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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for its security, ease of use, and minimal impact on performance.
Sentiment score
3.3
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway offers cost savings, security, and seamless integration, outperforming competitors for on-premises and cloud connectivity.
The solution provides significant cost savings, transitioning expenses from CapEx to OpEx.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco IOS SSL VPN users praise the effective customer support, highlighting timely service, comprehensive documentation, and strong local assistance.
Sentiment score
3.5
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway's customer support quality varies, with premium service rating higher than basic or outsourced support.
When Cisco first took over, it was a bit more difficult to get support, but they now integrate it without differentiating the support for Linksys versus full-blown Cisco switches.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Prioritization of tasks can also be challenging, impacting the timely resolution of problems.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
In a recent incident, I had an issue with the SharePoint API. It relates to documentation, specifically the lack of up-to-date documentation because Microsoft is moving away from the traditional SharePoint REST API to Microsoft Graph.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and efficient, supporting diverse user bases with flexible licensing and expandability.
Sentiment score
5.7
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is scalable and cost-effective, supporting various deployment modes with flexible bandwidth and reliable performance.
It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
The process was very efficient to scale the solution, which supports a high level of scalability.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly stable and reliable, with users experiencing minimal issues and continuous service even during power failures.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is stable and reliable, but some users report setup issues and desire better CI/CD integration.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is extremely stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Azure VPN Gateway is very stable due to reliance on Microsoft's own network.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS SSL VPN requires improvements in language support, pricing, GUI, compatibility, deployment processes, and enhanced remote access options.
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway needs better support, stability, security, pricing, documentation, connectivity, mobile integration, and intuitive setup.
There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway can be improved in security points with stronger encryption.
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The instructions on how to integrate P2N and P2S type networks into Azure VPN Gateway could be improved, though it is a constantly evolving process.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is costly compared to FortiGate and Aruba, though discounts exist and pricing reflects its stability.
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway offers competitive pricing, though costs vary due to usage, data transfer, and additional services.
For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
The price of Azure VPN Gateway should be rated five from a purely invoice aspect.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
The pricing is somewhat high but acceptable, considering it replaces the need for physical network equipment, leading to cost savings.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides secure, user-friendly remote access with strong encryption, seamless integration, and efficient management, ensuring high user satisfaction.
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway provides secure, scalable, and cost-effective networking with seamless Azure integration and multiple encryption protocols.
The solution is also very scalable, offering up to one hundred licenses for free, and can integrate well with Cisco's ecosystem, such as Cisco ISE and NAC.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The valuable features of Cisco IOS SSL VPN are the ease of use and the speed.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
The best features Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway offers are high availability and Azure Monitor and Log Analytics integration, with management handled by Azure so no VM maintenance is required on our end.
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It simplifies the process of deploying a VPN connection, replacing all the physical network elements with a software appliance.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (2nd)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 1.7%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 5.4%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway5.4%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN1.7%
Other92.9%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.
MatsHagberg Olsson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
Designs subnets with high security while navigating evolving integration processes
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances. You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings. It also requires Entra ID for privileged access groups, resulting in high security.
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879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
In Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, there aren't too many areas for improvement, but the configuration part might be a little tricky. It took some time to get things to work, but once figured out, it b...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
We work with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and the VPN firewalls. We have our local physical firewall infrastructure from Cisco and other companies, but we can't compare those with the virtual networ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
MS Azure VPN Gateway
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.