Cisco AnyConnect vs. SonicWall TZ

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco AnyConnect
ScoreĀ 8.5Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
N/A
Cisco offers an SSL VPN solution via AnyConnect.N/A
SonicWall TZ
ScoreĀ 8.1Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
N/A
SonicWall TZ is an entry to mid-tier NGFW for small to mid-sized companies. It is a Unified Threat Management solution, with additional native decryption and deep-packet inspection capabilities.
$399
one-time fee
Pricing
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
SonicWall TZ270 High Availability
$329.60
SonicWall TZ270 (hardware only)
$414.04
SonicWall TZ370 High Availability
$493.04
SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
$502.57
SonicWall TZ370 (hardware only)
$618.34
SonicWall TZ270 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$689.16
SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
$708.23
SonicWall TZ270 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$769.52
SonicWall TZ470 High Availability
$776.33
SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$796.76
SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$930.24
SonicWall TZ370 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$973.82
SonicWall TZ470 (hardware only)
$973.82
SonicWall TZ570 High Availability (HA) Unit
$988.80
SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
$1063.71
SonicWall TZ370 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$1085.50
SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$1107.29
SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$1232.60
SonicWall TZ570
$1240.77
SonicWall TZ670 High Availability (HA) Unit
$1273.46
SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC
$1356.54
SonicWall TZ570 with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
$1450.51
SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
$1588.07
SonicWall TZ470 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$1596.25
SonicWall TZ670
$1596.25
SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$1729.72
SonicWall TZ470 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$1805.99
SonicWall TZ670 with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
$1867.28
SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$1876.82
SonicWall TZ570 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$2006.20
SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$2192.80
SonicWall TZ570 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$2200.97
SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$2442.04
SonicWall TZ670 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
$2574.15
SonicWall TZ670 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
$2868.34
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details—See pricing link for TZ Series (Gen6) editions. All prices have been converted from pounds. Conversion rates may change.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Features
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Virtual Private Network
Comparison of Virtual Private Network features of Product A and Product B
Cisco AnyConnect
9.0
13 Ratings
0% below category average
SonicWall TZ
-
Ratings
AES 256-bit Encryption9.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Kill Switch8.89 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-Platform Support9.313 Ratings00 Ratings
Split Tunneling9.511 Ratings00 Ratings
IP Address Masking9.012 Ratings00 Ratings
No-Logs Policy8.39 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Server Locations8.611 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic Wi-Fi Protection9.210 Ratings00 Ratings
Simultaneous Connections9.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Support Services8.512 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco AnyConnect
-
Ratings
SonicWall TZ
7.8
15 Ratings
10% below category average
Identification Technologies00 Ratings8.715 Ratings
Visualization Tools00 Ratings8.014 Ratings
Content Inspection00 Ratings8.215 Ratings
Policy-based Controls00 Ratings7.515 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP00 Ratings6.312 Ratings
Firewall Management Console00 Ratings7.015 Ratings
Reporting and Logging00 Ratings7.214 Ratings
VPN00 Ratings8.215 Ratings
High Availability00 Ratings8.614 Ratings
Stateful Inspection00 Ratings7.814 Ratings
Proxy Server00 Ratings7.710 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Small Businesses
Norton 360
Norton 360
ScoreĀ 6.7Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
pfSense
pfSense
ScoreĀ 9.4Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
ScoreĀ 9.3Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
pfSense
pfSense
ScoreĀ 9.4Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
Enterprises
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
ScoreĀ 9.3Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
ScoreĀ 9.5Ā outĀ ofĀ 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(103 ratings)
8.5
(22 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(81 ratings)
7.8
(6 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(86 ratings)
8.0
(9 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.7
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco AnyConnectSonicWall TZ
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco AnyConnect has allowed me to connect to the network when I am not at the office. For example, in an international digital campaign, it was possible to access readily important files and work on other collaborative working spaces without any violation of security measures. I noticed that there was a slight lag whenever several members of the team logged in at the same time during the weekend.
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SonicWall
Based on my experience, this is a solid platform for a small to mid sized company, especially when there is someone who has IT experience, or can get outsourced IT help. I would not recommend for someone who is a technology novice. Also, this is a competent device for someone who is looking to add VPN services for remote workers.
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Pros
Cisco
  • It provides you an exceptional hybrid work experience. It enables your employees to work seamlessly from home, office, and other branches.
  • It enables your employees to access corporate applications anytime, even after office hours.
  • It helps your team to maintain a healthy work-life balance and boosts your productivity.
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SonicWall
  • If you have multiple sites and you want the connect the sites through secure medium this is best firewall for you.
  • There are very advanced features helps you to connect the device easily and securely.
  • Easy to connect the sites through advanced routing protocols.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Cisco AnyConnect can use the system resources as long as the program is being run.
  • Account activation may be very difficult when connecting from areas requiring captive portal login, if certain settings are not allowed.
