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Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs Fortinet FortiExtender comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 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

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN
Ranking in Wireless WAN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiExtender
Ranking in Wireless WAN
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is 12.9%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiExtender is 8.1%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless WAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Networks Wireless WAN12.9%
Fortinet FortiExtender8.1%
Other79.0%
Wireless WAN
 

Featured Reviews

Edward Zeng - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Auckland University of Technology
Faced deployment successfully but configuration complexity needs to be reduced
I think the layout is a bit complicated. There are so many different layers to set up, and it is very easy to miss out or make configuration mistakes because they are hierarchical. You need to be very careful about which one has been in use. Aruba ClearPass is also complicated as well. If Aruba could combine all of their products together, it would be great to have a single pane of glass. Currently, the Aruba sensor does not work together with other products. There is no single pane of glass for location configuration, so you need to log into different websites to check the user experience.
SyedQuadri - PeerSpot reviewer
IT director at Sajaya Medical Care Services
Has supported multi-branch connectivity effectively and still has potential for deeper feature utilization
Centralized management via FortiManager for my organization is very useful and a must-have. I have used Sophos Central as a manager and Fortinet manager as well. I believe Fortinet Manager has more in-depth features compared to Sophos or some other manager. The threat intelligence integration in Fortinet FortiExtender helps me to meet my industry's compliance standards. Fortinet FortiExtender brought many benefits to my organization. It was a very useful solution for us to have such a service.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Once Aruba Wireless is set up and configured correctly, you just walk away."
"The GUI is user-friendly and the dashboards are good."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The brand name is good for availability."
"From the performance perspective, I'm happy with the solution. Also, from the technical side, it seems to be pretty good."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is that it is easy to configure. Additionally, with the same configuration with Cisco and Ruckus, we can receive 55 to 60 percent more out of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN."
"The most valuable feature is security, which is important to the company and end user."
"An engineer with enough experience can tune the network however they want. It's crucial. It's good to customize our information security how we like it and configure the solution to achieve the level of stability we need."
"The overall stability deserves a perfect rating."
"The most valuable feature will be that it works."
"The initial setup was was just beautiful. It was straightforward."
"The product is easy to use and easy to integrate."
"Management can be carried out from a central point."
"Having the FortiExtender as a part of an SD-WAN topology is a major competitive value."
"The most valuable feature is that management can be carried out from a central point, as a result, the Fortinet Firewall's management is centralized, making things easier."
"The integration is easy and it works as a normal internet connection."
 

Cons

"In the next release, the security should be improved by including support for WPA3."
"Support is a little expensive. It's also a little tricky to configure Aruba sometimes."
"There are so many different layers to set up, and it is very easy to miss out or make configuration mistakes because they are hierarchical."
"The management software. The graphical user interface could do with some improvement, a bit of decluttering."
"The price for the license could be a bit improved since it is the only area with an issue."
"The solution currently has a Windows update problem."
"The product offers a feature that pinpoints where the devices are to help users find them easily if they want to know where a laptop or tablet is, but it is a feature that needs improvements due to some shortcomings."
"Deployment can take some time if you haven't planned well."
"The solution would be a lot better if it was a little bit more intuitive. Additionally, the help menu would be a lot better if it was easier to identify the items that I was looking for. I find the graphical interface a little bit difficult to navigate. And I find the font that is used on the HTML interface not conducive to being able to be read in low light situations."
"The Fortinet FortiExtender should be more suitable for outdoor use. Currently, the vehicle model can be used outdoors, but there are no dedicated outdoor devices."
"What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem."
"They could improve the remote console server feature and make it more user-friendly for more users."
"I would like to see them make it smaller in the next release so that it has a smaller footprint for mobile clients."
"We would like to see some improvement in the price for 5G models, as they are currently very expensive."
"The engineering of the solution has some negative points, especially in terms of troubleshooting. It's difficult to troubleshoot when we have a problem. It's not like other products like Cisco or Palo Alto which make troubleshooting much easier."
"In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this solution is better than some other vendors."
"It is more affordable than Cisco."
"I rate the pricing a seven or eight on a scale of one to ten, where ten is the highest and one is the cheapest."
"The price of this solution is approximately 1,000,000 ESP ($6,750 USD)."
"The pricing of the product is pretty good."
"It is a costly solution."
"I rate the product's price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is the lowest ,and ten is the highest."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution is not that expensive."
"I've only used the open-source version of Fortinet FortiExtender, but I know that it has some features that require you to pay for a license."
"I'm not sure what the cost is. However, I anticipate that the purchase price will range between $2,500 and $5,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Media Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend Aruba Network Wireless WAN?
I recommend Aruba Networks Wireless WAN. I have been using Aruba for approximately a decade. It has a great centralized management system, which means we don’t need wireless LAN controllers at ever...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?
The pricing is not cheap. Compared to Cisco, it is a bit cheaper, but still not enough to switch over to Aruba. The benefits are not sufficient.
What needs improvement with Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?
I think the layout is a bit complicated. There are so many different layers to set up, and it is very easy to miss out or make configuration mistakes because they are hierarchical. You need to be v...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiExtender?
The price for Fortinet FortiExtender deserves the highest rating.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiExtender?
In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiExtender?
Since I was having FortiManager and everything, Fortinet FortiExtender was suggested by the vendor. I went through it and appreciated the product. There are plenty of things we are using Fortinet F...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The Pittsburgh Golf Club, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Amwaj Rotana - Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai, Trevecca Nazarene University
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.