Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Microsoft and SonicWall are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. Microsoft is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5, while SonicWall is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.5. Microsoft holds a 3.1% mindshare in EIV, compared to SonicWall’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 70% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Read 28 Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway reviews

3,952 Views
3,912 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

SonicWall Netextender

Read 14 SonicWall Netextender reviews

3,078 Views
3,047 Comparison Views

70% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

SonicWall Netextender

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 8, 2026

SonicWall NetExtender and Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway compete in the VPN solutions market, with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway standing out due to its extensive feature set, while SonicWall NetExtender is appealing for its cost-effectiveness.

Features: SonicWall NetExtender offers robust security protocols, integration with Microsoft Identity Management for secure access, and easy setup. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway provides wide scalability, seamless integration with Azure services, and sophisticated security mechanisms, including support for various protocols such as BGP.

Room for Improvement: SonicWall NetExtender could benefit from better productivity and addressing long-standing user frustrations. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway might improve its user interface, reduce initial setup complexity, and provide better support for legacy protocols.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall NetExtender boasts quick setup and straightforward deployment. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway requires more setup time due to its comprehensive features but benefits from being integrated within the Azure ecosystem, allowing for detailed documentation and strong community support.

Pricing and ROI: SonicWall NetExtender is cost-effective with a lower initial setup cost, advantageous for smaller businesses seeking a faster return on investment. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has a higher upfront cost justified by its scalability and integration with Azure services, offering long-term efficiency for larger organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

September 2026

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Helped 920,939 peers since 2012

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

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SonicWall Netextender

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

12th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 3.1%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 2.2%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway	3.1%
SonicWall Netextender	2.2%
Other	94.7%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Srinivas A

Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata

Secure data links from on-premise sources have enabled private access to client databases

The best feature of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is its sophisticated security mechanism for transmitting data between on-premise to Azure or Azure to Azure. The process of building the VPN gateway is user-friendly, making it easy to configure. Additionally, it supports various options to establish connections between on-premise to Azure or other sources to targets. Using pfSense as a firewall and VPN at our on-premise allows us to establish connections between Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and our on-premise pfSense VPN easily. This streamlined connection process occurs within a few steps. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has positively impacted our organization because it is core to our system and crucial for establishing private connections to our customer's data sources. Their databases lie in a private network with no communication with the outside world. Our customers trust Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, and by extension, trust us because of this efficient networking establishment process.

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Rich Darress

Chief Operating Officer at Darress Tech

Has provided secure remote access to multiple client networks with consistent performance

When buying the appliance itself, there is one downside that isn't exclusive to SonicWall. When you apply all the security settings, many people have one gig connections for internet ISP. If you're bringing in a one gig connection, you have to have a more robust SonicWall to handle that throughput with all your security settings turned on. It gets pretty pricey upfront if you're bringing in a one gig connection. If the customer starts with a two, three, four, or 500 meg connection and has a small unit, they have to replace the whole box when upgrading to a gig, so scalability there is atrocious. However, this issue exists with pretty much any appliance.

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

"I would definitely recommend this solution because it is very easy to deploy and very stable."

"All of our offices are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The solution is scalable."

"I rate the product ten out of ten."

"It is a stable solution in our company, and we monitor critical health and performance parameters daily and weekly."

"The scalability is a highly valued feature."

"The interoperability with various firewall and access gateway vendors is one of this solution's most valuable features."

"The solution is very quick to connect."

"It is scalable and depends on your chosen network bandwidth and the payments made."

More Microsoft Azure VPN 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."

"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."

"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."

"The best feature is that employees can connect to our LAN, and have access to our network from home."

"It allows us to work remotely."

"NetExtender works very well; I have never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me."

"The product has two-factor authentication."

"The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use."

More SonicWall Netextender pros

Cons

"Regarding pricing for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, it could be more cost-effective."

"In future releases, I would like to see the ability to inject BGP routes."

"More configuration options could be included in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway."

"The product must provide a single sign-on."

"Documentation and configuration settings can be improved."

"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway could improve by providing IPS zero-day threat protection. For example, the IPS zero-day threat protection can monitor the user behavior to protect the infrastructure. The solution can only be used as a VPN, it is lacking features."

"Microsoft could work on having micro VPNs to integrate with mobile devices."

"The marketing material in the portal is not very user-friendly."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway cons

"I am rolling out the new Netextender because I am having some issues with the older version."

"The UI could be a little better."

"From my experience with using it, we do have problems sometimes with the credentialing-saving parts of it."

"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 Netextender application itself doesn't really look pretty, however, we can still use it. We don't care what it looks like. That said, if they did a cosmetic update, that would be fine."

"Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances."

"The product does not work well."

"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."

More SonicWall Netextender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is subscription-based and very cheap."

