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Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks 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

Prisma Access by Palo Alto ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (4th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (1st), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (1st)
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
11th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is 6.2%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.1%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks6.2%
SonicWall Netextender3.1%
Other90.7%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

IgorPinter - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at PULSEC
Zero-trust access has improved remote security and now simplifies cloud-based firewall management
Regarding the integration part for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, the integration with identity providers is pretty much good. It is basically firewall as a service, so it performs well. I completed the integration without any issues. What Palo Alto Networks can do better for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is probably to have the point of presence available in more locations. The point of presence from the Serbia region has the nearest POP in Frankfurt, which is an issue since it is your gateway—when you start browsing the internet, you go through a commercial connection in Germany. They definitely need to spread the service in other countries.
Rich Darress - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Operating Officer at Darress Tech
Has provided secure remote access to multiple client networks with consistent performance
When buying the appliance itself, there is one downside that isn't exclusive to SonicWall. When you apply all the security settings, many people have one gig connections for internet ISP. If you're bringing in a one gig connection, you have to have a more robust SonicWall to handle that throughput with all your security settings turned on. It gets pretty pricey upfront if you're bringing in a one gig connection. If the customer starts with a two, three, four, or 500 meg connection and has a small unit, they have to replace the whole box when upgrading to a gig, so scalability there is atrocious. However, this issue exists with pretty much any appliance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is geographically dispersed, and it sits on top of Google and AWS platforms. Therefore, you don't face the standard issues, such as latency or bandwidth issues, that you usually face in the case of on-prem data centers."
"The product's initial setup phase is simple."
"It's great that we can make sure a machine meets the minimum requirements before users are allowed to log in."
"Prisma Access provides better app performance, allows all the traffic that's really needed for applications and internal resources without any impact on the hardware, and can be continuously scaled in case more resources are needed."
"Speaking as an ambassador for Palo Alto and Prisma access, it's the best solution on the market."
"GlobalProtect has been beneficial for its cloud security capabilities, which are vital as businesses seek hybrid options and need to support remote workers while addressing latency issues."
"The solution also provides traffic analysis, threat prevention, URL filtering, and segmentation. That combination is important because it enhances the protection and makes the traffic more secure. It also keeps things more up-to-date, enabling us to deal with more of the current threats."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to join your network and provide access through the VPN."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"It's a stable tool that does what it is supposed to do."
"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 initial setup is pretty easy."
"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."
"The solution provides high availability."
"The product is very cost-effective; for the price-sensitive market, this is a very good product for an SSL VPN solution."
"When we started to change from IPsec-type clients that were predominantly built right into the firewalls to this approach or deployment style for SSL VPN, the amount of time that our techs spent helping people with VPN issues was probably cut by more than half."
 

Cons

"Compared to other products, the price is slightly high. In fact, sometimes there is a large pricing gap."
"There can be some latency issues with the solution that should be improved."
"We've run into some challenges, having hit a lot of bugs over the past year in the deployment of GlobalProtect."
"The licensing model isn't flexible enough. It's an all-or-nothing model. Other providers in the market allow you to buy modules or add-ons separately. With Prisma Access, you have to purchase the same module for all users."
"The BGP filtering options on Prisma Access should be improved."
"It's not really Prisma's fault, but when you try to create exceptions you don't really have those abilities. You cannot say, on the management platform, "Hey, for these users I want to create these exceptions." That is one thing that I have gotten some complaints about, and we have faced some challenges there."
"When it comes to the VPN, it uses the global protect VPN functionality to connect remotely, but it has a feature limitation for assigning multiple IP sub-links to different user groups. It would be much better if we are able to assign the current IP blocks for the sub-links based on the user groups."
"If you compare Prisma SaaS against other products, such as Cloud Log, it's a little bit tricky to understand, but it offers different functionality that other products don't have. From a user usability point of view, you need some training for this product, as an admin, you need a couple of demos."
"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 product does not work well."
"Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender."
"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
"From my experience with using it, we do have problems sometimes with the credentialing-saving parts of it."
"The UI could be a little better."
"NetExtender did nothing to improve my organization - in fact, it was quite the opposite. Users constantly complained of lag and unbearable sluggishness (with a max speed of 10-30kbps) through the VPN, even though we have relatively high bandwidth for a small office (400mbps)."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Prisma Access is a little bit expensive."
"I'm still comparing, but the solution is quite expensive."
"It is a little expensive. Because it is one of the best in the market, it is a little bit more expensive than other vendors."
"The pricing for this solution is on the higher end."
"As compared to other solutions, Prisma Access is much cheaper. It is probably 30% to 40% cheaper than other solutions, but I do not know the exact cost."
"Actually the solution is very expensive. I don't know the particulars since the purchasing team dealt with it."
"Prisma is in the middle of the road. It's not the most expensive, but it's not the cheapest. There aren't any additional costs, to my knowledge. I know they have some extra modules, but we didn't use them."
"Based on what I have heard from others, it is a pricey solution as compared to its peers, but I am not sure. However, considering the features that it offers, it is a break-even point. You get whatever they are promising."
"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."
"The solution has a pretty good price."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"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."
"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."
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is the better solution - Prisma Access or Zscaler Private Access?
We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure access service edge (SASE) designed to deliver network security in a cloud-deliver...
What do you like most about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?
The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of the secure remote access it provides while also being user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?
From my experience, Palo Alto is more expensive compared to solutions like Netskope and Triscale.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Netextender?
The pricing for my experience with the setup cost and licensing of SonicWall Netextender is fair. The Netextender itself has no cost. It's the SSL licensing that is attached to the SonicWall. It us...
What needs improvement with SonicWall Netextender?
SonicWall Netextender has not helped with compliance, as it is not applicable for what I'm doing. I've put several feature requests in over the years and they've implemented them all, so it current...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall Netextender?
Getting to local resources on a customer's network is my main use case with SonicWall Netextender or SonicWall SSL-VPN. As a managed service provider, all my customers have SonicWalls and I get int...
 

Also Known As

Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Concord Hospital, State of Colorado, Essilor International, RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, University of Westminster, Universidade Nove de Julho, SPAR Austria, CAME Group, ZipRealty, Greenhill & Co., IKT Agder, Aviva Stadium, Animal Logic, Management & Training Corporation, Brigham Young University Hawaii, School District of Chilliwack
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.