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Citrix Gateway 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

Citrix Gateway
Ranking in Universal Access Gateways
1st
Ranking in SSL VPN
1st
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in Universal Access Gateways
2nd
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
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Universal Access Gateways category, the mindshare of Citrix Gateway is 38.2%, down from 47.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 37.9%, down from 47.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Universal Access Gateways Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Citrix Gateway38.2%
SonicWall SMA37.9%
Other23.900000000000006%
Universal Access Gateways
 

Featured Reviews

PEDRO FONSECA - PeerSpot reviewer
Citrix VDI & Windows Virtualization Specialist at ATOS
Modular security has protected remote access and simplifies endpoint compliance management
The most valuable feature in Citrix Gateway is the securable, modular solution. The most useful behaviors that Citrix has is that you can secure the applications and all the infrastructure in a modular way. You can segment the securization in groups, allowing you to do a lot of things. Citrix Gateway is really strong and secure for the companies to have the Endpoint Analysis feature configured. You can configure this to check what the company needs to be checked. Companies need to authorize some devices to check if antivirus can accomplish the necessities of the company. The final appliance is really secure for accessing the company's network resources. You have many ways to maintain security protocols. One way is using Citrix Gateway, and another is the Citrix policies where you can configure many things in desktops and applications published for the company.
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

"Its ease of use and how everybody can easily work through it are the most valuable features."
"The features I find most valuable in Citrix Gateway are the GSLB features for disaster recovery, primarily due to the native integration with Citrix applications, the CVAD product, and Citrix Gateway."
"The solution is scalable and can go from a very small deployment to handling 10,000 transactions a second."
"Citrix Gateway is both stable and scalable."
"The initial setup is simple. Normally with all setups, it's not very complicated. It really depends on the customer."
"We switched from Barracuda because Citrix offered better features and scalability."
"The product enables us to collect logs from the systems."
"The ROI is significant because the solutions are adequate to protect the servers."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"The product is extremely flexible, the program is easy to use, the performance is good, and the solution is very stable."
"The performance is good."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
 

Cons

"At this time it costs 35% more than other solutions."
"The first level support is very poor."
"The initial setup is very complex."
"Their VAS product should be more productive because right now, we are using other VAS solutions but not using this one."
"When it comes to the VDA environment, making it additionally stable is important."
"There could be a faster connection, increased user-friendliness, and more comprehensive dashboards for the platform."
"Stability and security could be enhanced."
"The tool must provide better integration and connectivity."
"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 timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"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."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"The pricing for the solution could be a lot less."
"The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe the pricing is comparable to SaaS"
"I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model."
"Usually with Citrix the issue is the pricing, especially for the African region. We believe it's really expensive."
"There is a license to use Citrix Gateway and it is less expensive to use when compared to other solutions."
"The price could be lower."
"Citrix is quite expensive."
"Pricing is very high if you do a comparison with what is available in the market."
"It is expensive and requires proper planning with strategy."
"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."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"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."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Gateway?
The price is one aspect, but technically it is complete. Technically, it is really complete.
What needs improvement with Citrix Gateway?
I see room for improvement in several areas. The monitoring site could be much better because monitoring NetScaler and Citrix Gateway is too difficult with just SNMP traps available. Improving the ...
What is your primary use case for Citrix Gateway?
I am on the customer side using Citrix products, specifically Citrix CVAD for Virtual and Desktop virtualization. I am using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service. We are using Citrix Gateway an...
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

Citrix NetScaler Unified Gateway
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aeronamic, Avianca, Bechtel Corporation, Betfair UK, Catholic University Leuven (K.U. Leuven), Centene Corporation, Cerner, Charityshare, City of High Point, Clark Builders
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix Gateway vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
912,517 professionals have used our research since 2012.