Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

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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

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SonicWall Netextender

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

11th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 4.6%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Netextender is 3.1%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway	4.6%
SonicWall Netextender	3.1%
Other	92.3%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Srinivas A

Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata

Secure data links from on-premise sources have enabled private access to client databases

The best feature of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is its sophisticated security mechanism for transmitting data between on-premise to Azure or Azure to Azure. The process of building the VPN gateway is user-friendly, making it easy to configure. Additionally, it supports various options to establish connections between on-premise to Azure or other sources to targets. Using pfSense as a firewall and VPN at our on-premise allows us to establish connections between Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and our on-premise pfSense VPN easily. This streamlined connection process occurs within a few steps. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has positively impacted our organization because it is core to our system and crucial for establishing private connections to our customer's data sources. Their databases lie in a private network with no communication with the outside world. Our customers trust Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, and by extension, trust us because of this efficient networking establishment process.

Read full review

Rich Darress

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is user-friendly."

"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has positively impacted our organization because it is core to our system and crucial for establishing private connections to our customer's data sources."

"I like the stability, HA, and performance of the product."

"The most valuable feature is the networking. I didn't have a good experience with the networking that Sophos has."

"It sends us a lot of detections when we have any anti-virus updates. It provides the extended time needed to update a set of time needs and notifications."

"I would definitely recommend this solution because it is very easy to deploy and very stable."

"The point-to-site is pretty good for the B2C stuff. It's fairly straightforward to set up."

"The product has valuable virtual machines, viability options, and enhanced VPN services, enabling the option to use it in different zones."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway pros

"It's a stable tool that does what it is supposed to do."

"The best feature is that employees can connect to our LAN, and have access to our network from home."

"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."

"It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application."

"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."

"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."

"Overall, it's a really good product."

More SonicWall Netextender pros

Cons

"There is a need to improve the paperwork and management approval process, which is currently painful, though not directly related to the VPN Gateway itself."

"The stability could be improved."

"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."

"My advice is to only use it if absolutely necessary. If you have the option, don't."

"In future releases, I would like to see the ability to inject BGP routes."

"Regarding pricing for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, it could be more cost-effective."

"Connectivity could be improved in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway because it's not as stable, particularly when connecting a device tunnel."

"Documentation and configuration settings can be improved."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway cons

"They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product."

"From my experience with using it, we do have problems sometimes with the credentialing-saving parts of it."

"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."

"I am rolling out the new Netextender because I am having some issues with the older version."

"There must be multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."

"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."

"Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution."

More SonicWall Netextender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a monthly license and the price depends on how many users are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The price could be less expensive."

"Its price is reasonable for new technology."

"The software has good pricing compared to other vendors."

"The cost could be lower."

"The product costs us $140 to $180 per month."

"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."

"I pay the licensing charges associated with the tool on an hourly basis. The tool is affordable."

"It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway pricing and cost advice

"The solution has a pretty good price."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Compared to others, it is cheaper. When we compare it with Palo Alto, Check Point, or Fortinet, it is a little cheaper."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Government

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

The solution is user-friendly.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

The logging mechanism could use improvement. More detailed logging would help in troubleshooting any failures during connection establishment or monitoring Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. Otherwise, e...

What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

For those considering using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, read the documentation thoroughly. Create an Excel sheet outlining tasks for both the source and target sides, especially when establishing ...

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...

OpenVPN Access Server vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

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Compared 9% of the time

Aruba Virtual Intranet Access vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 27% of the time

SonicWall Connect Tunnel vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 12% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 10% of the time

SonicWall SMA vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 9% of the time

Citrix Gateway vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 3% of the time

More SonicWall Netextender Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Download Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway product report

SonicWall Netextender

Download SonicWall Netextender product report

Also Known As

MS Azure VPN Gateway

No data available

Overview

A VPN gateway is a specific type of virtual network gateway that is used to send encrypted traffic between an Azure virtual network and an on-premises location over the public Internet. You can also use a VPN gateway to send encrypted traffic between Azure virtual networks over the Microsoft network. Each virtual network can have only one VPN gateway. However, you can create multiple connections to the same VPN gateway. When you create multiple connections to the same VPN gateway, all VPN tunnels share the available gateway bandwidth.

Microsoft

SonicWall Netextender provides secure remote access, supporting remote work with valuable features like two-factor authentication, low latency, and integration with Microsoft identity management.

SonicWall Netextender facilitates secure client-to-site VPN connections for remote staff, integrating seamlessly with Microsoft identity management and using existing credentials like Active Directory. Its cost-effectiveness and detailed documentation attract enterprises in sectors such as insurance, healthcare, and education. Despite excellent control over routing, the intuitive setup could be improved, with users experiencing performance and licensing flexibility issues, especially with multi-factor authentication. While integration with SAML ensures seamless authentication, high bandwidth consumption and the outdated interface are mentioned for enhancement. Overall, SonicWall Netextender supports remote file transfers and access to Microsoft 365 portals, although additional features like automatic connection on startup and AI integration would address current user demands.

What features does SonicWall Netextender offer?

Remote Work Support: Facilitates secure connections for remote staff
Integration with Microsoft Identity Management: Connects effortlessly using existing credentials
Two-Factor Authentication: Enhances security during remote access
Low Latency and High Stability: Ensures uninterrupted remote connections
Cost-effectiveness: Attracts organizations with budget-friendly options

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Secure Access: Reliable protection for remote file transfers
Ease of Setup: Quick deployment with minimal IT disruption
Flexible Integration: Utilizes existing credentials for seamless user experience
Documentation: Comprehensive guides for efficient setup and use

Enterprises from insurance, healthcare, and education sectors benefit from SonicWall Netextender by enabling secure remote or hybrid work. Companies facilitate efficient management of remote work, providing access to corporate resources from any location. Challenges include the authentication setup, but its support for remote access to Microsoft 365 and secure file transfers offer substantial utility for these industries.

SonicWall

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender