No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs SonicWall SMA comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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 Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in SSL VPN
4th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA as a Service (12th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in SSL VPN
6th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 8.3%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.9%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)8.3%
SonicWall SMA6.9%
Other84.8%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Manager - Projects at airtel
Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion
The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.
BA
Owner at ThinkEzIT
Security enhances through autonomous protection and strong support while multi-factor authentication secures access
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to. I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, as I haven't been looking at what they're releasing. We're a small shop, so we drop stuff in and manage it and do what we need to do to maintain it. If we run into an issue, we contact support. There's a learning curve, but it comes down to getting support to train you on the product, and then once you have the training you need, you're able to make the changes and updates that you need to.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The setup is quick and easy on the client-side."
"This solution gives you double security because it uses both hard and soft tokens."
"Support does solve our issues."
"AnyConnect is more stable than any other VPN connection, in my experience."
"The product is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is its ease of use and simple interface, and it's always available as long as I have a good network connection."
"The solution is perfect for both large and small companies."
"If you're looking for an easily configurable and accessible kind of solution, then I suggest that Cisco is the product to go to, hands down."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"The performance is good."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"Secure remote access is now available from home offices."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
 

Cons

"Cisco Secure Client is quite solid, but the license terms are complex and could be improved."
"One improvement could be ensuring better backward compatibility."
"A two-factor authentication feature was recently added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client. In the past, you only needed to log in with your username and password, but now, there's a token, and the user interface for that token isn't that good."
"The GUI really needs to be upgraded."
"Behavior analytics and other newer technologies should be integrated into the solution."
"More frequent updates would be ideal."
"If they could simplify connections via other machines, like Linux or Mac OS X, it would be helpful."
"We were going to use the Cisco AnyConnect with hardware tokens. However, right now, it's very complicated in terms of delivering the hardware token to the customer. That's why we are looking for a software token right now."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers. Normally enterprises and SMBs can create a ticket, but for enterprises, SonicWall SMA needs to provide a global view, and this is what's currently missing. It's not even a question of timing. It's a question of the global vision because currently, it's lacking. They concentrate on the topic, but not on the means and not on the global picture. In most cases, there's something wrong with the integration of SonicWall SMA with other products, so that could also be improved."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are in the North African region, and Cisco products are expensive for us. On a scale from one to ten with one being very affordable and ten being expensive, I'd rate the price at eight."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
"We pay for an annual subscription. Additionally to the subscription, we thought in order to connect this solution to the Active Directory we had to purchase a Cisco ACS, Access Control System. It turns out we did not actually need it."
"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"The pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."
"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which SSL VPN solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise49
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
There are no features that I wish Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) had that it does not currently provide. If I could change one thing about it, I would have no changes to suggest.
What is your primary use case for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
I primarily use Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) for VPN connections and network-related activities. We have Cisco APIs and Cisco VPN that serve as the foundation for our operations. As a...
What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to. I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, a...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SMA?
I have experience with the SonicWall SMA; we have rolled it back into our stack. We use SonicWall SMA for all of our clients that need VPNs, including doctor's offices and lawyer offices. Our clien...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.