The users of multi-factor authentication (MFA) software products have spoken. They’ve told us in MFA product reviews what they like, what they dislike, information about their implementations, the price, and more. I’ve analyzed the latest user review data that G2 has for the Multi-Factor Authentication category, which is based on MFA software user reviews through May 31, 2022. I picked the data points that would be of most interest to current MFA users and potential MFA buyers.

In this article, you’ll learn about what reviewers of MFA software, in aggregate, think about their software products. We will also discuss average implementation time, average time for return on investment (ROI), common likes and dislikes, how happy users are with their MFA solution, and more.

Ease of use is the best part of MFA software

Across all of the multi-factor authentication (MFA) software reviews referenced in G2’s Summer 2022 report, reviewers said the thing they liked the most was how easy their MFA software product is to use. Other common themes reviewers like are the product’s support offerings, integrations, and features.

MFA software is quick to implement but takes over a year to get ROI

Across the Multi-Factor Authentication category on G2, 94% of reviewers say the products they use meet their requirements. Those requirements could be types of authentication factors available--from less-secure SMS-based authentication to more secure hardware token-based authentication to having features like multi-device synchronization or a mobile software development kit.

Reviewers cite that it takes two months to implement their MFA software on average. That is relatively quick considering how much end-user education or employee training is often required to properly adopt an MFA solution across a company.

For Ease of Setup, reviewers rate their MFA products at 89%. 

Users rate the Ease of Use of MFA products at 92%, and administrators cite Ease of Administration at 91%. Having a product that not only end users can easily understand and use but also that administrators find easy to administer is essential for adopting a security solution.

On product adoption, the industry can see some improvement. Reviewers report that only 75% adopt the solution. So a quarter of users with licenses do not use it. This leads me to wonder how business employees authenticate themselves prior to accessing company resources. Perhaps investing in additional end-user enablements, such as training documentation or hands-on demonstrations, can help.

Across the entire Multi-Factor Authentication category, reviewers tell us that it takes, on average, 15 months to get a return on investment for their MFA solution. Something to keep in mind when your company’s MFA software product’s renewal period is coming up. We’ve seen contract lengths run the gamut from 1 to over 23 months. 

A question for users looking to renew their MFA solution is: are you getting ROI during your contract length? For example, if it takes 15 months to get ROI, but your contract is 12 months, then you haven’t received full ROI on the product yet.

Passwordless, risk-based, and biometric authentication solutions are also popular

Products in G2’s Multi-Factor Authentication category are also in 63 additional unique categories. The most common overlapping categories include other more specific authentication products like risk-based authentication (RBA) software, passwordless authentication software, and biometric authentication software. 

Complementary products like single sign-on (SSO) software, identity and access management (IAM) software, customer identity and access management (CIAM) software, identity verification software, and user provisioning and governance tools are also available.

Reviewers say working with MFA vendors is fine

Overall, reviewers are happy with their MFA vendors and the support they receive. Multi-factor authentication software users rate the Ease of Doing Business with MFA product vendors at 93% on average. They also rate the quality of support for the products they use at 91%. 

MFA software is moderately priced

Most MFA software buyers think the products they purchased are moderately priced. More than 75% of buyers rated the perceived price at five or below, with one being the least expensive and seven being the most expensive.

Do MFA reviewers recommend the product they use?

On average, MFA software reviewers on G2 say that the products they use are going in the right direction 89% of the time. Breaking it down a bit further, mid-market reviewers from companies with 51 to 1000 employees say their products are headed in the right direction 90% of the time. On the other hand, enterprise MFA reviewers who work at companies with 1001+ employees say their products are headed in the right direction only 83% of the time. 

These users say that, on average, their likelihood of recommending the MFA products they use to others at 90%. Using the same data but measuring it differently using the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology, we see that users rate their satisfaction and loyalty to the products they use at 70 out of 100. This tells me that there is room for current users of MFA solutions to potentially switch products to find the best fit for their company’s needs.

Buyer interest in MFA software remains strong

In summary, buyer interest in researching multi-factor authentication products is still prevalent, as evidenced by traffic to its category page on g2.com. In the past year, unique visitor pageviews to G2's Multi-Factor Authentication category were above average in the autumn of 2021 and then again in March of 2022.

Users are generally happy with their products, but there is room to consider alternatives. To research MFA solutions yourself, visit G2’s Multi-Factor Authentication category.