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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 June 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 10.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.9%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.3%
SonicWall SMA6.9%
Other82.8%
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

"The product is great because it is easy and simple."
"Usability is the most important feature for me."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a good solution."
"The solution is very easy to use, very robust and durable, stable, scalable, and supported by great technical support."
"The customer service and support are the best. When it comes to support, Cisco is the best vendor ever."
"Stability-wise, it is a very good solution."
"The user interface is user-friendly."
"The multicast feature is useful for us."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
 

Cons

"When many people are using the internet at home, which is usually right after dinner, this type of service is a little bit hard to use. The internet becomes quite slow, and sometimes, I have to stop using this application. I am not sure if this issue is because of the application or my internet provider."
"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 solution's configuration could be made easier."
"In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price."
"It would be nice if we could use this not just on mobile, but on laptops and desktops as well."
"In terms of what needs improvement, it should have better integration. Although, it might have already been taken care of."
"The configuration is critical and complex."
"The solution's graphical user interface is not very user-friendly."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan."
"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."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"The user interface could be improved."
"There are some features that are available on Palo Alto or Cisco that don't exist. The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is more expensive than the Aruba VPN, but it is worth the money."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"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."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which SSL VPN solutions are best for your needs.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

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: June 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.