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Cisco IOS SSL VPN 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

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)
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
12th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.1%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 2.6%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall Netextender2.6%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.1%
Other94.3%
Enterprise Infrastructure 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.
Rich Darress - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Operating Officer at Darress Tech
Has provided secure remote access to multiple client networks with consistent performance
When buying the appliance itself, there is one downside that isn't exclusive to SonicWall. When you apply all the security settings, many people have one gig connections for internet ISP. If you're bringing in a one gig connection, you have to have a more robust SonicWall to handle that throughput with all your security settings turned on. It gets pretty pricey upfront if you're bringing in a one gig connection. If the customer starts with a two, three, four, or 500 meg connection and has a small unit, they have to replace the whole box when upgrading to a gig, so scalability there is atrocious. However, this issue exists with pretty much any appliance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's technical support is very good."
"It's been stable for as long as I've been using it."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable, and once we connect, we don't face any issues and can do our work."
"The customer service and support are the best. When it comes to support, Cisco is the best vendor ever."
"The solution's environment is stable and doesn't get disconnected every now and then."
"It is very simple to use, and it allows me to get into the university's network from my home, which is very useful for me."
"The split panel functionality is much better in the Cisco IOS SSL VPN than in the Aruba VPN."
"The solution is very reliable, and Cisco as an OEM and a service provider is very trustworthy."
"The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Overall, it's a really good product."
"I found nothing of value in this solution."
"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."
"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 SSL-VPN encryption has been fantastic for my organization's data confidentiality and integrity; we've done extensive testing with third-party cybersecurity testing while connected and it has passed with flying colors."
 

Cons

"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."
"I would like Cisco IOS SSL VPN to provide a faster connection."
"The solution's configuration could be made easier."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"The product’s dashboard is not good enough."
"The product costs a lot of money."
"Cisco has a history of problems with the area of web filtering, because of which my company sometimes had to change the vendor and the appliance."
"I have no notes in terms of areas of improvement."
"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."
"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
"From my experience with using it, we do have problems sometimes with the credentialing-saving parts of it."
"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."
"I am rolling out the new Netextender because I am having some issues with the older version."
"The product does not work well."
"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."
"In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"The tool is expensive."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
"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."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"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."
"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."
"The solution has a pretty good price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?
The pricing for my experience with the setup cost and licensing of SonicWall Netextender is fair. The Netextender itself has no cost. It's the SSL licensing that is attached to the SonicWall. It us...
What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?
SonicWall Netextender has not helped with compliance, as it is not applicable for what I'm doing. I've put several feature requests in over the years and they've implemented them all, so it current...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall Netextender?
Getting to local resources on a customer's network is my main use case with SonicWall Netextender or SonicWall SSL-VPN. As a managed service provider, all my customers have SonicWalls and I get int...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.