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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs SonicWall SMA 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 SSL VPN
3rd
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in SSL VPN
8th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
19th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 9.6%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 5.1%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Rupesh Kolhapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers easy setup phase but needs to improve connectivity
For our company's remote workforce connectivity, the tool was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In general, the VPN functionality offered by the product was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In terms of the product's ability to secure third-party access, the tool works very well. The most valuable feature of the product in terms of network security stems from the fact that the tool provides access to the whole network, and even if users give access to some special applications, it is still really helpful. The clientless access feature is not available for clients. My company installed the product for its clients. If the product offers a clientless access feature, then it is okay and can be very helpful for our company. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a reliable product. The product is very helpful for a work-from-home setup as the tool can be used to access our company's internal network, which Falls outside the network of our organization. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
Maheshbabu T - PeerSpot reviewer
It allows us to provide CML-based access to any user, but the reporting could be better
I rate SonicWall SMA seven out of 10. If you're planning to implement this solution, I suggest checking the version to ensure it's compatible with your other technology. I say go for it if it's suitable for your use case. Multifactor authentication technologies are built into the product, whereas some products lack multifactor authentication. We need only one or two. They provide authentication, gateway integration, OTP integration, etc.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is very stable."
"The solution is pretty fast."
"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."
"It is highly scalable, speedy, and reliable."
"The multicast feature is useful for us."
"With Cisco IOS SSL VPN, you can access your corporate data safely and securely."
"It is stable."
"A reliable and stable solution for remote network access."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
 

Cons

"The configuration is critical and complex."
"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 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."
"The servers should be more user-friendly."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should add a sensor that can authenticate with a fingerprint instead of having to type the username and password every time."
"I would like for it to have support for the Dutch language. I typically use English in 99% of our communications but for some people, it matters."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the client could use an agent to log in. An agent-server model would improve the performance of the RDB, which consumes a lot of bandwidth."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"It is an expensive product."
"The product costs less."
"The tool is expensive."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"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."
"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"I don't know about the pricing of the SSL-VPN box. I know the SSL-VPN software is free. Global VPN client, by comparison, is licensed for around $150 or something like that. But the SSL-VPN software is free. It is already built-in with the box."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Educational Organization
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
The pricing for Cisco IOS SSL VPN is based on per user. For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Compatibility can sometimes be a challenge. There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility. For instance, Windows 11 ( /products/window...
What do you like most about SonicWall SMA?
Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security.
What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?
Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface.
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.