How does the Duo ROI calculator work?

The Duo ROI calculator uses industry benchmarks, independent research, and real customer outcomes to estimate the potential financial impact of deploying Cisco Duo. By answering a few short questions about your organization, the calculator models potential investment returns from reduced security incidents, lower IT support costs, and improved user productivity.

What data is used to calculate my ROI?

The Duo ROI calculator takes into consideration: <ul> <li>Your personalized inputs, such as number of users, device policy, and security priorities</li> <li>Industry benchmarks and independent research, including the <a href="https://web.coalitioninc.com/download-2025-cyber-claims-report.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Coalition Cyber Claims Report</a> and Duo's <a href="https://resources.duo.com/explore/assets/2025-state-of-identity-security-report?language=English" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">State of Identity Security</a></li> <li>Real customer outcomes from approved <a href="https://resources.duo.com/?contentType=case-study" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Duo case studies</a></li> <li>The list price of Duo licenses, at a $3/$6/$9 per user per month rate</li> <li>Estimated benefits, costs of deployment (first year) and annual maintenance, based on calculations from the <a href="https://resources.duo.com/explore/assets/the-total-economic-impact-of-duo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Forrester Total Economic Impact™ of Cisco Duo</a></li> </ul>

Why is the estimated risk reduction so high?

Identity is the driving factor for 60-80% of data breaches which can cost organizations upwards of USD $10 million. For small to medium-sized businesses, the average cost of a breach ranges from <a href="https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">USD $120,000 to $1.24 million</a>, with <a href="https://www.sbir.gov/tutorials/cyber-security/tutorial-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">60% of those attacked going out of business</a>. To keep calculations consistent, we used the USD $3,265,000 cost of a breach estimated in the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Cisco Duo report for an organization of 10,000 users. The estimated risk reduction scales this figure based on the inputted organization size.

What is the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) Study?

The calculations in this ROI calculator are informed by the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Cisco Duo, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting. The TEI framework evaluates the financial impact and potential return on investment (ROI) organizations can achieve by deploying Cisco Duo, based on interviews with Duo customers and Forrester’s independent analysis. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders. You can review the <a href="https://resources.duo.com/explore/assets/the-total-economic-impact-of-duo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Forrester Total Economic Impact™ of Cisco Duo</a> study for detailed methodology, assumptions, and customer insights.

Does this calculator include the cost of Cisco Duo?

Yes. The ROI estimate accounts for the list cost of Duo relative to the modeled benefits, helping you understand both potential savings and overall return. Find more details on Duo’s transparent pricing at <a href="/editions-and-pricing">https://duo.com/editions-and-pricing</a>

How much does Duo cost?

Duo bills on a per-user, per-month basis in three tiers: <ul> <li>Duo Essentials - $3</li> <li>Duo Advantage - $6</li> <li>Duo Premier - $9</li> </ul> For detailed and personalized pricing information, speak directly with a Cisco representative or authorized Cisco partner. They can help you select the right Duo edition and licensing model based on your environment and goals.

Duo ROI Calculator

Duo was by far the most cost-effective of all the solutions we looked at. Microsoft would have been about 3x higher for comparable functionality. That becomes a big differentiator across 4,000 users. Duo was the only one that integrated with most of the apps that we have.

Read the full case study

Joao Justiniano

Head of IT Infrastructure, The City of Newark

Identity has been the cornerstone of my security strategy and Duo has just been a solid trusted partner for us... We get a lot of security gain by funneling things through Duo between device health, device trust, and passwordless strong authentication.

Read the full case study

Jason Waits

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Inductive Automation

We use Duo to prevent partners from making changes that might take down the show. The behavioral model understands what’s happening and does a step-up authentication request if needed. I believe it makes our security stronger every single day.

Read the full case study

Steve Fink

Principal Architect, Black Hat SOC in the NOC

Forrester TEI Report

To measure the value achieved through strong identity security, Cisco commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study for Cisco Duo. Based on interviews with decision-makers about their experiences with Duo, the TEI study explores and quantifies the financial impact and potential return on investment (ROI) organizations might achieve.

Read the blog Get the full report

Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study for Cisco Duo

FAQs

How does the Duo ROI calculator work?

The Duo ROI calculator uses industry benchmarks, independent research, and real customer outcomes to estimate the potential financial impact of deploying Cisco Duo. By answering a few short questions about your organization, the calculator models potential investment returns from reduced security incidents, lower IT support costs, and improved user productivity.
What data is used to calculate my ROI?
The Duo ROI calculator takes into consideration:
- Your personalized inputs, such as number of users, device policy, and security priorities
- Industry benchmarks and independent research, including the Coalition Cyber Claims Report and Duo's State of Identity Security
- Real customer outcomes from approved Duo case studies
- The list price of Duo licenses, at a $3/$6/$9 per user per month rate
- Estimated benefits, costs of deployment (first year) and annual maintenance, based on calculations from the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ of Cisco Duo
Why is the estimated risk reduction so high?

Identity is the driving factor for 60-80% of data breaches which can cost organizations upwards of USD $10 million. For small to medium-sized businesses, the average cost of a breach ranges from USD $120,000 to $1.24 million, with 60% of those attacked going out of business.

To keep calculations consistent, we used the USD $3,265,000 cost of a breach estimated in the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Cisco Duo report for an organization of 10,000 users. The estimated risk reduction scales this figure based on the inputted organization size.
What is the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) Study?

The calculations in this ROI calculator are informed by the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Cisco Duo, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting. The TEI framework evaluates the financial impact and potential return on investment (ROI) organizations can achieve by deploying Cisco Duo, based on interviews with Duo customers and Forrester’s independent analysis. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.

You can review the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ of Cisco Duo study for detailed methodology, assumptions, and customer insights.
Does this calculator include the cost of Cisco Duo?

Yes. The ROI estimate accounts for the list cost of Duo relative to the modeled benefits, helping you understand both potential savings and overall return. Find more details on Duo’s transparent pricing at https://duo.com/editions-and-pricing
How much does Duo cost?
Duo bills on a per-user, per-month basis in three tiers:
- Duo Essentials - $3
- Duo Advantage - $6
- Duo Premier - $9
For detailed and personalized pricing information, speak directly with a Cisco representative or authorized Cisco partner. They can help you select the right Duo edition and licensing model based on your environment and goals.

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¹ Purpose and Use: This ROI calculator is provided for informational and estimation purposes only. The results generated by this tool do not guarantee or predict actual financial outcomes. Individual results may vary based on specific circumstances and factors not accounted for in the calculator. The calculator aims to estimate the potential return on investment your organization may experience by implementing Cisco Duo.
Limitations and Accuracy: The underlying financial model for this ROI calculator has been commissioned by Cisco and delivered by Forrester Consulting based on its Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) methodology. Cisco Duo created this tool and Forrester has not verified for accuracy or certified its results. Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the model used in this tool, Cisco and Forrester are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein. The tool is provided ‘AS IS’ and Cisco and Forrester make no warranties of any kind.
Pricing Information: Pricing information provided by this calculator is for estimation purposes only and should not be considered a fixed quote or offer.
User Agreement: By using this ROI calculator, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this disclaimer and the terms herein. Users are encouraged to seek professional advice tailored to their unique business needs before making any financial or business decisions based on the calculator’s output.

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