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Certificate Lifecycle Manager vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 2, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Certificate Lifecycle Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Certificate Management Software (2nd)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
16th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (31st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Certificate Lifecycle Manager is 2.3%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Certificate Lifecycle Manager2.3%
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.0%
Other95.7%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Deb Malya - PeerSpot reviewer
Section Head Cybersecurity at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Strong privileged access controls have protected critical sessions and improved credential oversight
The best features of CyberArk Certificate Manager include its robust privileged access management capability, session monitoring, and strong defense against threat vectors. PSM, PIM, and application legacy connectivity for CyberArk Certificate Manager are probably the best in the market. The real-time threat intelligence feature helps with preventing security breaches as it never allows any privileged access to get into the application until you check out the user ID and password, effectively managing credentials. It also includes MFA and session monitoring, tracking who is checking out the password and credentials, which are capabilities that cannot be bypassed, thus neutralizing threat protection. I use features like PSM, PIM, session monitoring, and everything else with CyberArk Certificate Manager.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The reporting analysis is what I liked the most about it; that was the nicest thing about it—it helped keep track of certificates and their status and where we needed to make improvements, update, replace things."
"Automating anything, whether on-prem or cloud, is possible."
"CyberArk Certificate Manager has positively impacted my organization by automating the credential process, allowing users to rotate and share passwords with no human intervention required."
"CyberArk Certificate Manager has positively impacted my organization as a powerful tool for enhancing the security certificate management process, and by automating the lifecycle of TLS and SSL certificates, it has improved security and ensured operational efficiency, making it a vital component of modern IT infrastructure management."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is their certificate discovery."
"The most valuable feature of Venafi is the automation that helps save time and reduce human error."
"Since using CyberArk Certificate Manager, it saves a lot of time, reduces errors, and makes compliance much easier."
"We have reduced 80% to 90% of our outages with Venafi, which impacts the revenue substantially."
"If you're looking for a fairly lightweight client that works very well for remote access purposes, I think Symantec is definitely a good product."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"The main benefit of Symantec VIP is that it provides strong authentication while keeping it as a very user friendly experience."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"Pricing was about 25% of the old solution, saving us about $500,000 over three years for 10,000 users."
"After the initial integration, the overall support calls dropped, and customer satisfaction for VPN increased."
"The ease of integrating into an existing authentication system."
 

Cons

"The product was really good when it was a Venafi product. However, since its acquisition by CyberArk, there has been a lack of significant innovations. They are pushing for cloud adoption, but we prefer on-premises solutions due to regulatory concerns."
"Regarding stability, I observed that in the last year, CyberArk Certificate Manager was down two to three times without any notification."
"Unfortunately, we didn’t receive a notification from Venafi because it wasn't configured correctly, which led to a loss of around 12 million dollars."
"Venafi's overall installation could be made easier."
"Venafi could enhance its offerings by providing more automation features."
"The initial setup is complex. You need third-party support or support from CyberArk Certificate Manager if you do not have a lot of skillset inside your own company."
"There are quite a few different technical aspects of Venafi that I feel they just missed out on; I'd have to look at my notes for the specifics."
"Currently, specific processes require manual installations due to the lack of built-in integrations."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"At times, the relay server could not contact Symantec; it would fail open and allow access without a passcode."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"Our only issue was with user training. The additional challenge was not well received."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"The reporting on the VIP Manager is not correct."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing model is complex, considering factors beyond the number of certificates. This complexity can make our payments to Venafi challenging if costs continue to rise. It is good but more expensive than the competitors."
"Venafi's pricing appears to be competitive within the market."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Venafi?
In terms of pricing, they are a little costly, but they are the best in the market today, so I would say they are worth every penny, rating them again at seven or eight.
What needs improvement with Venafi?
CyberArk Certificate Manager can be improved, particularly in terms of integrations with other tools. I would like to see improvements in integrations with ID, Kerberos, or with other companies for...
What advice do you have for others considering Venafi?
Since using CyberArk Certificate Manager, I have seen specific outcomes such as a reduction in incidents because I can work with CyberArk Certificate Manager, where digital certificates are everywh...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Venafi
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Surescripts, CME Group, TD Bank Group, Aetna, MoneyGram, Zions Bancorp, Cisco
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Certificate Lifecycle Manager vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.