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Aruba Instant vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi 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:
 

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
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi
Ranking in Wireless LAN
23rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
7
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 WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 0.5%, down from 0.5% 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…
WarrenWilliams - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that offers excellent support and makes it easy to manage networks
To utilize the solution properly, you need some training and guidance on that. Getting it working is easy, but if you're going to use it with feature sets that make WatchGuard worthwhile to use, it's probably not the easiest to set up. I'd rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. The time taken to deploy the solution depends on the project scope you're doing. Do you need ten WiFi access points or one? You could deploy the solution in an hour. We need one person to deploy the solution. But the number of people required for deployment depends on where the access points are deployed. Like, if it's the ceiling or whatever. The way we do it, we usually have an on-site technician who sets up the backend. We usually have two people when deploying the solution, but you can do it with one person. We have a team that manages the solution. But if you have ten people on a site to manage the solution, 15 minutes daily is enough.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is Captive Portal, which we employ for our guest network. It enables us to create a separate virtual subnet for guests, ensuring their network traffic remains isolated from our office network. Another valuable feature is its role-based access control. This functionality allows us to assign different access privileges to users based on their roles within the organization."
"The products offer a lot of flexibility. Almost everything can be configured. It works very well for providing remote services."
"The most valuable feature of this product is that it is easily deployed."
"I like the notifications. I really like that it gives me those reports in terms of whether those access points are on or off."
"Aruba Instant's best feature is the ability to manage it in the cloud."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides a redundant wireless connection for a client."
"The technical support from Aruba is of high quality, and I would rate it a ten."
"The deployment guides that we get from Aruba are excellent."
"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."
"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."
"The solution has been stable."
"The configuration part of WatchGuard is very flexible."
"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."
"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."
"They're very easy to set up and get running."
 

Cons

"There was only ever one case in which an access point failed, but it was reintegrated. The issue was more of a matter of oversight. One part of the network had covered ten access points."
"The security features must be improved."
"For on-premises, I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. For on-prem, if I want to integrate two more controls, and I want to extend my network , and add a couple of access points that need to be integrated with my network, I have to do the configurations and all. So that will be each and every time, as and when the users expand, the Wi-Fi solution expands; I need to do the configuration settings on all other controllers."
"It uses a different portal and has limitations from the customer side as it's not refined for MSP."
"The Central cloud management (optional) is far behind the competition in features, ease of use, and dependability. I have tried Aruba Central a few times over the years and, in my option, it is not where it needs to be for serious consideration in production environments."
"The management component is difficult to understand and not very user-friendly which increases deployment time."
"Technical support needs improvement. We use the forum for technical support assistance, but it's not enough. If you're talking with a technician, they're in India. They cannot give you the service that you need. Sometimes have problems with some personal services and technical support is not helpful in this area."
"The tool's customer service should improve."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."
"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
"The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
"If a client device had issues with authentication due to out of date browser or similar difficulties, it would be nice to have the ability to migrate the client onto the portal via one click."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is competitively priced"
"The customers do not have to pay for licensing."
"Some aspect of the price of Aruba Instant is very economical because if the customer is requiring more features the customer needs to pay a higher amount."
"I purchased the hardware and there are no monthly or yearly licenses to buy."
"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"Avoid the Central cloud license if you can."
"I rate the product's price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The solution is priced high compared to competitors. However, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."
"Your licensing and cost, as would be required for many other solutions, being considered for eighty to two hundred and eighty different physical locations, is just about the same amount per access point."
"WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Non Profit
12%
Retailer
8%
 

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 do you like most about WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use.
What needs improvement with WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention. Also, when an incident occurs, the impact can be significantly huge. A recent p...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University, Orlando Magic, Brussels Airport Company, Molecaten Holiday Parks
Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.