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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs SonicWall SMA 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
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in SSL VPN
6th
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)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 10.7%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.8%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.7%
SonicWall SMA6.8%
Other82.5%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
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 probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.
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

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA."
"It is highly scalable, speedy, and reliable."
"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."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use, management, and support."
"Cisco support has been very helpful."
"It is very effective and I am satisfied with how it works and with its performance."
"It helps us access networks from anywhere."
"I have found that Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
"The SonicWall SSL-VPN solution offers the best protection with the least effect on services."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"My advice to others is this solution is reliable, feature-rich, and reasonable-priced."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
"The product is extremely flexible, the program is easy to use, the performance is good, and the solution is very stable."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
 

Cons

"Sometimes browsers are not able to support a certain file, so that is something that can improve."
"The flexibility of configurations could be improved."
"The solution's graphical user interface is not very user-friendly."
"The administration should be improved."
"The solution does not give us options if the connectivity to one server is not available."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Only its mobile-based application is available right now."
"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."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"There are some features that are available on Palo Alto or Cisco that don't exist. The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"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."
"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."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"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."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"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."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

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 is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
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

Cisco SSL VPN
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.