OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey vs SonicWall SMA comparison

TurnKey GNU/Linux and SonicWall are both solutions in the SSL VPN category. TurnKey GNU/Linux is ranked #9 with an average rating of 9.5, while SonicWall is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.5. TurnKey GNU/Linux holds a 1.2% mindshare in SV, compared to SonicWall’s 7.0% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of TurnKey GNU/Linux users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

OpenVPN Community Edition -...

Read 4 OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey reviews

1,555 Views
31 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

SonicWall SMA

Read 15 SonicWall SMA reviews

1,196 Views
419 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

OpenVPN Community Edition -...

SonicWall SMA

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey and SonicWall SMA based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two SSL VPN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey vs. SonicWall SMA Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey vs. SonicWall SMA

December 2025

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Helped 880,481 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

OpenVPN Community Edition -...

Ranking in SSL VPN

9th

Average Rating

9.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SonicWall SMA

Ranking in SSL VPN

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Universal Access Gateways (2nd), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey is 1.2%. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 7.0%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SonicWall SMA	7.0%
OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey	1.2%
Other	91.8%

SSL VPN

Featured Reviews

reviewer2783919

Associate Vice President at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Secure cloud migrations have accelerated as our teams access critical workloads remotely

OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey can be improved by looking forward to recommendations regarding compute sizing, which is necessary. I have seen multiple third-party solutions demanding configurations based on compute and memory aspects. However, what I have learned from OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey is that it comes with minimal configuration, but I am always stringent about how many client VPN connections it can handle. There has to be some bifurcation regarding this. I have not experienced any access lag so far or any performance issues. I do not see any problems with the configurations or recommendations provided by OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey for 100 or 200 users simultaneously, but I still foresee a need for some recommendations from OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey regarding the number of user connections it can handle given certain configurations.

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Barry Arendt

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey is the best in class client VPN solution that one can opt for."

"We use the solution to connect to our internal infrastructure in our data center."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its stability and user-friendly UI."

"OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey has made a remarkable compute saving from the perspective when we need secure communication to connect to the AWS cloud tenant and is a quick, efficient solution rather than looking forward to any other solution."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."

"I think they ask for a fair price."

"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."

"I like the load balancing capability."

"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."

"The performance is good."

"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."

"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."

More SonicWall SMA pros

Cons

"The product's initial setup phase is not straightforward, making it an area where improvements are required."

"I would like to get less updates from the solution."

"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price 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."

"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."

"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."

"User interface could be improved."

"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 solution could integrate better with other platforms."

"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."

More SonicWall SMA cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"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."

"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."

"The platform has medium pricing."

"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."

"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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880,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

14%

University

12%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?

The most valuable features of the solution are its stability and user-friendly UI.

See all answers

What needs improvement with OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?

All we are looking forward to is to know the configuration we have to follow if an N number of concurrent connections is required. For example, if it could have been 20 or 30, then what should be t...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey?

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall SMA?

Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security.

See all answers

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

The pricing for the solution could be a lot less.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?

See all answers

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Oracle Linux with Support by Supported Images vs OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey

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n8n vs OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey

Compared 19% of the time

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SonicWall Netextender vs SonicWall SMA

Compared 12% of the time

Citrix Gateway vs SonicWall SMA

Compared 11% of the time

Ivanti Connect Secure vs SonicWall SMA

Compared 9% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs SonicWall SMA

Compared 9% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs SonicWall SMA

Compared 9% of the time

More SonicWall SMA Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SSL VPN

January 2026

OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey report

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Buyer's Guide

SonicWall SMA

December 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

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

Overview

OpenVPN® Community Edition provides a full-featured open source SSL/TLS Virtual Private Network (VPN). The TurnKey Linux VPN software appliance leverages the open source 'openvpn-server', 'openvpn-client' and 'easy-rsa' software (developed by OpenVPN® Inc.) to support "site-to-site" or "gateway" access. "Site-to-site" can link 2 otherwise unconnected LANs; suitable for multi-site enterprise networks or linkage to an Amazon VPC. "Gateway" configuration can secure traffic across public and/or insecure wifi connections and/or provide a secure solution for remote work scenarios.

TurnKey GNU/Linux

SonicWall SMA is a unified secure access gateway that enables organizations to provide anytime, anywhere and any device access to mission critical corporate resources. SMA's granular access control policy engine, context aware device authorization, application level VPN and advanced authentication with single sign-on empowers organizations to embrace BYOD and mobility in a hybrid IT environment.

SonicWall

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort

Buyer's Guide

OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey vs. SonicWall SMA

December 2025

Free Report: OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey vs. SonicWall SMA

Find out what your peers are saying about OpenVPN Community Edition - powered by TurnKey vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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We monitor all SSL VPN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.