SonicWall SMA vs Tailscale comparison

SonicWall and Tailscale are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. SonicWall is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.5, while Tailscale is ranked #14 with an average rating of 9.0. SonicWall holds a 2.4% mindshare in EIV, compared to Tailscale’s 5.1% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of SonicWall users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Tailscale users who would recommend it.

SonicWall SMA

Read 15 SonicWall SMA reviews

1,373 Views
1,153 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Tailscale

Read 1 Tailscale review

3,123 Views
2,280 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SonicWall SMA

Tailscale

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SonicWall SMA and Tailscale based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, OpenVPN, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

January 2026

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Helped 881,707 peers since 2012

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

SonicWall SMA

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

16th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Universal Access Gateways (2nd), SSL VPN (6th)

Tailscale

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

14th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

ZTNA (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 2.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tailscale is 5.1%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tailscale	5.1%
SonicWall SMA	2.4%
Other	92.5%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Barry Arendt

Owner at ThinkEzIT

Security enhances through autonomous protection and strong support while multi-factor authentication secures access

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, as I haven't been looking at what they're releasing. We're a small shop, so we drop stuff in and manage it and do what we need to do to maintain it. If we run into an issue, we contact support. There's a learning curve, but it comes down to getting support to train you on the product, and then once you have the training you need, you're able to make the changes and updates that you need to.

Read full review

reviewer2797194

Software Engineer

Securing private cloud workflows has protected sensitive AWS resources with fine-grained access

The best features Tailscale offers are highlighted by the fact that setting up Tailscale was straightforward, at least once you are following the documentation and the guides. The security is valuable, as there are many providers available, but Tailscale fulfills the requirements that we had, allowing us to access and expose internal apps without exposing them to the general internet. The complex site-to-site connections are replaced using VPNs, and we can SSH into our remote desktops or SSH into our EC2 machines in our AWS regions in a secure way. About the features that make Tailscale stand out for me, with access control lists, we can fine-grain what can be accessed and by whom. It solved our base use case, which is keeping our secured infrastructure behind a private VPN, and that is why we started using it in the first place. Tailscale has had more positive impacts on my organization regarding security.

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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 management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."

"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."

"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."

"The performance is good."

"I like the load balancing capability."

"I think they ask for a fair price."

"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."

"I am very satisfied with the technical support."

More SonicWall SMA pros

"The security is valuable, as there are many providers available, but Tailscale fulfills the requirements that we had, allowing us to access and expose internal apps without exposing them to the general internet."

Cons

"The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance."

"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 overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."

"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."

"User interface could be improved."

"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."

"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."

"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."

More SonicWall SMA cons

"Regarding how Tailscale can be improved, I think for free users, there are some limited options."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform has medium pricing."

"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."

"All the costs are included in a bundled license."

"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."

"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."

"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SonicWall SMA?

Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall SMA?

The pricing for the solution could be a lot less.

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What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?

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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs SonicWall SMA

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs Tailscale

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Tailscale

Compared 7% of the time

Cloudflare One vs Tailscale

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall SMA

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

January 2026

Download Tailscale product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

Overview

SonicWall SMA is a unified secure access gateway that enables organizations to provide anytime, anywhere and any device access to mission critical corporate resources. SMA's granular access control policy engine, context aware device authorization, application level VPN and advanced authentication with single sign-on empowers organizations to embrace BYOD and mobility in a hybrid IT environment.

SonicWall

Tailscale is a modern VPN alternative that provides secure and easy access to resources across multiple networks and devices. Its primary use case is to allow remote teams to securely connect and collaborate as if they were in the same office. With its user-friendly interface and automatic network discovery, Tailscale simplifies setting up and managing a secure network, making it an ideal solution for small businesses and organizations.

Tailscale's most valuable functionality is its ability to create secure tunnels between devices without complex configuration or setup. This allows organizations to securely and seamlessly connect remote workers, offices, and devices, increasing productivity and collaboration while reducing the risk of security breaches.

By eliminating the need for traditional VPNs and reducing the risk of accidental exposure of sensitive information, Tailscale helps organizations improve their security posture while enabling their workforce to work more efficiently and effectively.

Tailscale

Sample Customers

UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort

Bamboo Health, Duolingo, Shiguredo, Instacart, Corelight, Machinify, Bolt, Mercari, Cobalt, Yugabyte, Jasper, VersaBank, Zego, Gini and Finter

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

January 2026

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