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Citrix Gateway vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

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
4th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
39
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
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Universal Access Gateways category, the mindshare of Citrix Gateway is 39.1%, down from 47.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 40.2%, down from 45.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Universal Access Gateways Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Citrix Gateway39.1%
SonicWall SMA40.2%
Other20.69999999999999%
Universal Access Gateways
 

Featured Reviews

SK
Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited
Strong security and versatile features drive positive experience, but support responsiveness can improve
The main purpose of Citrix Gateway is to enforce the appropriate level of access to the correct user on the proper device under the correct conditions. This is enabled through Citrix Gateway combined with endpoint analysis and optional Citrix analytics for security. Regarding improvements, implementing adaptive access policies on Citrix Gateway could be enhanced, particularly in security posture. Although it enforces real-time contextual access control based on device, user network risk, certain aspects can be improved. Other areas for improvement include BYOD access control and risk-based decision-making. Additionally, there is potential for reducing administrative overhead by applying policies dynamically based on context rather than static rules. Incident response speed is another area that could be enhanced.
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

"Its ease of use and how everybody can easily work through it are the most valuable features."
"The stability of the solution is perfect."
"The solution is scalable."
"Citrix Gateway offers an array of valuable features."
"The solution is scalable and can go from a very small deployment to handling 10,000 transactions a second."
"For our use case, it was scalable. There were at least 25 end users using this solution from remote locations. And once the connection was established, there weren't any complaints."
"Most of our customers are using the load balancing feature and also the verification feature is good as well, in my experience."
"The technical support is very responsive and fast"
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
 

Cons

"I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model."
"It's extremely complicated and it's not intuitive. The solution requires a lot of training to get going on it."
"As Citrix Gateway is a third party solution, we wish to have one which is more integrated and involves less administration."
"The major issue is price. I would also like them to make other aspects more accessible."
"Technical support could be improved."
"There could be a faster connection, increased user-friendliness, and more comprehensive dashboards for the platform."
"The initial setup is not straightforward."
"Stability and security could be enhanced."
"The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
"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."
"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."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"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."
"The problem is that when combined with what the client already has, there are two different logins and two different management systems, and these should be consolidated into a single interface."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a yearly licensing fee."
"I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model."
"There is a license to use Citrix Gateway and it is less expensive to use when compared to other solutions."
"There is a need to make yearly payments for licensing purposes. Also, it is not an expensive one."
"Citrix is quite expensive."
"It costs about 4,000 a year."
"Usually with Citrix the issue is the pricing, especially for the African region. We believe it's really expensive."
"It is expensive and requires proper planning with strategy."
"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."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
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?
It's difficult to say that because Citrix Gateway is changing all the time. It is improving all the time, and I think that it is periodically giving us patches. Anything that I can think to be impr...
What is your primary use case for Citrix Gateway?
I participate in integrator projects over the last year or two. Citrix Gateway is used in both my company and my customer's companies.
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?
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...
 

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: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.