Citrix Gateway vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

Citrix and SonicWall are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. Citrix is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0, while SonicWall is ranked #16 with an average rating of 5.0. Citrix holds a 3.1% mindshare in EIV, compared to SonicWall’s 3.9% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Citrix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 62% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

Citrix Gateway

Read 37 Citrix Gateway reviews

1,970 Views
305 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SonicWall Netextender

Read 12 SonicWall Netextender reviews

3,015 Views
945 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

Citrix Gateway

SonicWall Netextender

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Citrix Gateway and SonicWall Netextender compete in remote access technology. SonicWall Netextender has the upper hand due to its more extensive feature set.

Features: Citrix Gateway offers seamless integration with existing infrastructure, stable performance, and efficient setup. SonicWall Netextender provides comprehensive security features, robust network management tools, and advanced capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Citrix Gateway needs enhanced mobile support, quicker updates, and a more modern user interface. SonicWall Netextender requires improved stability, a more intuitive configuration process, and better real-time monitoring.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Citrix Gateway has straightforward deployment and a responsive support team. SonicWall Netextender's deployment is more complex but has positive customer service feedback for issue resolution.

Pricing and ROI: Citrix Gateway has competitive setup costs with favorable ROI. SonicWall Netextender has higher upfront costs but its extensive features offer enhanced ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Citrix Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Citrix Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

June 2025

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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

Citrix Gateway

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Universal Access Gateways (1st), SSL VPN (2nd)

SonicWall Netextender

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

16th

Average Rating

6.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Citrix Gateway is 3.1%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.9%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

VivekKumar10

Co-Founder at Virajo

Enables secure remote access and load balancing with enhanced protection features

I find Citrix Gateway valuable for its capabilities as a reverse proxy, providing security to applications exposed to the Internet. Key features include load balancing, dual-factor authentication, clientless VPN, and Web Application Firewall (WAF). The product effectively helps me protect the organization's network from potential threats, thereby securing our environment from hackers and ransomware attacks.

Read full review

JayPrajapati

Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd

Allows using a custom port for the VPN connection and provides very satisfactory customer support

In the past, customers wanted an application that could run directly upon starting the PC, automatically connecting to the firewall. We were not able to do it in NetExtender. This was something customers wanted, but we couldn't provide due to NetExtender's limitations. I feel NetExtender might have rolled out this feature. In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful. For example, we faced a situation where a customer wanted to allow Office 365 access without any kind of internet, just through the local internet. Office 365 has multiple dynamic IPs and URLs that can be updated daily, making it difficult to allow. If there were an AI-based solution that could bring those URLs and new IP addresses to the firewall and add them to the rule, that would be very helpful. That is just one scenario; there are multiple things AI could help with.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Just creating that gateway to the storefront for Citrix is the most valuable aspect of the solution for us."

"It's easy to use. Also, the deployment part is perfect."

"It's a stable solution while it's running. We don't have to work on it a lot. There are not many bugs, so it's easy to use if you deploy successfully. You can be sure of an uninterrupted solution for quite a long time. Citrix is a good product."

"Its ease of use and how everybody can easily work through it are the most valuable features."

"The initial setup is simple. Normally with all setups, it's not very complicated. It really depends on the customer."

"It is easy to set up and is stable. It is scalable as well, depending on the model."

"Citrix Gateway is stable once I am connected."

"If you need to share resources across a corporation, I would recommend this solution."

More Citrix Gateway pros

"One of the most valuable features of SonicWall Netextender is the integration of VPN accounts with Microsoft Identity Management, which enables us to enforce secure access through Microsoft Intune and conditional access policies. This helps ensure that only authorized individuals are able to access the VPN, rather than anyone with knowledge of a password."

"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."

"NetExtender works very well. I never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me. In terms of management, you have good control over the destination. You can use NetExtender to set the policy and the static route for a client. You can modify it based on what your client needs or can access. You have good control over routing."

"My company opted for this solution because it can individually perform. Basically, we don't require load balancers and all those additional feature sets or additional devices that might be required. The solution can handle the certificate, DNS queries, and all that stuff individually."

"Employees can have access to the network from home."

"I found nothing of value in this solution."

"The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."

"The product has two-factor authentication."

More SonicWall Netextender pros

Cons

"The initial connection could be faster. That handshake takes a few seconds sometimes. That could be better and improved upon."

"The load balancing could be improved."

"It would be nice if they offered easier setups and implementation wizards."

"The initial setup is very complex."

"Sometimes the input-output has issues."

"If the solution had a more advanced DNS, it would be an improvement."

"Stability and security could be enhanced."

"The first level support is very poor."

More Citrix Gateway cons

"Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution."

"The UI could be a little better."

"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."

"SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender."

