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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

"For the most part, we've been very happy with the solution and its capabilities."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"It's a simple and reliable solution."
"The product is easy to use."
"For our company's needs, AnyConnect is sufficient and very easy to use."
"The solution is easy to deploy and has good NAC integration."
"The primary use case of this solution as an access point; we have on-premises servers and if anyone needs to access those servers remotely, they access them through Cisco AnyConnect, which we use as a VPN between outside networks and our internal office network."
"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."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
"My advice to others is this solution is reliable, feature-rich, and reasonable-priced."
"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 am very satisfied with the technical support."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"Secure remote access is now available from home offices."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of endpoint security and cloud integration, which were lacking long ago. Sometimes, end-users face problems after operating system updates like Windows or Mac, which could also be improved."
"It would be useful to have an automatic install process where if you connect and you don't have the latest version, it should be automatically done."
"There are times the WiFi connectivity has disruptions and you have disconnections."
"There are some issues with connectivity and latency that should be improved."
"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."
"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."
"Frequency of updates could be reduced."
"It should implement something like a kill switch."
"There are some features that are available on Palo Alto or Cisco that don't exist. The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"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."
"This solution is very slow, and the competitors have much higher speeds."
"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 pricing for the solution could be a lot less."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."
"The solution is based on an annual licensing model and is expensive."
"The price is okay."
"One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
"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."
"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 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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
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: June 2026.
903,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.