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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for its security, ease of use, and minimal impact on performance.
Sentiment score
3.4
OpenVPN Access Server enhances remote work efficiency with secure connectivity, despite initial costs, offering significant operational benefits.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco IOS SSL VPN users praise the effective customer support, highlighting timely service, comprehensive documentation, and strong local assistance.
Sentiment score
4.6
Users appreciate OpenVPN Access Server for its community and documentation, often eliminating the need for technical support.
We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
When Cisco first took over, it was a bit more difficult to get support, but they now integrate it without differentiating the support for Linksys versus full-blown Cisco switches.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would rate the technical support an eight on a scale of one to ten.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Any issue was solved in five to ten minutes.
System Network Administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
The documentation was absolutely fine for me; it was well-structured, and I did not have any difficulties with this solution.
Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Globant
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and efficient, supporting diverse user bases with flexible licensing and expandability.
Sentiment score
6.4
OpenVPN Access Server's scalability varies; some face challenges, while others achieve seamless scaling, influenced by infrastructure and regional factors.
It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
When we deploy and install OpenVPN Access Server, the principle is to install and forget.
System Network Administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
It's not very easy to expand, and it would be beneficial if the process were simpler.
Chief Cloud Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It is scalable on AWS because it is a matter of increasing the instance size and increasing the number of licenses.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly stable and reliable, with users experiencing minimal issues and continuous service even during power failures.
Sentiment score
6.8
OpenVPN Access Server is stable and reliable, with minor issues resolved and consistently positive ratings for stability.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is extremely stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Regarding stability, I have not had any crashes, performance issues, or stability issues with OpenVPN Access Server.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
I find it very stable.
System Network Administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS SSL VPN requires improvements in language support, pricing, GUI, compatibility, deployment processes, and enhanced remote access options.
Users seek an improved OpenVPN GUI with enhanced security, speed, scalability, flexible licensing, and better configuration and notification systems.
There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
If they had a one-click setup where you provide credentials instead of manually running commands, that would be beneficial.
Chief Cloud Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
If there was a dedicated plan for startups, it would be really helpful.
Devops Engineer at Emergent
You can see who can access what resources from the user view, but you can also see the reverse, which is which resource can be accessed by what users.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is costly compared to FortiGate and Aruba, though discounts exist and pricing reflects its stability.
OpenVPN Access Server is cost-effective, offering free and subscription plans; evaluate needs as support costs can arise.
For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
My experience with pricing is excellent as the pricing is free.
Service Delivery Manager at CasCom
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for OpenVPN Access Server is really good, not that expensive.
Devops Engineer at Emergent
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing cost of OpenVPN Access Server is that the licensing is fair for the value provided.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides secure, user-friendly remote access with strong encryption, seamless integration, and efficient management, ensuring high user satisfaction.
OpenVPN Access Server offers easy setup, strong security, multi-platform compatibility, scalability, and cost-effective remote connectivity with user-friendly management.
The solution is also very scalable, offering up to one hundred licenses for free, and can integrate well with Cisco's ecosystem, such as Cisco ISE and NAC.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The valuable features of Cisco IOS SSL VPN are the ease of use and the speed.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable features of OpenVPN are its ease of use, client familiarity, end-user familiarity, operating system integration, and price points.
Service Delivery Manager at CasCom
The main benefits I have seen from using OpenVPN Access Server include secure access to private resources over the public internet.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
OpenVPN Access Server has positively impacted my organization by allowing access to our private services, enhancing security, and enabling remote work from anywhere.
DevOps and Site Reliability Engineer at Honey Insurance
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.0%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 12.2%, down from 13.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenVPN Access Server12.2%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.0%
Other84.8%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.
Fedir Plotnikov - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Globant
User management has simplified internal VPN access and now provides clear visibility and control
I do not use any role defining features because it is a really small organization, so it wasn't required, but it is there if needed. I have seen OpenVPN Access Server integrations such as LDAP, RADIUS, PAM, and SAML, but again, due to the size of the company, it wasn't necessary and we didn't have it inside the company. However, it was nice that it is already embedded inside. We haven't used much in terms of integrations with OpenVPN Access Server, so it's hard to say. We only used basic features there. My advice for others looking to implement OpenVPN Access Server is that it is at least worth trying if you need a fast and easy implementation solution without technical overhead and you just need VPN access, which is supported by all operating systems and mobile operating system vendors. It is definitely worth a try. OpenVPN Access Server was purchased directly from the website, not on the AWS marketplace or through a partner purchase. I would rate this product an overall eight out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business36
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
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 do you like most about OpenVPN Access Server?
OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenVPN Access Server?
Regarding pricing for OpenVPN Access Server, I don't remember all the details exactly, but I believe it is really flexible and even provides something like free trials, so anyone can try it. It was...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. OpenVPN Access Server and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.