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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Sangfor SSL VPN comparison

 

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
8th
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
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 10.7%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor SSL VPN is 7.2%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.7%
Sangfor SSL VPN7.2%
Other82.1%
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

"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."
"The solution's technical support is very good."
"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."
"The multicast feature is useful for us."
"Cisco certainly has a really strong support team."
"While we know that SSL VPN is an advanced technological step towards achieving a more secured network against ever growing multiple networking threats, Cisco's SSL VPN device is definitely a wise choice to pick."
"The solution is quite transparent."
"It's been stable for as long as I've been using it."
"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."
"Altogether, this is a very good product."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution."
"The platform is easy to use."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
 

Cons

"The company sets the policies for the default location, and destination, which the VPN connects. If there is a problem with one of those locations, which happens sometimes when I travel I need to have an option to select a different available location. Currently, I am unable to see that from a user's point of view."
"The product’s dashboard is not good enough."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"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."
"I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration, as Linksys switches are a little bit easier to manage and set up compared to Cisco switches."
"The product costs a lot of money."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"Sometimes the connection drops, and we don't like that. I'm not sure the reason, but sometimes it will take time to connect or it will disconnect fast."
"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is expensive."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"It is an expensive product."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"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 pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which SSL VPN solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

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.
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.
 

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: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.