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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Sangfor SSL VPN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
4th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
9th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
22nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 10.6%, up from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor SSL VPN is 7.4%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.6%
Sangfor SSL VPN7.4%
Other82.0%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
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 probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA."
"The split panel functionality is much better in the Cisco IOS SSL VPN than in the Aruba VPN."
"The valuable features of Cisco IOS SSL VPN are the ease of use and the speed; it is pretty fast and easy to use, definitely helps with our efficiency as it is one of our primary VPN solutions, and helps with maintaining security."
"I like to work with the CMD command line because it's easy and it doesn't take very long to configure."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an easy-to-use and straightforward solution."
"It is a stable solution. In my company, we haven't faced any issues related to the product's stability. I rate the product's stability a ten out of ten."
"A reliable and stable solution for remote network access."
"The solution is pretty fast."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
"The platform is easy to use."
"Altogether, this is a very good product."
"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 most valuable feature is our ability to limit access by user, IP address, or MAC address."
 

Cons

"The Secure Plus Connect product could be improved with many enhancements in any price license, especially for licensing. Cisco could simplify the licensing; it could make it easier to order and use the features."
"Improvements could be made in terms of connectivity for applications."
"In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"Multi-factor authentication in Cisco IOS SSL VPN has certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"It can be difficult to find service and at times we cannot connect with the internet easily."
"I have no notes in terms of areas of improvement."
"It would be nice if we could use this not just on mobile, but on laptops and desktops as well."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"It is an expensive product."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
No data available
 

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.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Investcorp, Central Bancorp, Griffiths & Armour
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Sangfor SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
916,771 professionals have used our research since 2012.