"The only concern I do have is with the zero trust, and the solution is not coping with the newer technologies as much as it needs to do on that particular factor."

"The initial setup of SonicWall Netextender is straightforward. The only issue we encountered was with relocating the VPN appliance. If we needed to move it from an on-premise to an on-cloud architecture, we had to start over and redeploy it from scratch. Unfortunately, it is not portable and any changes to its physical location often result in the need for a fresh deployment to ensure everything functions properly."

"The product does not work well."

"In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful."

More SonicWall Netextender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive and requires proper planning with strategy."

"There are two or three different models, but you can actually have a CapEx where you purchase the unit outright and then there's a yearly maintenance cost on top for years two and three, and four, or you can actually do a subscription purchase through Citrix cloud and you pay on a monthly basis, or you can have a three-year subscription contract as well. I give the solution a six out of ten for its cost."

"I believe the pricing is comparable to SaaS"

"Pricing is very high if you do a comparison with what is available in the market."

"It costs about 4,000 a year."

"The price could be lower."

"Citrix is quite expensive."

"The solution has a yearly licensing fee."

More Citrix Gateway pricing and cost advice

"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."

"The price of SonicWall Netextender is reasonable. Whether it's a small shop with only five users or a larger operation with 130 users, we have received no complaints or objections regarding cost from any of the clients we are looking to deploy it with."

"The solution has a pretty good price."

"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."

"Cost wise, it would be a few hundred dollars for the base appliance with the first five clients. Then from there, your cost per seat depends on how many you're getting. It's a one-time cost, and then you have a few hundred dollars a year for the maintenance contract once you get the one-time seat costs out of the way."

"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."

"You have to pay for its license. There are some other companies that provide a VPN client for free. When you buy NetExtender, its license is available for one, three, or five years."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

46%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Gateway?

We can maintain our systems using the solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Gateway?

I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model. It is seen as a premium product compared to competitors like F5, and ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citrix Gateway?

Currently, Citrix is improving its solutions, and focusing more on AI features could further enhance its performance.

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall Netextender?

The solution provides high availability.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?

Pricing is a simple thing. We have the key, and we need to enter it in the SonicWall official portal. That's all. Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Citrix Gateway

Compared 19% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs Citrix Gateway

Compared 16% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Citrix Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Ivanti Connect Secure vs Citrix Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Citrix Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

More Citrix Gateway Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 30% of the time

SonicWall Connect Tunnel vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 19% of the time

SonicWall Mobile Connect vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 7% of the time

More SonicWall Netextender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Citrix Gateway

June 2025

Download Citrix Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall Netextender

May 2025

Download SonicWall Netextender product report

Also Known As

Citrix NetScaler Unified Gateway

No data available

Overview

Citrix Gateway is a customer-managed solution that can be deployed on premises or on any public cloud, such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. Citrix Gateway provides users with secure access and single sign-on to all the virtual, SaaS and web applications they need to be productive.

Citrix

SonicWall Netextender is used for secure client-to-site VPN connections, enabling remote access to company resources and offering seamless integration with Microsoft 365 for identity management.

SonicWall Netextender facilitates secure and stable VPN connections, particularly beneficial for remote work scenarios. It integrates with Microsoft 365, supporting identity management and secure access through Microsoft Identity Management and Intune, allowing users to employ the same credentials as Active Directory. With ease of configuration and control over routing, it assists enterprises by providing a reliable VPN for remote employees, implemented by system integrators worldwide. It also supports file transfers in cloud-based environments.

What are the most valuable features of SonicWall Netextender?

Ease of remote work: Simplifies access for remote employees.
Simple configuration: Quick and straightforward setup process.
Good control over routing: Efficient routing management.
Cost-effectiveness: Affordable for businesses of all sizes.
Ease of integration with SAML: Simple SAML integration.
Excellent security: High-security standards.
Low latency: Minimal delay during use.
Stable performance: Reliable connections.
High availability: Ensures continuous uptime.
Multi-factor authentication support: Enhanced login security.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in the reviews?

Connecting to LAN from home: Secure access to local network resources.
Enforcing secure access: Uses Microsoft Identity Management and Intune for security.
Credential consistency: Same credentials as Active Directory.
Detailed documentation: Comprehensive guides and resources.

SonicWall Netextender is adopted in numerous sectors for its ability to provide secure remote access to company resources. Enterprises integrate it to ensure stable VPN connections for employees working from home, while system integrators implement it for end customers globally. It enhances secure and efficient remote work, which is vital for industries requiring robust and reliable remote access solutions.

SonicWall

Sample Customers

Aeronamic, Avianca, Bechtel Corporation, Betfair UK, Catholic University Leuven (K.U. Leuven), Centene Corporation, Cerner, Charityshare, City of High Point, Clark Builders

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Citrix Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

June 2025

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