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Citrix Gateway vs SonicWall SMA comparison

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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

Citrix Gateway
Ranking in Universal Access Gateways
1st
Ranking in SSL VPN
1st
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in Universal Access Gateways
2nd
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
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Universal Access Gateways category, the mindshare of Citrix Gateway is 39.4%, down from 43.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 37.1%, down from 42.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Universal Access Gateways Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Citrix Gateway39.4%
SonicWall SMA37.1%
Other23.5%
Universal Access Gateways
 

Featured Reviews

PEDRO FONSECA - PeerSpot reviewer
Citrix VDI & Windows Virtualization Specialist at ATOS
Modular security has protected remote access and simplifies endpoint compliance management
The most valuable feature in Citrix Gateway is the securable, modular solution. The most useful behaviors that Citrix has is that you can secure the applications and all the infrastructure in a modular way. You can segment the securization in groups, allowing you to do a lot of things. Citrix Gateway is really strong and secure for the companies to have the Endpoint Analysis feature configured. You can configure this to check what the company needs to be checked. Companies need to authorize some devices to check if antivirus can accomplish the necessities of the company. The final appliance is really secure for accessing the company's network resources. You have many ways to maintain security protocols. One way is using Citrix Gateway, and another is the Citrix policies where you can configure many things in desktops and applications published for the company.
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 most valuable feature is that it is secure."
"It performs quite well."
"The initial setup is simple. Normally with all setups, it's not very complicated. It really depends on the customer."
"The solution is stable."
"Stability is good I'd say; we did not face any issues so far and it's been running smoothly for around 5000 users."
"We can maintain our systems using the solution."
"The product is straightforward."
"For customers who are concerned with security and would want to have virtual machines in their environment, I recommend this solution."
"Secure remote access is now available from home offices."
"My advice to others is this solution is reliable, feature-rich, and reasonable-priced."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"I like the load balancing capability, it is very fast and it has a simple interface."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
 

Cons

"If there is an increase in the customer infrastructure, it is not stable."
"Security enhancements could be made, and technical support could be improved."
"The solution can be a bit pricey."
"The first level support is very poor."
"Focusing more on AI features could further enhance its performance."
"I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model."
"The dashboard or interface should be more clear in reporting issues. Integration with other applications should be more user-friendly."
"Sometimes the input-output has issues. Maybe it's not as seamless when you plug in audio."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a yearly licensing fee."
"The price could be lower."
"Usually with Citrix the issue is the pricing, especially for the African region. We believe it's really expensive."
"There are two or three different models, but you can actually have a CapEx where you purchase the unit outright and then there's a yearly maintenance cost on top for years two and three, and four, or you can actually do a subscription purchase through Citrix cloud and you pay on a monthly basis, or you can have a three-year subscription contract as well. I give the solution a six out of ten for its cost."
"It costs about 4,000 a year."
"There is a need to make yearly payments for licensing purposes. Also, it is not an expensive one."
"Citrix is quite expensive."
"There is a license to use Citrix Gateway and it is less expensive to use when compared to other solutions."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
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 Business15
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Gateway?
The price is one aspect, but technically it is complete. Technically, it is really complete.
What needs improvement with Citrix Gateway?
I see room for improvement in several areas. The monitoring site could be much better because monitoring NetScaler and Citrix Gateway is too difficult with just SNMP traps available. Improving the ...
What is your primary use case for Citrix Gateway?
I am on the customer side using Citrix products, specifically Citrix CVAD for Virtual and Desktop virtualization. I am using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service. We are using Citrix Gateway an...
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

Citrix NetScaler Unified Gateway
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aeronamic, Avianca, Bechtel Corporation, Betfair UK, Catholic University Leuven (K.U. Leuven), Centene Corporation, Cerner, Charityshare, City of High Point, Clark Builders
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix Gateway vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.