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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Sangfor SSL VPN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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
3rd
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
8th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 9.4%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor SSL VPN is 3.0%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Rupesh Kolhapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers easy setup phase but needs to improve connectivity
For our company's remote workforce connectivity, the tool was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In general, the VPN functionality offered by the product was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In terms of the product's ability to secure third-party access, the tool works very well. The most valuable feature of the product in terms of network security stems from the fact that the tool provides access to the whole network, and even if users give access to some special applications, it is still really helpful. The clientless access feature is not available for clients. My company installed the product for its clients. If the product offers a clientless access feature, then it is okay and can be very helpful for our company. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a reliable product. The product is very helpful for a work-from-home setup as the tool can be used to access our company's internal network, which Falls outside the network of our organization. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
Wajeeh Ul Hasan . - PeerSpot reviewer
A secure and user-friendly solution that is simple to implement and configure
We used Sangfor SSL VPN to access our servers from home during COVID-19 in case of emergency Sangfor SSL VPN has secured our organization, and we haven't faced any attacks. Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution. The other valuable features of the solution include web access…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A reliable and stable solution for remote network access."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the management portal."
"The product's setup phase was easy."
"The platform provides value and benefits to our organization through efficient and effective communication."
"With Cisco IOS SSL VPN, you can access your corporate data safely and securely."
"The solution is very stable."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an easy-to-use and straightforward solution."
"The product is very stable."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
"It is a stable solution...The initial setup of the product is very easy."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"The most valuable feature is our ability to limit access by user, IP address, or MAC address."
"The platform is easy to use."
 

Cons

"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"The system needs to be upgraded to replace the Token Authentication software, which will no longer be supported."
"I would like Cisco IOS SSL VPN to provide a faster connection."
"The solution does not give us options if the connectivity to one server is not available."
"The product’s dashboard is not good enough."
"It would be nice if we could use this not just on mobile, but on laptops and desktops as well."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"The administration should be improved."
"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"The product costs less."
"The tool is expensive."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"The product is inexpensive."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
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 Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
The pricing for Cisco IOS SSL VPN is based on per user. For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Compatibility can sometimes be a challenge. There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility. For instance, Windows 11 ( /products/window...
What needs improvement with Sangfor SSL VPN?
The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved. Its interoperability matrices and different configurations with other vendor products also need improvements. Our client ha...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Investcorp, Central Bancorp, Griffiths & Armour
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Sangfor SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.