Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] vs Steelhead comparison

Citrix and Riverbed are both solutions in the WAN Optimization category. Additionally, 90% of Citrix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Riverbed users who would recommend it.

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Read 22 Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

Steelhead

Read 26 Steelhead reviews

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570 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Steelhead

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 12, 2025

Steelhead and Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] compete in the WAN optimization category, with Steelhead having an upper hand due to its Scalable Data Referencing (SDR) and advanced TCP optimization, providing faster LAN-like speeds in WAN environments.

Features: Steelhead offers Scalable Data Referencing (SDR), advanced TCP optimization, and substantial MPLS bandwidth enhancement through compression and data caching. Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] provides reliable connectivity, efficient load balancing for video and voice traffic, and flexible cloud management for extensive connectivity between branches.

Room for Improvement: Steelhead needs better handling of encrypted traffic and simplified setup for QoS alongside an improved RI OS upgrade process. Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] could benefit from lower costs, better integration with security features, and an improved user interface for diagnostics and configurations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Steelhead focuses on physical deployment with strong on-premises support, though complex issues may require time-consuming assistance. Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] offers both on-premises and cloud flexibility, but some improvements in technical knowledge and responsiveness are needed despite efficient support.

Pricing and ROI: Steelhead has a high initial cost but offers significant ROI through bandwidth optimization, though licensing is complex. Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] provides various licensing options such as a perpetual license model and is perceived as costly, but users note cost savings and connectivity management ease as offsets to the price.

To learn more, read our detailed WAN Optimization Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

WAN Optimization

December 2025

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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 SD-WAN [EOL]

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Steelhead

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

WAN Optimization (2nd), WAN Edge (10th)

Featured Reviews

Rohit Ghorpade

Cloud network engineer at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.

A scalable solution for MCN controller but lacks technical supports, upgrades

There are a few things that can be improved, are domain-based routing and the slowness of virtual parts, and it may be due to the wrong configuration, which we have been unable to find out. Previously, we faced some issues with the slowness part. Apart from that, feature like end gateway level antivirus. We are currently using a NetFlow proxy to establish a virtual position for the NetFlow. Our current environment has many use cases, but we are not using them on the Citrix SD-WAN. When I navigate the NCL part, it involves configuration. I want to highlight this disadvantage. Sometimes, when we push the configuration, it tries to push it to all branch locations. This process takes a lot of time, nearly 30 minutes, to push a single change from the NCL. Overall, I don't think Citrix meets our use cases what we have. This is based on my feedback after using it for the past year and working on this Citrix SD-WAN. However, from my experience, it is the worst solution I have seen. There's no domain-based routing, which is horrible. That's why we are moving to other products. We have checked our use case requirements with Fortinet, Palo Alto, and they meet them. I will consider the PoC or another OEM. There are many things in the area you need to be prompt, like the automation part. If any link or device goes down, alerting notification, etc. We need to perform and highlight so many things to your management. This should be improved.

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Chaudhary Muhammad Moez Manzar

Senior manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Reduces operational costs through bandwidth optimization but struggles with high traffic licensing and complex deployments

The logs in Steelhead are fantastic. There is a deep level of logs such as top 10 docker and top 50 docker. I can check from the top 50 docker which type of application is optimizing well and which type of traffic is not optimized. Steelhead provides logs and percentage levels, which is good. I can see any type of log report, report security, different types of report availability, but it is not customizable. Overall, this is a good feature. Steelhead provides real-time optimization with graphs and tables on real-time optimization, informing us packet by packet including port, source IP, destination IP, and destination port number. This reporting and real-time monitoring is fantastic, although I faced a problem in Oracle. Steelhead mainly saves the money that needs to be paid to ISPs. My actual traffic is around 2 GB, but I purchased a link from the ISP for only around 700 to 800 MB. All the prices that need to be paid monthly to the ISP are saved, which is a significant saving for my company after using Riverbed.

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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

"The scalability and stability are quite good in general."

"The most valuable feature of Citrix SD-WAN is customization. You are able to customize the solution to your needs."

