# Multi-factor authentication for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "MFA solution" and as "multi-factor authentication tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/identity/multi-factor-authentication/2026-11/smb

**Standing:** Cisco Duo leads with 37% of first choices; verdict contested. 67 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) | 37% | 4% | 71 |
| 2 | [Microsoft Entra ID](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-entra-id/index.md) | 28% | 0% | 56 |
| 3 | [Google Workspace 2-Step Verification](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/google-workspace-2-step-verification/index.md) | 7% | 0% | 20 |
| 4 | [Google Authenticator](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/google-authenticator/index.md) | 7% | 24% | 34 |
| 5 | [Microsoft Authenticator](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-authenticator/index.md) | 6% | 5% | 19 |
| 8 | [JumpCloud Protect](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/jumpcloud-protect/index.md) | 1% | 0% | 24 |
| 9 | [Okta Verify](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/okta-verify/index.md) | 1% | 32% | 37 |
| 13 | [YubiKey](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/yubikey/index.md) | 0% | 10% | 29 |
| 14 | [Auth0](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/auth0/index.md) | 0% | 17% | 24 |
| 15 | [Authy](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/authy/index.md) | 0% | 8% | 12 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 63 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: Microsoft Entra ID, Okta Verify; alternatives Authy, Cisco Duo, Google Authenticator, Google Workspace 2-Step Verification
- GPT-5.4 mini: Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Cisco Duo, Okta Verify
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Cisco Duo, WorkOS; alternatives 1Password, Auth0, Bitwarden, Clerk
- Perplexity Sonar: Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Cisco Duo, JumpCloud Protect, YubiKey
- Grok 4.20: Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) with Microsoft Authenticator; alternatives Cisco Duo, Okta Verify
- Mistral Small: Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Cisco Duo
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Cisco Duo; alternatives Microsoft Entra ID
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Google Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) / Google Authenticator
- Kimi K2: Cisco Duo; alternatives Auth0, JumpCloud Protect, Microsoft Entra ID
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Google Authenticator, Okta Verify
- MiniMax M2.5: Cisco Duo; alternatives ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus, Microsoft Entra ID
- GPT-6 Luna: Google Workspace 2-Step Verification, Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives Cisco Duo
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID; alternatives JumpCloud Protect

## Sources the answers cite

70 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- techrepublic.com: 37 answers, 38 citations
- cisa.gov: 32 answers, 55 citations
- duo.com: 31 answers, 60 citations
- aimultiple.com: 28 answers, 32 citations
- encomputers.com: 28 answers, 28 citations
- spotsaas.com: 19 answers, 21 citations
- g2.com: 18 answers, 20 citations
- reddit.com: 16 answers, 26 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://techrepublic.com/article/best-multi-factor-authentication-solutions (37 answers)
- https://encomputers.com/2024/05/best-multi-factor-authentication-small-businesses (28 answers)
- https://aimultiple.com/mfa-solutions (27 answers)
- https://cisa.gov/audiences/small-and-medium-businesses/secure-your-business/require-multifactor-authentication (20 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/identity-and-access-management/the-top-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-solutions-for-business (16 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/multi-factor-authentication-mfa/small-business (15 answers)
- https://spotsaas.com/list/multi-factor-authentication--mfa--software/for-small-business (15 answers)
- https://protectimus.com/blog/best-mfa-solutions (14 answers)
- https://duo.com/editions-and-pricing (13 answers)
- https://microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/identity-access/microsoft-entra-mfa-multi-factor-authentication (11 answers)

## Warned against

- Okta Verify: 12 of 37 labels negative. "Fine for tiny teams, but once you scale, the per‑user pricing jumps to $6–$17/month, which may exceed your budget." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt)
- Google Authenticator: 8 of 34 labels negative. "Standard TOTP authenticator apps (like Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator in basic mode, Authy, etc.) are better than SMS but still have limitations" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- Auth0: 4 of 24 labels negative. "Developer-oriented; not the easiest choice for non-technical teams just wanting to protect their SaaS logins." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, comparative prompt)
- Cisco Duo: 3 of 71 labels negative. "Using "Approve/Deny" prompts on mobile apps (common in Duo or Okta) is popular but has specific vulnerabilities known as MFA Fatigue or Push Bombing." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Cisco Duo at 37%.

- Google Authenticator: 0% to 7%, +7. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 14 → 4 of 63.
- Okta Verify: 7% to 1%, −6. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 4 → 9 of 63.
- Cisco Duo: 40% to 37%, −3. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 1 of 63, unchanged.
- Microsoft Authenticator: 4% to 6%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 of 63, unchanged.
- Microsoft Entra ID: 29% to 28%, −1. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 2 of 63, unchanged.
- Auth0: 1% to 0%, −1. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 8 → 14 of 63.
- Google Workspace 2-Step Verification: 7% to 7%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 3 of 63, unchanged.
- JumpCloud Protect: 1% to 1%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 8 of 63.
- YubiKey: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 15 → 13 of 63.
- Authy: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 16 → 15 of 63.

## Record

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