# Multi-factor authentication: what AI models recommend, September 2026

Gane Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "MFA solution" and as "multi-factor authentication tool", six framings each, to twelve models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/identity/multi-factor-authentication/2026-09

This is the permanent record of the September 2026 Edition, published September 17, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/identity/multi-factor-authentication/index.md

**Standing:** Cisco Duo leads with 43% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 53 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Cisco Duo](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cisco-duo/index.md) | 43% | 2% | 61 |
| 2 | [Microsoft Entra ID](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-entra-id/index.md) | 30% | 2% | 49 |
| 3 | [Okta Verify](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/okta-verify/index.md) | 9% | 12% | 50 |
| 4 | [Microsoft Authenticator](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-authenticator/index.md) | 6% | 5% | 19 |
| 5 | [Google Authenticator](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/google-authenticator/index.md) | 4% | 32% | 22 |
| 6 | [Ping Identity](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/ping-identity/index.md) | 2% | 13% | 15 |
| 7 | [Authy](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/authy/index.md) | 2% | 25% | 16 |
| 10 | [YubiKey](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/yubikey/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 29 |
| 11 | [JumpCloud Protect](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/jumpcloud-protect/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 10 |
| 12 | [RSA SecurID](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/rsa-securid/index.md) | 0% | 17% | 12 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 73 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: no first choice
- GPT-5.4 mini: Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Cisco Duo
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Cisco Duo; alternatives Clerk, Datawiza, Descope, Kinde
- Perplexity Sonar: Cisco Duo; alternatives Descope, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta Verify, WorkOS
- Grok 4.20: Cisco Duo; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID, Okta Verify
- Mistral Small: Okta Verify; alternatives Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Cisco Duo; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID, Okta Verify
- Llama 4 Maverick: Cisco Duo, Okta Verify; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Microsoft Entra ID, Okta Verify; alternatives Cisco Duo
- Kimi K2: Cisco Duo; alternatives JumpCloud Protect, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta Verify
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID
- MiniMax M2.5: Okta Verify; alternatives Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID, Rippling

## Sources the answers cite

61 of 72 answers came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- rippling.com: 29 answers, 32 citations
- expertinsights.com: 26 answers, 26 citations
- techrepublic.com: 23 answers, 24 citations
- miniorange.com: 22 answers, 24 citations
- encomputers.com: 20 answers, 20 citations
- workos.com: 15 answers, 19 citations
- g2.com: 15 answers, 18 citations
- plivo.com: 15 answers, 15 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://rippling.com/blog/mfa-providers (26 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/identity-and-access-management/the-top-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-solutions-for-business (25 answers)
- https://techrepublic.com/article/best-multi-factor-authentication-solutions (23 answers)
- https://encomputers.com/2024/05/best-multi-factor-authentication-small-businesses (20 answers)
- https://miniorange.com/blog/mfa-providers (16 answers)
- https://plivo.com/blog/best-multi-factor-authentication-solutions-for-business (15 answers)
- https://authx.com/blog/best-mfa-solutions (11 answers)
- https://decryptiondigest.com/blog/enterprise-mfa-platform-comparison-2026-duo-okta-microsoft-ping-rsa (11 answers)
- https://oloid.com/blog/multi-factor-authentication-solutions (10 answers)
- https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-mfa-for-enterprises (10 answers)

## Warned against

- Google Authenticator: 7 of 22 labels negative. "Applications like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator generate 6-digit codes ... they are vulnerable to Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) phishing." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)
- Okta Verify: 6 of 50 labels negative. "Cons: It is expensive, and sales negotiations/licensing can feel heavy for companies on the smaller end of the mid-market spectrum." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt)
- Authy: 4 of 16 labels negative. "Be Cautious With: Authy (and similar Cloud-Backed Apps)... Authy’s master encryption key had been compromised." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)
- 1Password: 2 of 2 labels negative. "Use With Caution: Built-in MFA in Password Managers ... (Bitwarden, 1Password, Dashlane)" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, September 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.