Cisco Duo vs Microsoft Authenticator
Eleven of fourteen models named Cisco Duo first on the direct prompt; zero named Microsoft Authenticator. Cisco Duo was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Microsoft Authenticator by eleven and Cisco Duo carries 66 labels and Microsoft Authenticator 18, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in six categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the multi-factor authentication page.
By framing
Cisco DuoFirst choices, of fourteen modelsMicrosoft Authenticator
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Cisco Duo and Microsoft Authenticator were named in the same answer thirty-six times, of the 237 answers naming Cisco Duo and the 46 naming Microsoft Authenticator. In those answers Microsoft Authenticator took the first choice eight times and Cisco Duo nine.
Every model, every framing
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Cisco Duo Microsoft Authenticator first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Cisco Duo on the left and Microsoft Authenticator on the right.The direct prompt
Cisco Duo first, Microsoft Authenticator not the choice
11 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Authenticator was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Neither was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
Cisco Duo37%#1 of 10Microsoft Authenticator6%#5 of 10Cisco Duo43%#1 of 11Microsoft Authenticator5%#5 of 11Cisco Duo21%#2 of 8Microsoft Authenticator0%#– of 8What the models said about Cisco Duo
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Legacy or basic versions of popular solutions (e.g., older Duo...): These can still fall to AiTM phishing, session token theft, or prompt bombing.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Need fast rollout, minimal training, hybrid on-prem/cloud | Cisco Duo (broad protocol support, device trust, low admin overhead)” Qwen 3.7 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Cisco Duo and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) are both highly recommended multi-factor authentication (MFA) tools” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“The best MFA solution for a company with a limited budget is Duo Free or Google Authenticator for under 10 users.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Microsoft Authenticator
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Cybercriminals exploit push-based MFA apps (like Microsoft Authenticator) by bombarding users with authentication requests until they accidentally approve one” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Push-based MFA (e.g., Microsoft Authenticator without number matching, Duo Push, Okta Verify) is vulnerable to: MFA Fatigue / Push Bombing attacks” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Examples: Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, Microsoft Authenticator ... Key Risk: Phishing via Adversary-in-the-Middle (AitM)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Absolute lowest cost, 1-10 users, no central management needed: Roll out Microsoft Authenticator / Google Authenticator TOTP” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“The most cost-effective option is authenticator apps like: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“If you're already using Microsoft 365, start with Microsoft Authenticator for free.” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.