Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs SonicWall Netextender comparison

Microsoft and SonicWall are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.8, while SonicWall is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.0. Microsoft holds a 5.1% mindshare in EIV, compared to SonicWall’s 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 70% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Read 27 Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway reviews

3,023 Views
2,993 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

SonicWall Netextender

Read 14 SonicWall Netextender reviews

2,514 Views
2,514 Comparison Views

70% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

SonicWall Netextender

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

SonicWall Netextender and Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway are competing products in the VPN market. SonicWall Netextender offers better pricing and customer support, while Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is preferred for its comprehensive features and perceived better value.

Features: SonicWall Netextender is praised for its robust security features, straightforward connectivity options, and user-friendly interface. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is highlighted for its broader integration capabilities, scalability, and advanced feature set, making it suitable for larger enterprises.

Room for Improvement: SonicWall Netextender users mention occasional connectivity drop-offs, an outdated interface, and limited scalability. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway users report complexity in configuration, management challenges, and a steep learning curve as primary areas for improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall Netextender is noted for its quick setup and highly responsive customer service. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway's deployment is seen as more complex but well-documented. Azure's customer service is satisfactory yet not as quick to respond.

Pricing and ROI: SonicWall Netextender has lower initial setup costs and faster ROI, appealing to smaller businesses or those with budget constraints. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is more expensive but offers higher scalability and advanced features, leading to potentially higher long-term ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

December 2025

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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

6.0

Number of Reviews

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

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
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway	5.1%
SonicWall Netextender	3.3%
Other	91.6%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Mano Senaratne

Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.

Achieve seamless integration and fortified security while benefiting from a comprehensive suite of features

In Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, there aren't too many areas for improvement, but the configuration part might be a little tricky. It took some time to get things to work, but once figured out, it becomes much easier. The documentation could use some improvement, particularly regarding point-to-site system setup with on-premise systems. Other than that, it's seamless, and you can connect things across regions. Regarding integration with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, we use Function Apps to create the integrations and Data Factory. All our data pipelines are written in Python, hosted within an Azure Data Factory or a Function App. This makes configuration easier and allows pipeline monitoring and creating integrations between different systems. We've created multiple integrations between SharePoint and our data warehouse, HubSpot and our data warehouse, and several other tools.

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 scalability is a highly valued feature."

"The VPN Gateway is valued for its ease of use and redundancy."

"It is easy to configure."

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

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

"The solution is very quick to connect."

"The ability to connect old protocols like Border Gateway Protocol is valuable."

"Security is the first feature in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway because we don't have to go through the public internet to access things."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway pros

"One of the most valuable features of SonicWall Netextender is the integration of VPN accounts with Microsoft Identity Management, which enables us to enforce secure access through Microsoft Intune and conditional access policies. This helps ensure that only authorized individuals are able to access the VPN, rather than anyone with knowledge of a password."

"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."

"The product has two-factor authentication."

"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."

"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 easy."

"The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use."

More SonicWall Netextender pros

Cons

"Considering my past interactions with Microsoft's support team, it is difficult to get the right support unless you find the right person to speak with from the customer support team."

"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."

"It isn't stabilized on the first day, and you need to set up the channels properly."

"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 solution must provide metrics to monitor the inbound and outbound traffic easily."

"I would like for them to improve the troubleshooting features. We have some problems with traffic and I can't identify where the problem is coming from. I have to open a ticket with support until it gets resolved. Microsoft doesn't offer enough tools to resolve the issue."

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

"Their technical support could be better. If you don't have a support contract, it takes longer."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway cons

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

"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."

"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."

"The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."

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

"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."

"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."

"The product does not work well."

More SonicWall Netextender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The cost could be lower."

"It's an expensive product"

"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."

"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."

"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is the cheapest way for us to connect to our cloud infrastructure. Other solutions, such as ExpressRoute are very expensive."

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway pricing and cost advice

"After a certain number of users, you require extra licensing."

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

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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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

OpenVPN Access Server vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

NordLayer vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 30% of the time

SonicWall Connect Tunnel vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 16% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 10% of the time

SonicWall SMA vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs SonicWall Netextender

Compared 3% of the time

More SonicWall Netextender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway

January 2026

Download Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall Netextender

January 2026

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

December 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs. SonicWall Netextender

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