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Aruba VPN vs SonicWall SMA comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

Aruba VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
33rd
Average Rating
5.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd), SSL VPN (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba VPN is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 2.6%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall SMA2.6%
Aruba VPN0.8%
Other96.6%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Prashant-Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Presales Consultant - Networking Solutions at Mannai
A highly scalable solution that can be used to access corporate resources anywhere in the world
Currently, the connections on Aruba VPN are robust and the fastest. As it is a lighter client, it does not put any pressure or heavy connections. It's all about how much internet connection you have. Your VPN connection will work faster based on your internet connection. The authentication with Aruba VPN is faster and takes around five milliseconds. You need two or three engineers to deploy and maintain the solution at the start of a project. However, once it is set up, only one person is needed to do it. I would recommend Aruba VPN to other users. If someone has a workforce working from home or traveling, then Aruba VPN is the right solution for them. Overall, I rate Aruba VPN ten out of ten.
BA
Owner at ThinkEzIT
Security enhances through autonomous protection and strong support while multi-factor authentication secures access
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to. I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, as I haven't been looking at what they're releasing. We're a small shop, so we drop stuff in and manage it and do what we need to do to maintain it. If we run into an issue, we contact support. There's a learning curve, but it comes down to getting support to train you on the product, and then once you have the training you need, you're able to make the changes and updates that you need to.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like the most about Aruba VPN is that it's great for companies with diverse network needs."
"Aruba VPN’s stability was okay."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Aruba VPN is lighter on machines, and users don't feel any difference in having these items installed on their PCs or laptops."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"The product is extremely flexible, the program is easy to use, the performance is good, and the solution is very stable."
"We are in Thailand and I'm very happy with the technical support."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
 

Cons

"When around 100 to 300 users tried to connect at the beginning of the day, the appliance would crash, and the users would not be able to connect."
"They could release product updates more frequently."
"It should address issues that are vital to maintaining the company's reputation."
"There is room for improvement from the solution's security point of view."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The user interface could be improved."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"The pricing for the solution could be a lot less."
"The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Customers need to buy a VPN client license."
"We do not have to purchase a separate license for Aruba VPN; it is included in the ClearPass package."
"I don't know about the pricing of the SSL-VPN box. I know the SSL-VPN software is free. Global VPN client, by comparison, is licensed for around $150 or something like that. But the SSL-VPN software is free. It is already built-in with the box."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to. I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, a...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SMA?
I have experience with the SonicWall SMA; we have rolled it back into our stack. We use SonicWall SMA for all of our clients that need VPNs, including doctor's offices and lawyer offices. Our clien...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba VPN vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.