"The VPN and the load balancing are the most valuable features."

"The most valuable feature is its reliability."

"The main advantage of Citrix SD-WAN is that it enables fast communication between our branches and data centers. And, with its cloud management features, it also makes the process of adding new branches into our company network much easier."

"We are using it widely for the local record for SaaS-based applications. Another valuable feature is a local breakout."

"The solution is brilliant, the way it calculates its paths and trails is great."

"The stability is the main feature of Citrix SD-WAN. You can also upgrade the data packages or have less transmission."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pros

"The compression of Riverbed is very powerful. It can also handle large quantities of traffic."

"SteelHead works from the application. I use it to optimize traffic from Amazon. It is mainly used for customers who need to increase the traffic to 33K. For other users, it has been more of an operation."

"Steelhead mainly saves the money that needs to be paid to ISPs; my actual traffic is around 2 GB, but I purchased a link from the ISP for only around 700 to 800 MB, and all the prices that need to be paid monthly to the ISP are saved, which is a significant saving for my company after using Riverbed."

"The connectivity to speed is the valuable feature."

"There are several features specific to branches, like keeping data hot and active on Steelhead devices. These features prevent unnecessary data travel across the international LAN."

"Steelhead mainly saves the money that needs to be paid to ISPs, as my actual traffic is around 2 GB but I purchased a link from the ISP for only around 700 to 800 MB, resulting in a significant saving for my company after using Riverbed."

More Steelhead pros

Cons

"The reports need to be improved. We need to have them customized but they don't have that right now. I would like for them to have better system predictions. We don't have that right now. My system may be working fine right now but after making some changes, that can change."

"The price could be improved, it's an expensive solution."

"The solution's licensing model could be improved."

"The price is the only thing that could be improved. Citrix is not a cheap solution."

"I would like to see more customization to adjust for the WAN lock-out due to our unexpected power outages."

"I would like to see support for additional reporting."

"Citrix SD-WAN's knowledge base has a few missing things, so you may need to seek help from support."

"I would like to either see the price reduced or have it packaged with other products to give better value for the money."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] cons

"They should include a network switch in a future release."

"The product needs improvement in its integration with SDN."

"If we load a primary firewall, the secondary firewall usually handles all the active connections, but in Riverbed, this isn't the case. We lose all the active connections at the moment of failure."

"Oracle DB traffic experiences lag and slowness due to Steelhead, while other applications perform fine."

"The traffic is passing, but Oracle DB traffic experiences lag and slowness due to Steelhead, while other applications perform fine."

"One area for improvement is related to monitoring and visibility."

"Steelhead's handling of encrypted traffic could be improved because it requires some complex configuration to optimize encrypted traffic, especially when working with Microsoft protocols for mail servers and VPN services"

"The solution needs to have alert notifications."

More Steelhead cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is relatively expensive."

"The license was a one-time purchase. It's expensive."

"It is a bit expensive. A cheaper product would be good, but everybody likes things to be cheaper. We bought the devices up front, and then we pay for the annual support."

"As NetScaler is now, I find it quite pricey."

"The price of the subscription should be cheaper."

"I'm not quite sure of the price ranges. Roughly, the hidden devices can scale up to $20K for one appliance. However, the branch CPs are USD $1,000 to $2,500."

"I believe that Citrix SD-WAN is a good investment, but I do not have the information to be more specific."

"It would be helpful to have a demo license available for customers who want to prove the concept and conduct a proof of concept (POC) before committing to the solution. This is particularly important for customers in Egypt who often require a demonstration of the solution's features and compatibility with their needs before making any investment or incurring costs. Providing a demo license would allow customers to assess whether the solution would meet their needs or not."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pricing and cost advice

"The solution is expensive and the service contacts are costly too. The cost of the device makes the value proposition borderline acceptable for us. The service contract fees we pay is approximately $30,000 annually."

"Across our 12 data centers, we spend around $150k annually."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

17%

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Citrix SD-WAN?

