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OpenVPN Access Server vs SonicWall SMA 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
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 SMA
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd), SSL VPN (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 15.3%, up from 15.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise15.3%
SonicWall SMA1.3%
Other83.4%
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…
Mayur_Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy-to-manage product with efficient features for network security
SonicWall SMA facilitates and protects remote workforce access to corporate resources from any location Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface. We have been using SonicWall…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is easy to use."
"It can scale well."
"It is open-source and free to use."
"It can securely do remote product updates... just as if it was on our LAN."
"Provides privacy and cryptography for my network communication."
"It is open source and therefore affordable for small projects."
"The setup is easy."
"​It allows us to give access to our office network in a safe and secure way to users, no matter which computing platform they use. ​"
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"I am very satisfied with the technical support."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"The performance is good."
 

Cons

"There sometimes is an incompatibility between some VPNs."
"They may have this already, but it would be nice to be able to get more notifications if a site drops unexpectedly."
"The upgrade path from older versions was more difficult than we wanted to tackle, so we ran an older version of the software for longer than I wanted. Patching, updating, and migrating to newer versions was a problem for us. That said, we were on a rather old version that I inherited yet it worked rock solid."
"I'd like to have more control over the users when they are accessing the network."
"The security needs to be improved because it was a complaint that our customers had."
"I would like to see a simpler interface, so that we can make the connection between the local network using the LAN IP."
"The solution should provide a faster connection, and its security could be improved."
"It would be nice with all these features, if they could send some examples of each one; just small sample scripts to look at and say, "Oh okay, I could expand on this." That would help us a lot."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"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 product's technical support services could 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."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"User interface could be improved."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"OpenVPN is a free and open-source solution."
"I don't need to pay for its license since it is an open-source tool."
"The solution was free of charge."
"OpenVPN Access Server is free and open source."
"The price point is fantastic since it is free."
"I would say the product's pricing is a good value. I would recommend to other companies to implement it. I've seen other software, in tandem with the service, to be very expensive."
"OpenVPN is an open-source solution. If the solution is used for personal use it is free. For non-personal use, the solution can be expensive."
"The Pro Edition has a reasonable price per user."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Retailer
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

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 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

OpenVPN
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about OpenVPN Access Server vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,021 professionals have used our research since 2012.