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Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 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

Check Point Harmony SASE (f...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (8th), Firewalls (22nd), Anti-Malware Tools (13th), ZTNA as a Service (7th), ZTNA (3rd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
16th
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 August 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 4.8%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)4.8%
SonicWall SMA2.7%
Other92.5%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
Delivers seamless and secure remote access while enhancing security posture
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) offers strong features, but there are areas that could be improved. One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers. It works with standard SAML and SSO, but we would prefer deeper integrations with solutions such as Ping for more advanced identity-based policies. Additionally, a mobile-specific client or lightweight agent would be helpful for securing access from smartphones, especially in BYOD environments. We would appreciate more granular reporting and analytics, including better drill-down capabilities to investigate specific users or app activity. The logs are comprehensive, but filtering them can sometimes feel messy. The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices. Some of the policy configuration steps are nested and could be streamlined.
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

"Distributing the agent was very simple, allowing us to enforce security posture on our devices (i.e. S1, Disk-encryption, etc.)."
"SD-WAN is one of the primary solutions offered by Perimeter 81."
"Using the preboot VPN option, we can reset a user who is working remotely that has forgotten their Windows login credentials."
"Having Perimeter 81 as a solution in those instances to keep our team secure has been really great."
"Advanced behavior analysis and machine learning algorithms shut down malware before it does damage."
"Customer service is excellent."
"The solution has many valuable aspects, including anti-Phishing, which blocks phishing attacks in all applications (email, messaging, and social networks)."
"I find it very easy to implement and deploy in the organization."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"The SonicWall SSL-VPN solution offers the best protection with the least effect on services."
"I like the load balancing capability, it is very fast and it has a simple interface."
"I like the load balancing capability."
 

Cons

"Currently, I am not able to define a different country or location, which can result in negative experiences as the tool is being recognized by websites and this can make it difficult to access them or force me to disable the program temporarily."
"The solution requires you to buy a minimum of 50 licenses and that is not practical."
"One of our challenges is ensuring the security of our cloud-based operations."
"I don't know if it is technically feasible, however, if the Desktop App could be used as a Web App or a Chrome Extension it would be very nice."
"Providing USB control in a Linux environment will give more control over data security."
"My customers want more remote functionality. They need another routing option after they connect to the enterprise intranet. For example, let's say a user tries to connect to a remote branch office and headquarters through Harmony Connect. They need a local breakout after connecting to the headquarters, especially in China. They need to put local breakout in the Chinese internet. The current version cannot do something like this."
"A Google Chrome extension would be handy instead of logging into the app."
"They could improve on the available public documentation."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan."
"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."
"The pricing for the solution could be a lot less."
"The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers. Normally enterprises and SMBs can create a ticket, but for enterprises, SonicWall SMA needs to provide a global view, and this is what's currently missing. It's not even a question of timing. It's a question of the global vision because currently, it's lacking. They concentrate on the topic, but not on the means and not on the global picture. In most cases, there's something wrong with the integration of SonicWall SMA with other products, so that could also be improved."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the client could use an agent to log in. An agent-server model would improve the performance of the RDB, which consumes a lot of bandwidth."
"The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The problem is that when combined with what the client already has, there are two different logins and two different management systems, and these should be consolidated into a single interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Perimeter 81 charges separately for gateways and VPN connectivity, but compared to Azure, it seemed more reasonable."
"The cost of the solution's licenses depends on the particular use cases."
"The pricing is good, especially when you compare it to other firewall or UTM solutions from FortiGate or SonicWall, where you would have to invest about four hundred thousand rupees for 100 users over a three-year period."
"I would rate Harmony Connect's pricing at six out of ten. It wasn't particularly expensive, but it wasn't super cheap either."
"The product is neither cheap nor expensive."
"I consider the product to be a medium-priced solution. There are no additional costs attached to the tool."
"The pricing of Check Point is relatively high when compared to other competitors like Palo Alto and Fortinet. While Palo Alto may be on the higher side in terms of cost, Check Point's pricing is similar to that of Fortinet. In some cases, Check Point offers better value for the features it provides. We initially considered other options but ultimately decided to purchase hardware that came with three years of iOS. This approach eliminated the need for any additional costs associated with Check Point. I would rate it 10 out of 10."
"The solution's pricing model may not be suitable for smaller companies, as they might find it expensive. Larger companies tend to receive more value due to many users."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"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."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"The platform has medium pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Harmony Connect?
I am not aware of the pricing, setup cost, and licensing, but I would say the setup cost is our resource, and we have invested many hours into this project.
What needs improvement with Harmony Connect?
When I'm raising a ticket for Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81), it's a bit technical for non-technical people. It could have been clearer and easier for them to raise a ticket becau...
What is your primary use case for Harmony Connect?
I have experience with this product as a user. Currently, the Check Point product that I worked with mostly was the Firewall, the R81. I'm not working with Check Point WAF, Web Application Firewall...
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

Check Point Quantum SASE
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.