys at two companies and I haven't seen that. Maybe that's something that can be added.
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Likelihood to Renew
Google
It works as intended, easy to setup, free and gives you another level of security against any unwanted access or cyber attacks
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Yubico
As for implementing YubiKey its simple so I don't see us using anything else as we have experienced no issues so fare. Adding these to our environment is still new for us currently but in the transition phase I only see us buying YubiKey. It is highly rated and well known and cost is reasonable so no need to find another solution.
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Usability
Google
It's as easy as opening the app and what I need it for is there. I don't have to fumble with other accounts or getting something else to open it for me. I have all the access that I need for the use of the app within seconds and I can get access to the info that I need.
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Yubico
I give slightly better than average rating because of the complexity in using a Yubikey. It is not as easy as native push notifications for 2FA products, however, it provides much better strength. Rating this higher or lower would be a disservice to people reading this review. If you are in the market for a hardware 2FA tool, Yubikey will be a great asset in your toolbox.
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Reliability and Availability
Google
In terms of availability, I had not experienced any issues with outages or the product not working when needed
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Yubico
We have not experienced any issues with availability which is very important when you are dealing with a company that holds the keys to the gate. We have had more issues with availability from our SaaS providers before with authentication but that was on their end. YubiKey has worked every time for us over the course of the last 6 or so months we began testing phase.
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Performance
Google
The performance of google Authenticator is good and I have not experienced any slow downs
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Yubico
We have not seen any lag in loading pages and getting into systems or sites. In comparison to other 2FA and MFA options it is actually faster most of the time to authenticate due to not having to type in. We require users to have long passwords and when there is an option given for password less they jump on it with excitement. As we explore going password less on their PC's the YubiKey is going to make their lives a lot easier to access the resources they need.
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Support Rating
Google
I have found Google’s support to be hit or miss. There are times when they are very responsive, and I get my issue resolved quickly, and there are times where a response from them takes weeks. There is no in-between. But my support experience with this particular product is nonexistent because I have not had a problem with it yet. Hopefully, we do not have any problems with it either.
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Yubico
We have only interacted with support once but it was quick and easily answered. Mostly just questions regarding adding this to certain apps.
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Implementation Rating
Google
It was easy to implement and it went very smoothly. No issues
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Yubico
I figured it all out on my own with the excellent product documentation provided by Yubico. I even managed to produce a backup YubiKey in case I lost my frequently used one. This was crucial when I temporarily lost the original.
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Alternatives Considered
Google
First, Google Authenticator meets the security requirements which should be considered "table stakes". Second, simplicity is critical. Many users don' understand why they are setting up MFA (or they just don't care), and so adding additional complications to their day-to-day is always challenging. When it is simple, it makes life a lot easier. Finally, trust (due to the brand name recognition, primarily) removes any notion of "what is this?" that the user may have from being required to install something on their personal device for work purposes.
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Yubico
Yubico YubiKeys has been a leader in the security key market, and I think they have a new product we just read about two days back and they can store up to a hundred private keys now. So I think this is what it distinguishes them from the market, apart from this, whatever features we need personally and for our customers. So they provide all those features, but versus the other brands.
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Scalability
Google
The product doesn’t have any features of tools that can help it scale
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Yubico
For us I feel like the ease of deployment has made this product very appealing, overall this will make the scalability very easy for us to push out once we roll out to our users and the management tools that we have looked at will make the admins like me happy as it is clear and easy to use. The rollout process looks to be very straight forward from the demos that we have looked at regarding the enterprise tools.
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Return on Investment
Google
  • More secure data = less worried about a data breach.
  • Takes longer to log in, and if I don't have my phone then I have to go looking for it, so it really makes it so that you can't be without your phone, which in certain instances is annoying or not possible and can hold up work time.
  • Everyone is willing to use the same program because everyone likes Google—makes it easier to manage.
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Yubico
  • I think it's the flexibility in being able to let users pick the type of authentications that they want to use. Some are comfortable with the touch device on the physical Yubico YubiKeys. Others prefer the mobile app. So it provides flexibility for our users to choose how they want to authenticate without running a file of our security requirements.
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ScreenShots