Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

Cisco and SonicWall are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. Cisco is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0, while SonicWall is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.0. Cisco holds a 2.0% mindshare in EIV, compared to SonicWall’s 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 70% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

Cisco IOS SSL VPN

Read 50 Cisco IOS SSL VPN reviews

1,295 Views
1,062 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SonicWall Netextender

Read 14 SonicWall Netextender reviews

2,514 Views
2,514 Comparison Views

70% willing to recommend

Cisco IOS SSL VPN

SonicWall Netextender

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Cisco IOS SSL VPN and SonicWall Netextender are both widely used for secure remote access. Users favor SonicWall Netextender for its robust features, despite the higher cost, while Cisco IOS SSL VPN receives better feedback regarding support and pricing.

Features: Cisco IOS SSL VPN offers reliable VPN connectivity, compatibility with various devices, and strong support services. SonicWall Netextender provides advanced security measures, excellent performance under load, and great scalability.

Room for Improvement: Cisco IOS SSL VPN could enhance its documentation, simplify configuration processes, and improve ease of use. SonicWall Netextender needs better administrative tools, enhanced stability, and improved error handling during usage.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco IOS SSL VPN's deployment is generally straightforward, though some find the initial setup complex. SonicWall Netextender deployment is mostly smooth, yet some report minor technical difficulties. Cisco is known for prompt and helpful customer service, while SonicWall's support is satisfactory but less praised.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco IOS SSL VPN is cost-effective, balancing price and functionality well. SonicWall Netextender, though more expensive, is valued for its comprehensive features and security, making it worth the investment for many users.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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

8th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

SSL VPN (2nd)

SonicWall Netextender

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

13th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.3%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN	2.0%
SonicWall Netextender	3.3%
Other	94.7%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Viktor Masnyy

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.

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Rich Darress

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.

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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."

"Cisco certainly has a really strong support team."

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides fast connectivity and the option to connect through multiple servers."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use, management, and support."

"The most valuable features are that it's reliable, convenient, and easy. It always works if configured well."

"The product's setup phase was easy."

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is very stable. We never experience issues with it."

"It is very effective and I am satisfied with how it works and with its performance."

More Cisco IOS SSL VPN pros

"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."

"The solution provides high availability."

"Employees can have access to the network from home."

"It allows us to work remotely."

"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 most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."

"The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use."

More SonicWall Netextender pros

Cons

"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."

"The configuration must be improved."

"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."

"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."

"Compatibility can sometimes be a challenge. There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility."

"The graphical interface is old and needs to improve."

"The pricing needs to be better."

"When many people are using the internet at home, which is usually right after dinner, this type of service is a little bit hard to use. The internet becomes quite slow, and sometimes, I have to stop using this application. I am not sure if this issue is because of the application or my internet provider."

More Cisco IOS SSL VPN cons

"The product does not work well."

"They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product."

"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."

"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."

"In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful."

"The UI could be a little better."

"Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution."

"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."

More SonicWall Netextender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."

"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"

"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."

"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."

"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."

"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."

"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."

"The tool is expensive."

More Cisco IOS SSL VPN pricing and cost advice

"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."

"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."

"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."

"The solution has a pretty good price."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	24

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco IOS SSL VPN?

The solution is pretty fast.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?

I am not sure about the pricing of Cisco IOS SSL VPN.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Citrix Gateway vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN

Compared 10% of the time

Array AG Series vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN

Compared 8% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN

Compared 8% of the time

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OpenVPN Access Server vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 30% of the time

SonicWall Connect Tunnel vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 16% of the time

SonicWall SMA vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 10% of the time

SonicWall Mobile Connect vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 9% of the time

More SonicWall Netextender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco IOS SSL VPN

January 2026

Download Cisco IOS SSL VPN product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall Netextender

January 2026

Download SonicWall Netextender product report

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN

No data available

Overview

Cisco SSL VPN solutions help you easily and securely extend the network to users who have access to the Internet and a web browser. You can customize access and extend the reach of your corporate network to individuals based on their roles, including teleworker contractors and business partners.

Cisco

SonicWall Netextender provides secure remote access, supporting remote work with valuable features like two-factor authentication, low latency, and integration with Microsoft identity management.

SonicWall Netextender facilitates secure client-to-site VPN connections for remote staff, integrating seamlessly with Microsoft identity management and using existing credentials like Active Directory. Its cost-effectiveness and detailed documentation attract enterprises in sectors such as insurance, healthcare, and education. Despite excellent control over routing, the intuitive setup could be improved, with users experiencing performance and licensing flexibility issues, especially with multi-factor authentication. While integration with SAML ensures seamless authentication, high bandwidth consumption and the outdated interface are mentioned for enhancement. Overall, SonicWall Netextender supports remote file transfers and access to Microsoft 365 portals, although additional features like automatic connection on startup and AI integration would address current user demands.

What features does SonicWall Netextender offer?

Remote Work Support: Facilitates secure connections for remote staff
Integration with Microsoft Identity Management: Connects effortlessly using existing credentials
Two-Factor Authentication: Enhances security during remote access
Low Latency and High Stability: Ensures uninterrupted remote connections
Cost-effectiveness: Attracts organizations with budget-friendly options

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Secure Access: Reliable protection for remote file transfers
Ease of Setup: Quick deployment with minimal IT disruption
Flexible Integration: Utilizes existing credentials for seamless user experience
Documentation: Comprehensive guides for efficient setup and use

Enterprises from insurance, healthcare, and education sectors benefit from SonicWall Netextender by enabling secure remote or hybrid work. Companies facilitate efficient management of remote work, providing access to corporate resources from any location. Challenges include the authentication setup, but its support for remote access to Microsoft 365 and secure file transfers offer substantial utility for these industries.

SonicWall

Sample Customers

MST Systems

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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