  • By default, it is possible to request the user to authenticate again at specific intervals.
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SonicWall
  • There are Service Bundles in SonicWall TZ that are Unlicensed and do not know why they have not be Activated - would need help to further understand benefits
  • Do not know why Standard Support is Unlicensed
  • WiFi range of TZ270W is very limited - need to add Access Points or Extended to obtain adequate coverage
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
It is perhaps the second most functional tool we have, it will definitely be renewed every year. Our network is stable, which ensures that there is less for our technicians to troubleshoot, which frees them up to ensure other parts of the company are maintained. This keeps our costs low and our downtime at a minimum.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
It has many advantages and uses other than other common VPNs but it's very important to understand the problems and issues which till not solved yet. The major issue is there is no support system or no body is doing hypercare for clients or client organizations. Speed is good, but making a connection is worse, and nobody cares about it.
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SonicWall
Overall the new interface is very logical and easy to navigate. We did struggle at first coming from the older interface and finding our way around the new. But our new users found it very simple to find what they were looking for. One negative we do all struggle with is packet cpature not always being clear how its set/what is being monitored. this could do with more information on teh intial page instead of having to look for it
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
I have been using Cisco AnyConnect for past two years and thus I can say very firmly that I have never seen the outage from the Cisco AnyConnect services either It is VPN, System Scans or the Network Connectivity. Talking about the errors likewise major errors I have faced throughout my period of use.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
Absolutely no speed issues, and I see no evidence of slowdowns across any of the multiple platforms I use daily. It's operation is completely invisible most of the time, except where there is a loss of connection due to server issues or a loss of power. Everything loads quickly and accurately.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
Because whenever I log the case with Cisco support, yes they have come back with valid technical data. So this is what has happened and we could fix it in this way. That support will detail what happened and how to get it overcome very quickly. That's what I like. The support level we get is really good for the product
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SonicWall
Once you get to a competent technician the support experience is better. But I have found that the lower tiers of support are very slow to respond (like 1 email per day) and you typically have to re-explain yourself a couple times before they get it. I have not used Phone support, and that may be a better experience.
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
Our Managed Services vendor helped us with the implementation. When we initially setup our AnyConnect using MFA for remote connectivity, the setup was easy and straight forward and worked just fine. After a year, we decided to change to an "always on" feature and use machine and user based security certificates instead of MFA. We had to open a ticket with Cisco support and have their assistance getting this feature to work. Turned out they had a small bug in the code for that version of AnyConnect and it has since been corrected. We have had no issues with the upgrades since that time. The deployment of the software to the user machines was done with SCCM and was straight forward. The user machine upgrades are easy - when the user machine connects and sees a new version available, it upgrades itself! What could be easier?
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
Cisco is one of our core partners besides Microsoft and SAP. And so yes, we are utilizing very many projects from Cisco. I would mention the whole networking equipment, the routing equipment, the wireless LAN, and also when it comes to infrastructure to compute infrastructure, we are utilizing Cisco servers within our converged infrastructure Flex spot. So we have been running a flex bot from Cisco, NetApp, and VMware for 12 years, and we are still very satisfied with the product. We are looking forward to upgrading to the newest blades and fabric interconnect to continue this journey.
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SonicWall
SonicWall and WatchGuard are both fine appliances, but I am accustomed to the Barracuda NG. The Barracuda Control Center is so powerful and useful that it beats out the other two. SonicWall does a great job of dividing up firewall rules and NAT policies, but this is a preference among engineers.
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Scalability
Cisco
Cisco AnyConnect has been a speedy, reliable, and efficient tool for the creation of your own VPN whatever location that you've brought your laptop. Customer support is consistently top-notch, coming up with quick fixes to whatever difficulties are thrown your way. I would not hesitate to reccommend Cisco AnyConnect to any business that needs connected employees throught the world.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • We are able to seamlessly work on multiple clients daily, and it allows us to quickly handle more projects at the same time.
  • Cisco AnyConnect has allowed our own company's coworkers to remotely connect back to the corporate network, easily assisting work schedules and processes, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being forced to work remotely, meant our processes still happened quickly and efficiently, by being able to leverage and use Cisco AnyConnect VPN.
  • Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have worked 100% remotely for a few years now. This was always due to the reliable connectivity and ease of use with Cisco AnyConnect VPN. I live 2+ hours from our nearest corporate office, and even further from some of my client locations, and I have always been able to connect to any of my multiple Cisco AnyConnect VPN connections, within seconds.
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SonicWall
  • We have three SonicWall TZ devices and they are very helpful in a VPN set up.
  • The subscription costs for the different features has a great return on investment. It is very well worth the money.
  • The antivirus component has been very effective on the computers and servers the SonicWall TZ device protects.
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ScreenShots

SonicWall TZ Screenshots

Screenshot of the SonicWall TZ 570 applianceScreenshot of the SonicWall TZ 370W appliance