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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
8th
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
15th
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 November 2026, in the Universal Access Gateways category, the mindshare of Citrix Gateway is 39.4%, down from 43.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 37.1%, down from 42.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Universal Access Gateways Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Citrix Gateway39.4%
SonicWall SMA37.1%
Other23.5%
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

"The solution is stable."
"Provides good performance and speed."
"It adds great security to your outfacing information."
"I like the very flexible configuration of Citrix; it's very useful for our regulations where we are able to log features and combinations, and it offers a greater variety of features than any other gateway."
"Just creating that gateway to the storefront for Citrix is the most valuable aspect of the solution for us."
"Providing our organization the ability to work remotely was the most valuable feature of Citrix Gateway. I also enjoy that they are always adding features."
"These days, I find Citrix products to be very stable, and there is no need to struggle with them."
"The session monitoring capability is good."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"The SonicWall SSL-VPN solution offers the best protection with the least effect on services."
"We are in Thailand and I'm very happy with the technical support."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
 

Cons

"The monitoring site could be much better because monitoring NetScaler and Citrix Gateway is too difficult with just SNMP traps available."
"If the solution had a more advanced DNS, it would be an improvement."
"I'd like to be able to access Citrix Gateway through a mobile device."
"The product should be more secure."
"Lacks access through a mobile device."
"The major issue is price. I would also like them to make other aspects more accessible."
"Citrix Gateway has a lot of limitations, cloud limitations as a starting point."
"When it comes to the VDA environment, making it additionally stable is important."
"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."
"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's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"The product's technical support services 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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a yearly licensing fee."
"Usually with Citrix the issue is the pricing, especially for the African region. We believe it's really expensive."
"Pricing is very high if you do a comparison with what is available in the market."
"Citrix is quite expensive."
"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."
"There is a license to use Citrix Gateway and it is less expensive to use when compared to other solutions."
"It costs about 4,000 a year."
"I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"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."
"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
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
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 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: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.