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AWS Direct Connect vs SonicWall Netextender 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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
12th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
15th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.8%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Flavio Gomes Figueira Camacho Junior - PeerSpot reviewer
Establish secure and private connections between on-premise infrastructure and cloud environments
AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure. This is particularly beneficial because it helps me use our infrastructure for databases and testing while leveraging AWS's computing power for production purposes. I also do not need to expose management of our machines to the public internet, enhancing security by using a private connection.
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows using a custom port for the VPN connection and provides very satisfactory customer support
In the past, customers wanted an application that could run directly upon starting the PC, automatically connecting to the firewall. We were not able to do it in NetExtender. This was something customers wanted, but we couldn't provide due to NetExtender's limitations. I feel NetExtender might have rolled out this feature. In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful. For example, we faced a situation where a customer wanted to allow Office 365 access without any kind of internet, just through the local internet. Office 365 has multiple dynamic IPs and URLs that can be updated daily, making it difficult to allow. If there were an AI-based solution that could bring those URLs and new IP addresses to the firewall and add them to the rule, that would be very helpful. That is just one scenario; there are multiple things AI could help with.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"The solution provides high availability."
"The product has two-factor authentication."
"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."
"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."
"The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use."
"The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."
"My company opted for this solution because it can individually perform. Basically, we don't require load balancers and all those additional feature sets or additional devices that might be required. The solution can handle the certificate, DNS queries, and all that stuff individually."
"Employees can have access to the network from home."
 

Cons

"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"I would like to see better traffic visibility and higher throughput security, especially for organizations that require more than what the current limit allows."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"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."
"SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender."
"In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful."
"The initial setup of SonicWall Netextender is straightforward. The only issue we encountered was with relocating the VPN appliance. If we needed to move it from an on-premise to an on-cloud architecture, we had to start over and redeploy it from scratch. Unfortunately, it is not portable and any changes to its physical location often result in the need for a fresh deployment to ensure everything functions properly."
"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."
"Sometimes you can get bounced around through the departments until you find the right one. Sometimes if you don't have the most current support contract or your license is out of date, they won't even talk to you."
"They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product."
"The product does not work well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"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."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"The solution has a pretty good price."
"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."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
"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
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.
What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) and AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ), for disaster recovery pur...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I have used AWS Direct Connect ( /products/aws-direct-connect-reviews ) in projects to directly connect artifacts and for setting up a call center service in a customer service project. It is used ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?
Pricing is a simple thing. We have the key, and we need to enter it in the SonicWall official portal. That's all. Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, ...
What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?
I cannot think of specific areas that could be improved with the SonicWall Netextender. The main focus should be on continuous improvements to address any CVEs or vulnerabilities to ensure they're ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.