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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
3rd
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 (12th), 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 August 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 8.7%, down from 15.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 6.8%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)8.7%
SonicWall SMA6.8%
Other84.5%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Manager - Projects at airtel
Offers work-from-anywhere flexibility but navigates occasional proxy confusion
The analytics I downloaded from your site as a free download did not carry the information that was actually required. I was looking at the market segmentation and market share, along with some USPs which differentiated them from each other. The free download had two issues: many things were repetitive, and it was designed to not release any relevant information. Only headers were present, so I was not able to determine whether the final report would be worthwhile. I have not worked with enterprise tools that I could share feedback on for website publication. I see benefits from using Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). However, I would not recommend it because future adoptions will be towards Zscaler, as SSC is a better model than VPN. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.
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

"Cisco Secure Network Analytics has impacted our organization by securing each endpoint device properly through VPN usage, enabling us to understand what end users are using and what they are trying to access, and filling the gap between the monitoring and management side by allowing us to check end user activity clearly from the Cisco Secure Network Analytics console."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client works well, we don't have any issues with it."
"We have plans to increase the usage of this solution, it can scale well."
"The most valuable features of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is the reliability and scalability."
"What I like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is that it's easy to use, and that is its main advantage, as you can use it without the need for any setup because it's centrally pre-installed, so you just need to log in with your username and password, and I didn't experience any problems with the solution in terms of losing connectivity, as it works very well every time."
"You can use it from anywhere."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is the consistency, I have not had any issues with the performance."
"I like the ability to share the connections or simply to be able to pass the credentials for a connection to other colleagues without bothering too much about the connection being tracked or about security, because each and every user will require a secret password, so I don't really care about sending the details; it is very secure."
"The performance is good."
"These are very nice appliances and they give us all that we need for our work in the hospital."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"The SonicWall SSL-VPN solution offers the best protection with the least effect on services."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"I like the load balancing capability, it is very fast and it has a simple interface."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously."
 

Cons

"The price could be reduced."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client can be improved by having better speed and reliability. However, the speed and reliability are already really good."
"The company should try to catch up with their competitors like Palo Alto and Check Point, because they're falling behind."
"However, when different configurations need to be completed, we need to get in touch with Cisco Technical Assistance Center because we don't have enough documentation on the website."
"In the next release, Cisco should add a chat feature."
"We don't have the correct visibility to see the quantity of licenses we are consuming or not consuming."
"Whenever there's a drop in internet or a connection fluctuation, it gets disconnected automatically."
"It should autodetect or monitor it, when I am in the office it goes to the network in the office, or when I'm not at the office, it automatically activates my VPN connection."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"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."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the client could use an agent to log in. An agent-server model would improve the performance of the RDB, which consumes a lot of bandwidth."
"The pricing for the solution could be a lot less."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
"The pricing depends on the requirement, so proper planning and an RF analysis help to properly size the solution and get the best pricing."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"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."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"The price is okay."
"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."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
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: August 2026.
910,409 professionals have used our research since 2012.