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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
4th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
7th
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 November 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 9.1%, up from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor SSL VPN is 4.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN9.1%
Sangfor SSL VPN4.7%
Other86.2%
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

"The product's most valuable features are security, stability, and troubleshooting capabilities."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is reasonably priced, and its technology is flexible."
"The product's setup phase was easy."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable, and once we connect, we don't face any issues and can do our work."
"The solution is very reliable."
"The product is great because it is easy and simple."
"The solution is quite transparent."
"It's a stable solution."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
"The most valuable feature is our ability to limit access by user, IP address, or MAC address."
"The platform is easy to use."
"It is a stable solution...The initial setup of the product is very easy."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution."
 

Cons

"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."
"The product's RPA tools need enhancement for simplified business process automation."
"It would be helpful if Cisco IOS SSL VPN could help us set up devices on our iPads and phones."
"The graphical interface is old and needs to improve."
"The configuration must be improved."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"The solution needs to integrate password-less technology so that you don't have to remember passwords each time that you log in, which is otherwise tedious. We should be able to log in as long as our system is connected to the internet."
"Multi-factor authentication in Cisco IOS SSL VPN has certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fee is expensive."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
"The product is inexpensive."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
22%
Logistics Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
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 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: November 2025.
872,846 professionals have used our research since 2012.