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Sangfor SSL VPN 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

Sangfor SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
7th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SMA
Ranking in SSL VPN
8th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Sangfor SSL VPN is 4.1%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SMA is 5.0%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sangfor SSL VPN4.1%
SonicWall SMA5.0%
Other90.9%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Wajeeh Ul Hasan . - PeerSpot reviewer
A secure and user-friendly solution that is simple to implement and configure
We used Sangfor SSL VPN to access our servers from home during COVID-19 in case of emergency Sangfor SSL VPN has secured our organization, and we haven't faced any attacks. Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution. The other valuable features of the solution include web access…
Mayur_Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy-to-manage product with efficient features for network security
SonicWall SMA facilitates and protects remote workforce access to corporate resources from any location Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface. We have been using SonicWall…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is our ability to limit access by user, IP address, or MAC address."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"The platform is easy to use."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
"It is a stable solution...The initial setup of the product is very easy."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"The performance is good."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
 

Cons

"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
"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 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."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"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."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"The solution could integrate better with other platforms."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"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."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Logistics Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Sangfor SSL VPN?
The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved. Its interoperability matrices and different configurations with other vendor products also need improvements. Our client ha...
What do you like most about SonicWall SMA?
Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security.
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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Investcorp, Central Bancorp, Griffiths & Armour
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor SSL VPN vs. SonicWall SMA and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.