The solution's licensing model could be improved. Citrix SD-WAN is a good product from a technical point of view. However, when you compare its licensing with the prices of competitors, you will se...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Citrix SD-WAN?

If a customer already has Citrix NetScaler and is not looking to change anything in their existing environment, we proceed with Citrix SD-WAN. However, if a customer is looking for a change because...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

We just did an assessment for our 47 datacenters around North America. The top two enterprise-level network monitoring solutions were ExtraHop first, Riverbed SteelCenter second. Their negotiated c...

See all answers

What do you like most about Riverbed Steelhead?

One of our most valuable features is Steelhead's cloud migration optimization. Moving to the cloud helped optimize our workflow, improving performance for end-users.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Riverbed Steelhead?

I am currently working with Riverbed for replication between PR to DR for synchronization purposes, and for WAN optimization between replication from one data center to another data center. The mai...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

January 2026

Download Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Steelhead

January 2026

Download Steelhead product report

Also Known As

Citrix CloudBridge, WOC, NetScaler SD-WAN

RIverbed Steelhead

Overview

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] enhances connectivity and performance by optimizing bandwidth utilization, ensuring reliable communication across branch offices and headquarter data centers. It offers centralized management, efficient deployment options, and improved network reliability.

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] is designed for businesses seeking enhanced connectivity solutions that boost application performance while reducing costs. With HDX WAN Optimization and reliable Active-Active connectivity, it assures improved bandwidth management. Tailored for both cloud and on-premise deployments, it supports fast communication and seamless integration, making it user-friendly even for those with limited technical expertise. Security features and zero-touch deployments further enhance its appeal. However, users highlight areas needing improvement, such as configuration intuitiveness, pricing alignment for specific markets, and stability. Enhanced reporting, networking features, and technical support are desired. Integration with Windows, security elements like firewalls, and licensing clarity require attention to meet user expectations.

What are the key features of Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]?

HDX WAN Optimization: Enhances application performance and traffic.
Load Balancing: Ensures efficient traffic distribution across networks.
Reliable Connectivity: Provides seamless failover and reduced costs through MPLS replacement.
Cloud Management: Simplifies deployment and management via the cloud.
Zero-Touch Deployment: Facilitates easy setup and provisioning.
Active-Active Lines: Optimizes bandwidth utilization and performance.
Backup Capabilities: Centralizes data management for security.

What benefits should users look for in Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]?

Enhanced Connectivity: Improves stability and reduces downtime.
Cost Reduction: Efficiently decreases expenses by replacing MPLS.
Network Optimization: Offers better bandwidth for diverse communication types.
Secure Interconnectivity: Ensures secure and reliable network connections.
Management Flexibility: Supports cloud or on-premise deployment options.

Industries benefit from Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] by leveraging its features to ensure stable, redundant connectivity between branches and data centers. Organizations experiencing frequent line failures or high reliance on bandwidth-heavy applications find it particularly useful. It caters to sectors needing reliable data management and enhanced networking.

Citrix

Steelhead is the leading network optimization and application performance solution chosen by over 30,000 organizations worldwide. The performance of networks and applications directly impacts business productivity. Riverbed draws from nearly two decades of experience in driving network and application performance over Wide Area Networks with its flagship offering, SteelHead. SteelHead delivers the underlying technology that helps enterprises of all sizes maximize the efficiency and performance of the networks and applications used to run modern business.

SteelHead is proven to dramatically speed up the performance of applications anywhere in the organization while delivering the best end-user experience even under sub optimal network conditions. Reduce bandwidth utilization by up to 95%, deferring costly network bandwidth upgrades. Increase performance by up to 100x for on-premises applications.

Riverbed

Sample Customers

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Cornerstone Home Lending Inc., Dallara, ecVision, Essar, Eurofred, Groupe Promutuel, HMSHost Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Ltd, Royal Caribbean International

ElAraby, SFK Leblanc, Bobst Group, Northwest Pipe Company, Halkbank, Tradebridge, EFG Hermes

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