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Sangfor SSL VPN vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

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

Sangfor SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
7th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
17th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
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
Universal Access Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Sangfor SSL VPN is 6.9%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.9%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall SMA6.9%
Sangfor SSL VPN6.9%
Other86.2%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Wajeeh Ul Hasan . - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology
A secure and user-friendly solution that is simple to implement and configure
We used Sangfor SSL VPN to access our servers from home during COVID-19 in case of emergency Sangfor SSL VPN has secured our organization, and we haven't faced any attacks. Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution. The other valuable features of the solution include web access…
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

"Altogether, this is a very good product."
"The most valuable feature is our ability to limit access by user, IP address, or MAC address."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution."
"It is a stable solution...The initial setup of the product is very easy."
"The platform is easy to use."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"The SonicWall SSL-VPN solution offers the best protection with the least effect on services."
"The product is extremely flexible, the program is easy to use, the performance is good, and the solution is very stable."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
"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, it is very fast and it has a simple interface."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
 

Cons

"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"User interface could be improved."
"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."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price 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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Sangfor SSL VPN?
The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved. Its interoperability matrices and different configurations with other vendor products also need improvements. Our client ha...
What is your primary use case for Sangfor SSL VPN?
We're currently exploring Sangfor SSL VPN more on the cybersecurity side.
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

No data available
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Investcorp, Central Bancorp, Griffiths & Armour
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor SSL VPN vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
890,027 professionals have used our research since 2012.