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Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL] vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 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

Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL]
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
31st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (14th)
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL] is 1.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.3%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SonicWall Netextender3.3%
Barracuda SSL VPN1.1%
Other95.6%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Ikh-Erdene Namsrai - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Administrator at Mongolian Mining Corporation
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…
Rich Darress - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Operating Officer at Darress Tech
Has provided secure remote access to multiple client networks with consistent performance
When buying the appliance itself, there is one downside that isn't exclusive to SonicWall. When you apply all the security settings, many people have one gig connections for internet ISP. If you're bringing in a one gig connection, you have to have a more robust SonicWall to handle that throughput with all your security settings turned on. It gets pretty pricey upfront if you're bringing in a one gig connection. If the customer starts with a two, three, four, or 500 meg connection and has a small unit, they have to replace the whole box when upgrading to a gig, so scalability there is atrocious. However, this issue exists with pretty much any appliance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 product is easy to connect."
"The setup is straightforward and hassle-free."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"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."
"One of the most valuable features of SonicWall Netextender is the integration of VPN accounts with Microsoft Identity Management, which enables us to enforce secure access through Microsoft Intune and conditional access policies. This helps ensure that only authorized individuals are able to access the VPN, rather than anyone with knowledge of a password."
"It allows us to work remotely."
"Employees can have access to the network from home."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The SSL-VPN encryption has been fantastic for my organization's data confidentiality and integrity; we've done extensive testing with third-party cybersecurity testing while connected and it has passed with flying colors."
 

Cons

"There could be more security features included in the product."
"Reporting could be improved."
"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.."
"Barracuda should find other ways to stir up interest about this product."
"They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product."
"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
"If the customer starts with a two, three, four, or 500 meg connection and has a small unit, they have to replace the whole box when upgrading to a gig, so scalability there is atrocious."
"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."
"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."
"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."
"SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender."
"Sometimes you can get bounced around through the departments until you find the right one. Sometimes if you don't have the most current support contract or your license is out of date, they won't even talk to you."
 

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 solution has a pretty good price."
"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."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Educational Organization
10%
Performing Arts
10%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?
The pricing for my experience with the setup cost and licensing of SonicWall Netextender is fair. The Netextender itself has no cost. It's the SSL licensing that is attached to the SonicWall. It us...
What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?
SonicWall Netextender has not helped with compliance, as it is not applicable for what I'm doing. I've put several feature requests in over the years and they've implemented them all, so it current...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL] vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.