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Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway 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

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall Netextender
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
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 January 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 5.1%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.3%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway5.1%
SonicWall Netextender3.3%
Other91.6%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

MatsHagberg Olsson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
Designs subnets with high security while navigating evolving integration processes
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances. You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings. It also requires Entra ID for privileged access groups, resulting in high security.
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

"You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings."
"Security is the first feature in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway because we don't have to go through the public internet to access things."
"It is a stable solution in our company, and we monitor critical health and performance parameters daily and weekly."
"It works perfectly for me. It is very user-friendly in terms of the configuration and the setup process."
"The best feature is the ability to connect from anywhere."
"It is scalable and depends on your chosen network bandwidth."
"The VPN Gateway is valued for its ease of use and redundancy."
"What I like best about Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is that it's a managed VPN, so it's one of the most powerful VPNs I've ever found. It also provides point-to-site VPNs configurable within a few minutes."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"It allows us to work remotely."
"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."
"Employees can have access to the network from home."
"The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."
"The SSL-VPN encryption has been fantastic for my organization's data confidentiality and integrity; we've done extensive testing with third-party cybersecurity testing while connected and it has passed with flying colors."
"My company opted for this solution because it can individually perform. Basically, we don't require load balancers and all those additional feature sets or additional devices that might be required. The solution can handle the certificate, DNS queries, and all that stuff individually."
"I found nothing of value in this solution."
 

Cons

"In the next release, Microsoft should add an option to schedule upgrades."
"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway could improve by providing IPS zero-day threat protection. For example, the IPS zero-day threat protection can monitor the user behavior to protect the infrastructure. The solution can only be used as a VPN, it is lacking features."
"Make it completely routable, for example, if I have a gateway, I should be able to connect to whatever network I want on either side of the gateway, and the gateway should figure out which packet goes where."
"The product must provide a single sign-on."
"The marketing material in the portal is not very user-friendly."
"Connectivity could be improved in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway because it's not as stable, particularly when connecting a device tunnel."
"The connectivity should be faster."
"I would like to see improvements in the deployment process as I faced challenges."
"The Netextender application itself doesn't really look pretty, however, we can still use it. We don't care what it looks like. That said, if they did a cosmetic update, that would be fine."
"Sometimes you can get bounced around through the departments until you find the right one. Sometimes if you don't have the most current support contract or your license is out of date, they won't even talk to you."
"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."
"The UI could be a little better."
"SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender."
"The initial setup of SonicWall Netextender is straightforward. The only issue we encountered was with relocating the VPN appliance. If we needed to move it from an on-premise to an on-cloud architecture, we had to start over and redeploy it from scratch. Unfortunately, it is not portable and any changes to its physical location often result in the need for a fresh deployment to ensure everything functions properly."
"There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is reasonable for new technology."
"I pay the licensing charges associated with the tool on an hourly basis. The tool is affordable."
"Payment for licensing the solution is part of the operating model. So, one needs to keep on paying while consuming the solution. In short, the payment is based on the solution's capacity."
"The software has good pricing compared to other vendors."
"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is the cheapest way for us to connect to our cloud infrastructure. Other solutions, such as ExpressRoute are very expensive."
"The solution is subscription-based and very cheap."
"It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance."
"It's an expensive product"
"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."
"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."
"The solution has a pretty good price."
"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."
"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."
"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."
"The solution is cheap itself, not too costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
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 Business13
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway can be improved in security points with stronger encryption. I do not have additional feedback about needed improvements regarding configuration, support, or documentation.
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
My advice to others looking into using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is that if you have a specific use case such as site-to-site VPN, then this is a perfect option for you. I rate Microsoft Azure VP...
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

MS Azure VPN Gateway
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.