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OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 31, 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

OpenVPN Access Server Enter...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
50
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 OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise is 13.0%, down from 15.3% 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

LAWAL YUSUF - PeerSpot reviewer
Has robust features for encryption and stability
We use the product for secure remote access, including WiFi and IoT device security The product has strong encryption and scalability features. It provides security for private network connections. The product’s connectivity is very slow. It could be faster. We have been using OpenVPN Access…
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

"I like that it's easy to use, easy to download, and not hard to manage."
"Two-factor authentication allows us to not force frequent password changes."
"The initial setup phase of OpenVPN Access Server was fine, and it was easy."
"The product’s adaptability is valuable."
"I like that it's free."
"You can do local subnet blocking."
"It is very easy to look at the quality of the connection and the bandwidth and do an investigation if there are problems on the network."
"The features I have found to be most valuable are the levels of encryption I can enact and the compression I can apply to improve throughput."
"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."
"One of the most valuable features of SonicWall Netextender is the integration of VPN accounts with Microsoft Identity Management, which enables us to enforce secure access through Microsoft Intune and conditional access policies. This helps ensure that only authorized individuals are able to access the VPN, rather than anyone with knowledge of a password."
"The solution provides high availability."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"NetExtender works very well. I never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me. In terms of management, you have good control over the destination. You can use NetExtender to set the policy and the static route for a client. You can modify it based on what your client needs or can access. You have good control over routing."
"The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."
"The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use."
"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."
 

Cons

"There are tasks that require logging onto the server to run commands, which is not intuitive through the UI."
"The logs should be made easier to read."
"If someone's key is not working, or if we had to remove someone's permission from it, or maybe an employee left the company and we had to take their key out, that seemed a little bit more complicated than it had to be."
"There could be an easier way to set up the solution. However, if you use the provided information that comes with the solution there should not be a problem."
"One improvement I would like to see in OpenVPN is better adaptability in certain geographical areas."
"I would be more happy with the idea of licensing to have a reduced price with longer, grouped, annual fees. We have a lot of other software that does the same thing. It's a little higher price if you're going with a shorter stint, but there's a reduction in price for three- and five-year contracts."
"OpenVPN could improve in centralized management and enhance the GUI configuration steps."
"If we had to create something for someone who was not necessarily tech savvy, I had to set that up on their computer, I had to write "read me's" and other things so that they could install their client and then connect to the VPN by themselves. So it was hard to set up for people who are not tech savvy."
"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 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 UI could be a little better."
"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."
"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."
"They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product."
"The Netextender application itself doesn't really look pretty, however, we can still use it. We don't care what it looks like. That said, if they did a cosmetic update, that would be fine."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"OpenVPN is a free and open-source solution."
"It is an open-source solution, so we don't pay for anything."
"The licensing has a fixed pricing."
"The product offers yearly as well as monthly subscription plans. It has moderate pricing."
"The Pro Edition has a reasonable price per user."
"At one point I had to purchase addition connection licenses. I was very pleased with the pricing and licensing; so much easier than navigating the confusing jungle of Microsoft and Cisco licensing and pricing. That alone made the product a delight to manage."
"The solution was free of charge."
"It is free, you buy support."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
University
7%
Educational Organization
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

How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What do you like most about OpenVPN Access Server?
OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenVPN Access Server?
We recommend checking the compliance you need for the project and picking the product that meets those requirements within the best price. For us, it was OpenVPN.
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

OpenVPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.