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Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs SonicWall Netextender 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

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
15th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 6.3%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.7%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

MatsHagberg Olsson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Designs subnets with high security while navigating evolving integration processes
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances. You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings. It also requires Entra ID for privileged access groups, resulting in high security.
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows using a custom port for the VPN connection and provides very satisfactory customer support
In the past, customers wanted an application that could run directly upon starting the PC, automatically connecting to the firewall. We were not able to do it in NetExtender. This was something customers wanted, but we couldn't provide due to NetExtender's limitations. I feel NetExtender might have rolled out this feature. In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful. For example, we faced a situation where a customer wanted to allow Office 365 access without any kind of internet, just through the local internet. Office 365 has multiple dynamic IPs and URLs that can be updated daily, making it difficult to allow. If there were an AI-based solution that could bring those URLs and new IP addresses to the firewall and add them to the rule, that would be very helpful. That is just one scenario; there are multiple things AI could help with.

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 quick to connect."
"The scalability is a highly valued feature."
"The most valuable feature is the networking. I didn't have a good experience with the networking that Sophos has."
"It works perfectly for me. It is very user-friendly in terms of the configuration and the setup process."
"It is easy to configure."
"The Azure tool is useful and powerful and availability for clients. The updates are very good and reliable."
"All of our offices are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The solution is scalable."
"You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings."
"I found nothing of value in this solution."
"It allows us to work remotely."
"The solution provides high availability."
"The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."
"My company opted for this solution because it can individually perform. Basically, we don't require load balancers and all those additional feature sets or additional devices that might be required. The solution can handle the certificate, DNS queries, and all that stuff individually."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."
"The product has two-factor authentication."
 

Cons

"Connectivity could be improved in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway because it's not as stable, particularly when connecting a device tunnel."
"Documentation and configuration settings can be improved."
"The connectivity should be faster."
"The marketing material in the portal is not very user-friendly."
"In future releases, I would like to see the ability to inject BGP routes."
"The product must provide a single sign-on."
"There is a need to improve the paperwork and management approval process, which is currently painful, though not directly related to the VPN Gateway itself."
"The price of the solution should be more affordable"
"The initial setup of SonicWall Netextender is straightforward. The only issue we encountered was with relocating the VPN appliance. If we needed to move it from an on-premise to an on-cloud architecture, we had to start over and redeploy it from scratch. Unfortunately, it is not portable and any changes to its physical location often result in the need for a fresh deployment to ensure everything functions properly."
"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."
"The UI could be a little better."
"Sometimes you can get bounced around through the departments until you find the right one. Sometimes if you don't have the most current support contract or your license is out of date, they won't even talk to you."
"The product does not work well."
"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
"The only concern I do have is with the zero trust, and the solution is not coping with the newer technologies as much as it needs to do on that particular factor."
"Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I pay the licensing charges associated with the tool on an hourly basis. The tool is affordable."
"The product costs us $140 to $180 per month."
"The software has good pricing compared to other vendors."
"Its price is reasonable for new technology."
"It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance."
"There is a monthly license and the price depends on how many users are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The price could be less expensive."
"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is the cheapest way for us to connect to our cloud infrastructure. Other solutions, such as ExpressRoute are very expensive."
"The cost could be lower."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
"The solution has a pretty good price."
"The price of SonicWall Netextender is reasonable. Whether it's a small shop with only five users or a larger operation with 130 users, we have received no complaints or objections regarding cost from any of the clients we are looking to deploy it with."
"Cost wise, it would be a few hundred dollars for the base appliance with the first five clients. Then from there, your cost per seat depends on how many you're getting. It's a one-time cost, and then you have a few hundred dollars a year for the maintenance contract once you get the one-time seat costs out of the way."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"You have to pay for its license. There are some other companies that provide a VPN client for free. When you buy NetExtender, its license is available for one, three, or five years."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Outsourcing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
In Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, there aren't too many areas for improvement, but the configuration part might be a little tricky. It took some time to get things to work, but once figured out, it b...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
We work with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and the VPN firewalls. We have our local physical firewall infrastructure from Cisco and other companies, but we can't compare those with the virtual networ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?
Pricing is a simple thing. We have the key, and we need to enter it in the SonicWall official portal. That's all. Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, ...
What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?
I cannot think of specific areas that could be improved with the SonicWall Netextender. The main focus should be on continuous improvements to address any CVEs or vulnerabilities to ensure they're ...
 

Also Known As

MS Azure VPN Gateway
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.