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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs SonicWall SMA comparison

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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
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
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 10.6%, up from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.9%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.6%
SonicWall SMA6.9%
Other82.5%
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.
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 certainly has a really strong support team."
"Cisco support has been very helpful."
"The solution is very reliable."
"The multicast feature is useful for us."
"It helps us access networks from anywhere."
"The user interface is user-friendly."
"It's a stable solution."
"The customer service and support are the best. When it comes to support, Cisco is the best vendor ever."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"The performance is good."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"I like the load balancing capability, it is very fast and it has a simple interface."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
 

Cons

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN doesn't support the configuration of multiple VPNs."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"The solution takes some time to log in because of some unavoidable security barriers, but it would be better if that could happen faster."
"Sometimes the connection drops, and we don't like that. I'm not sure the reason, but sometimes it will take time to connect or it will disconnect fast."
"Sometimes browsers are not able to support a certain file, so that is something that can improve."
"I would like for it to have support for the Dutch language. I typically use English in 99% of our communications but for some people, it matters."
"Improvements could be made in terms of connectivity for applications."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"The pricing for the solution could be a lot less."
"There are some features that are available on Palo Alto or Cisco that don't exist. The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
"The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"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."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the client could use an agent to log in. An agent-server model would improve the performance of the RDB, which consumes a lot of bandwidth."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"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."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
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: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.