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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (8th)
OpenVPN Community Edition -...
Ranking in SSL VPN
9th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 9.6%, up from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey is 1.2%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN9.6%
OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey1.2%
Other89.2%
SSL 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.
reviewer2783919 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Secure cloud migrations have accelerated as our teams access critical workloads remotely
OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey can be improved by looking forward to recommendations regarding compute sizing, which is necessary. I have seen multiple third-party solutions demanding configurations based on compute and memory aspects. However, what I have learned from OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey is that it comes with minimal configuration, but I am always stringent about how many client VPN connections it can handle. There has to be some bifurcation regarding this. I have not experienced any access lag so far or any performance issues. I do not see any problems with the configurations or recommendations provided by OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey for 100 or 200 users simultaneously, but I still foresee a need for some recommendations from OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey regarding the number of user connections it can handle given certain configurations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco VPN is easy to connect."
"The split panel functionality is much better in the Cisco IOS SSL VPN than in the Aruba VPN."
"It is very simple to use, and it allows me to get into the university's network from my home, which is very useful for me."
"It is very effective and I am satisfied with how it works and with its performance."
"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."
"IOS is user-friendly and simple. You connect to a particular VPN, and that's it. You become seamless after that."
"The most valuable features are that it's reliable, convenient, and easy. It always works if configured well."
"The solution is pretty fast."
"OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey is the best in class client VPN solution that one can opt for."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its stability and user-friendly UI."
"We use the solution to connect to our internal infrastructure in our data center."
"OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey has made a remarkable compute saving from the perspective when we need secure communication to connect to the AWS cloud tenant and is a quick, efficient solution rather than looking forward to any other solution."
 

Cons

"They could provide the cloud-based as-a-service model with monthly rental payments."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should improve its pricing."
"The company sets the policies for the default location, and destination, which the VPN connects. If there is a problem with one of those locations, which happens sometimes when I travel I need to have an option to select a different available location. Currently, I am unable to see that from a user's point of view."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN doesn't support the configuration of multiple VPNs."
"Cisco has a history of problems with the area of web filtering, because of which my company sometimes had to change the vendor and the appliance."
"The administration should be improved."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"I would like to get less updates from the solution."
"The product's initial setup phase is not straightforward, making it an area where improvements are required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is expensive."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"The product costs less."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is more expensive than the Aruba VPN, but it is worth the money."
"The tool is expensive."
Information not available
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880,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
14%
University
12%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
No data available
 

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 do you like most about OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?
The most valuable features of the solution are its stability and user-friendly UI.
What needs improvement with OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?
All we are looking forward to is to know the configuration we have to follow if an N number of concurrent connections is required. For example, if it could have been 20 or 30, then what should be t...
What advice do you have for others considering OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?
All we are looking forward to is to know the configuration we have to follow if an N number of concurrent connections is required. For example, if it could have been 20 or 30, then what should be t...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.