"There is a monthly license and the price depends on how many users are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The price could be less expensive."

"The product costs us $140 to $180 per month."

"It's an expensive product"

"The costs are quite high."

"It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance."

"The software has good pricing compared to other vendors."

"Payment for licensing the solution is part of the operating model. So, one needs to keep on paying while consuming the solution. In short, the payment is based on the solution's capacity."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

"The solution has a pretty good price."

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

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

"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

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

The logging mechanism could use improvement. More detailed logging would help in troubleshooting any failures during connection establishment or monitoring Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. Otherwise, e...

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What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

For those considering using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, read the documentation thoroughly. Create an Excel sheet outlining tasks for both the source and target sides, especially when establishing ...

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What is your primary use case for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

Our main use case for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is to connect to the data sources of our clients. We establish the VPN gateway between our SaaS platform and their on-premise environment to connec...

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

The pricing for my experience with the setup cost and licensing of SonicWall Netextender is fair. The Netextender itself has no cost. It's the SSL licensing that is attached to the SonicWall. It us...

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What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?

SonicWall Netextender has not helped with compliance, as it is not applicable for what I'm doing. I've put several feature requests in over the years and they've implemented them all, so it current...

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What is your primary use case for SonicWall Netextender?

Getting to local resources on a customer's network is my main use case with SonicWall Netextender or SonicWall SSL-VPN. As a managed service provider, all my customers have SonicWalls and I get int...

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Comparisons

OpenVPN Access Server vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 15% of the time

Tailscale vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 5% of the time

NordLayer vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 17% of the time

SonicWall Connect Tunnel vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 8% of the time

SonicWall Mobile Connect vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 6% of the time

SonicWall SMA vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 6% of the time

More SonicWall Netextender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

October 2026

Download Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall Netextender

October 2026

Download SonicWall Netextender product report

Also Known As

MS Azure VPN Gateway

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway enables secure cloud connectivity through scalable and reliable VPN solutions. It provides seamless integration with Microsoft's tools, ensuring high performance, availability, and security for businesses needing secure hybrid networking.

Leveraging Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, businesses benefit from secure site-to-site connections between on-premise networks and Azure cloud environments. It supports high availability and robust encryption for secure data management. Azure's advanced security measures, including IPSec, ensure safe data transmission. The service is designed for scalability, user-friendliness, and effective workload management across SKUs, enhancing its value for enterprises seeking efficient cloud networking.

What are the key features of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

Cloud Accessibility: Ensures seamless connectivity to Azure environments.
High Availability: Provides reliable network performance.
Security and Encryption: Uses IPSec for secure connections.
BGP Protocol Support: Facilitates dynamic routing.
Integration: Compatible with Microsoft's monitoring and management tools.
Redundancy: Offers backup for uninterrupted service.
Flexibility: Manages workloads across SKUs and locations effectively.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Cost-Effectiveness: Reduces the need for physical hardware.
Network Security: Protects data with innovative security features.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business needs.
Ease of Use: Streamlines management and monitoring processes.
Seamless Integration: Works well with existing Microsoft infrastructure.

Organizations across industries implement Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway to create secure connections for CRM, ERP databases, and financial systems. It is vital for hybrid networking, linking data centers to cloud resources, and enabling remote user VPN profiles for secure management of virtual network infrastructures.

Microsoft

SonicWall Netextender provides affordable and stable VPN connections with a focus on secure access through features like multifactor authentication and integration with Microsoft services, ensuring reliable remote connectivity.

SonicWall Netextender is a robust tool for managing VPN accounts securely while offering remote access integration with Microsoft solutions like Intune. It supports industries such as healthcare, education, and insurance, catering to remote work and hybrid arrangements. Its comprehensive documentation aids in efficient configuring and minimal latency, although it faces challenges with Mac OS support, outdated interfaces, and high bandwidth usage. Enhanced SaaS functionalities and improved support for AI features are sought after improvements.

What are SonicWall Netextender's key features?

Cost-effectiveness: Provides a budget-friendly solution for enterprise VPN connections.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing organizational needs.
SSL-VPN Encryption: Utilizes advanced encryption for data security.
Microsoft Integration: Seamlessly connects with Microsoft Intune and Identity Management.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Remote Access Security: Maintains security with multifactor authentication.
Ease of Use: Detailed documentation facilitates easy setup and management.
High Availability: Supports stable connections with minimal downtime.
Efficiency: Helpful in managing VPN accounts and access control.

SonicWall Netextender is utilized in industries such as healthcare, education, and insurance to enable remote work and access to office resources. Its integration with Microsoft 365 supports file transfers and remote management of hybrid work environments, although some find it costly compared to free options.

SonicWall

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

September 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

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