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Aruba Instant vs ExtremeWireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
3.5
Aruba Instant enhances productivity, stability, and user experience, supporting many connections despite high cost, providing a competitive business edge.
Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides scalable, cost-effective solutions with 30% ROI savings, easy deployment, and excellent support for long-term use.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Aruba Instant support is generally satisfactory, with prompt assistance noted, though enterprises occasionally experience delays, especially post-HPE transition.
Sentiment score
7.2
ExtremeWireless support is helpful but inconsistent, with slow response times and limited availability affecting user satisfaction. Ratings vary.
The technical support from Aruba is of high quality, and I would rate it a ten.
I rate their support as a nine because they are very helpful when we need assistance and they strive to help, even if not the fastest.
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
The response time and quality could be better, and updates can be troublesome at times.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Aruba Instant offers scalable solutions for small to medium businesses, enhancing performance and compatibility for diverse environments.
Sentiment score
6.7
ExtremeWireless is scalable and adaptable for medium to large enterprises but may face stability issues at higher user thresholds.
I find Aruba Instant to be highly scalable.
ExtremeWireless is suitable for companies with a user base below three hundred.
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
The scalability of ExtremeWireless is average.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
9.2
Aruba Instant is highly praised for its stability and reliability, outperforming competitors despite minor access point and latency issues.
Sentiment score
7.0
ExtremeWireless is praised for its stability and reliability, though some encounter challenges with firmware updates in high-density environments.
They work well without failures.
I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability.
The stability of ExtremeWireless is somewhat weaker compared to previous solutions, like Motorola before its acquisition.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Instant needs enhanced documentation, UI, more security, better IoT compatibility, improved features, and competitive pricing.
ExtremeWireless must enhance affordability, integration, security, support, and performance to improve competitiveness and meet small business needs.
An important missing feature is the console port, which allows direct management without the cloud.
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
Another area that could use enhancement is the clarity and implementation of updates, as they can be troublesome sometimes.
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Instant offers competitive pricing with one-time costs, appreciated for its enterprise functionality and minimal licensing complexity.
ExtremeWireless provides good value with both free and paid options, despite medium-high pricing and substantial hardware costs.
We do not sell very expensive devices as we move to other products.
However, when compared to entry-level market segments, the price is higher.
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
From a corporate point of view, stability is more important than pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Instant provides scalable, user-friendly network management with robust security and seamless integration, ideal for small to medium businesses.
ExtremeWireless offers cloud management, strong security, seamless integration, and stability, making it ideal for security-focused sectors.
I highly value Aruba Instant for its ClearPass feature, which is an exceptional product for network access control and works as a NAC solution.
The most beneficial features for network management are the price and the cloud console.
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
One of the most valuable features of ExtremeWireless is its centralized control, which influenced our choice.
Extreme access points perform very well in high-density environments, and we use them at sites with our customers.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Instant
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant is 2.0%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.9%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Alessandro Salvadori - PeerSpot reviewer
Comes at a good price and has a good cloud console
We usually sell Aruba Instant where there is no need for more than four or five switches. It is generally recommended for very small companies where we don't need more than three or four switches We are using it only for very small companies. We have had a reduction in time, but it is not that…
Seungho Yang - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming
Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Ubiquiti WLAN or Aruba Instant?
We researched Ubiquiti and Aruba when looking for a WLAN solution. Ubiquiti offers good WLAN access both indoors and outdoors. It provides an enterprise-level WIFI while remaining cost-effective. U...
What do you like most about Aruba Instant?
I find network management features related to monitoring Wi-Fi usage and visited sites particularly valuable. Content filtering is also important to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate web...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant?
In my experience, Aruba Instant's price is reasonable compared to premium products like Ruckus, Cisco, or Juniper. However, when compared to entry-level market segments, the price is higher. Overal...
What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?
There are concerns regarding the stability of ExtremeWireless. It could be an area of improvement, especially when compared to previous solutions such as Motorola before their acquisition. Another ...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We mainly use ExtremeWireless ( /products/extremewireless-reviews ) for the warehouse, specifically for the Zebra handheld devices and printers.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University, Orlando Magic, Brussels Airport Company, Molecaten Holiday Parks
St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.