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Fortinet FortiClient vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (11th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
SonicWall SMA
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), SSL VPN (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 5.5%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiClient5.5%
SonicWall SMA2.7%
Other91.8%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.
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

"It's very easy to use, it's nice and much easier to use than other solutions we've seen in action."
"Secure and easy connect is the most valuable feature."
"Having a centralized console is a valuable feature. The Fortinet fabric is also very valuable where all different pieces talk together to secure our network and track the North, South, East, and West movement of files and data through our network."
"The solution is user-friendly, really easy to use, with good documentation on hand, good support, a good price, and it is very easy to set up."
"The most valuable feature is the single pane of glass, single point of management."
"It is very easy and useful. A normal user with basic information can easily connect to any environment."
"It seems to be more scalable than we thought."
"We mainly use this solution because we have many Fortinet solutions like antivirus and SSL assessment."
"My advice to others is this solution is reliable, feature-rich, and reasonable-priced."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"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."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiClient could improve the connection because sometimes it drops."
"The tool becomes slow occasionally, and this should be improved."
"They can improve the interface because it is very technical for a normal client to understand."
"We've got one client where it was blocking the smartphones, and there's a way to set it up on Fortigate that's supposed to do that. However, it didn't work with them since they had a 2FA multi-factor."
"Initially, the support was very poor."
"It has a horrible performance. It is one of the most unstable VPNs I have ever used."
"I would like for the next release to be more user-friendly for users who do not have as much of a technical background."
"There is lagging in some of the authentication tools to support the newer versions, this is happening because they are not supported."
"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 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."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is okay and competitive."
"FortiClient is quite reasonably priced."
"Fortinet requires you to buy a lot of product in order for you to have proper protection."
"The pricing is good because you get and end-to-end security solution in one package price."
"As a technical team member, I am not responsible to look into the pricing matters. These aspects are typically handled by the management team, who have the authority to obtain the necessary licenses based on certain established principles."
"The pricing is a six out of ten."
"The solution is not expensive. We need more discounted rates in Pakistan. The price of the solution could be reduced to be more affordable for the solution."
"The licensing fee varies with what one is trying to accomplish. It can range from being free to costing several hundred thousand dollars per year."
"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."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiClient?
The solution is not cloud-based; it comes from the firewall itself.
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

FortiClient
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiClient vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,668 professionals have used our research since 2012.