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Barracuda SSL VPN vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

 

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

Barracuda SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
22nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (9th)
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
16th
Average Rating
6.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Barracuda SSL VPN is 0.8%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.9%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Ikh-Erdene Namsrai - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides good scalability and has a simple setup process
We use Barracuda SSL VPN for network connection The product is easy to connect. There could be more security features included in the product. We are the latest version of Barracuda SSL VPN. I rate Barracuda SSL VPN's stability an eight or nine out of ten. We have 30-40 Barracuda SSL VPN…
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows using a custom port for the VPN connection and provides very satisfactory customer support
In the past, customers wanted an application that could run directly upon starting the PC, automatically connecting to the firewall. We were not able to do it in NetExtender. This was something customers wanted, but we couldn't provide due to NetExtender's limitations. I feel NetExtender might have rolled out this feature. In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful. For example, we faced a situation where a customer wanted to allow Office 365 access without any kind of internet, just through the local internet. Office 365 has multiple dynamic IPs and URLs that can be updated daily, making it difficult to allow. If there were an AI-based solution that could bring those URLs and new IP addresses to the firewall and add them to the rule, that would be very helpful. That is just one scenario; there are multiple things AI could help with.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The setup is straightforward and hassle-free."
"The product is easy to connect."
"It's a stand alone system that functions well."
"The most valuable feature would be that you can actually narrow down your session to one application on one server, which is really nice."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"Employees can have access to the network from home."
"The solution provides high availability."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."
"I found nothing of value in this solution."
"The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."
"NetExtender works very well. I never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me. In terms of management, you have good control over the destination. You can use NetExtender to set the policy and the static route for a client. You can modify it based on what your client needs or can access. You have good control over routing."
 

Cons

"Since it's not going to be getting any more software updates as per the end of this year, we have to move off to a different product.."
"There could be more security features included in the product."
"Reporting could be improved."
"Barracuda should find other ways to stir up interest about this product."
"The only concern I do have is with the zero trust, and the solution is not coping with the newer technologies as much as it needs to do on that particular factor."
"They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product."
"In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful."
"The Netextender application itself doesn't really look pretty, however, we can still use it. We don't care what it looks like. That said, if they did a cosmetic update, that would be fine."
"Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution."
"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
"The product does not work well."
"The initial setup of SonicWall Netextender is straightforward. The only issue we encountered was with relocating the VPN appliance. If we needed to move it from an on-premise to an on-cloud architecture, we had to start over and redeploy it from scratch. Unfortunately, it is not portable and any changes to its physical location often result in the need for a fresh deployment to ensure everything functions properly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Barracuda SSL VPN is inexpensive."
"The product is affordable and reasonably priced so it would make a lot of sense for people to use it long-term."
"The price of SonicWall Netextender is reasonable. Whether it's a small shop with only five users or a larger operation with 130 users, we have received no complaints or objections regarding cost from any of the clients we are looking to deploy it with."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"You have to pay for its license. There are some other companies that provide a VPN client for free. When you buy NetExtender, its license is available for one, three, or five years."
"Cost wise, it would be a few hundred dollars for the base appliance with the first five clients. Then from there, your cost per seat depends on how many you're getting. It's a one-time cost, and then you have a few hundred dollars a year for the maintenance contract once you get the one-time seat costs out of the way."
"The solution has a pretty good price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Healthcare Company
8%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda SSL VPN?
Barracuda SSL VPN is inexpensive. We purchase its yearly license.
What needs improvement with Barracuda SSL VPN?
There could be more security features included in the product.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?
Pricing is a simple thing. We have the key, and we need to enter it in the SonicWall official portal. That's all. Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, ...
What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?
In the past, customers wanted an application that could run directly upon starting the PC, automatically connecting to the firewall. We were not able to do it in NetExtender. This was something cus...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.