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Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 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

Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in SSL VPN
2nd
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA as a Service (11th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in SSL VPN
6th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 8.9%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.8%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)8.9%
SonicWall SMA6.8%
Other84.3%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Thatchapon Wongsri - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer Specialist at Zenith Comp Co.,Ltd.
Smooth integration enhances user experience and boosts productivity
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is sufficient now after the update to version five or later, and I believe there's nothing to improve. I would prefer the cost to be reduced by about 20% because the vendor increases the price every year, so if they increase it, they should add more features.
BA
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's great that this product is providing a virtual cloud-based service."
"The security features are beneficial, and the whole idea of the app is that it should not be in the way."
"It's fairly easy to set up."
"The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment."
"It works for millions of people, so it will work for you."
"The solution has good performance."
"This product is highly secure and easy to use."
"This solution is stable. There have been no technical issues."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"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 like the load balancing capability."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
 

Cons

"Even when your internet speed is good, once you connect to the VPN the speed gets automatically reduced, which is worrisome."
"The notifications need to be improved. If the VPN is disconnected for a long period of time, they should push out notifications. We need to manually check if the VPN is connected or not. Sometimes it automatically disconnects, but the user doesn't get notifications, and we need to troubleshoot or open the client to manually reconnect. Auto-reconnection would be an improvement."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client could improve by making a feature to set it apart from other competitors."
"Frequency of updates could be reduced."
"Complicated scenarios are difficult to deploy. On a scale from one to ten, with one being the most difficult, I'd give a rating of between two and three for the initial setup."
"Sometimes when you disconnect or switch from one wireless network to another, it's necessary to re-login."
"We don't have the correct visibility to see the quantity of licenses we are consuming or not consuming."
"It should implement something like a kill switch."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"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 user interface could be improved."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Sometimes there is a problem with the number of licenses for the end-user. The number of concurrent users is limited due to a valid license."
"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
"The solution is reasonably priced and costs $600 for a five-year license in our scenario."
"My company has a three-year or a four-year license. In scenarios attached to a solution where the product may be reaching an end-of-support or end-of-life phase, Cisco provides OS support in such environments."
"We are in the North African region, and Cisco products are expensive for us. On a scale from one to ten with one being very affordable and ten being expensive, I'd rate the price at eight."
"The pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."
"I am using a paid version of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client."
"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."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"The platform has medium pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise49
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
There are no features that I wish Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) had that it does not currently provide. If I could change one thing about it, I would have no changes to suggest.
What is your primary use case for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
I primarily use Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) for VPN connections and network-related activities. We have Cisco APIs and Cisco VPN that serve as the foundation for our operations. As a...
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...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SMA?
I have experience with the SonicWall SMA; we have rolled it back into our stack. We use SonicWall SMA for all of our clients that need VPNs, including doctor's offices and lawyer offices. Our clien...
 

Also Known As

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
904,836 professionals have used our research since 2012.