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Aruba Remote Access Points vs Fortinet FortiClient comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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 Remote Access Points
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (11th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 5.5%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiClient5.5%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.2%
Other93.3%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of ELV and ICT at Intec Systems Solution Pvt Ltd
Efficient Setup and Strong Performance Highlight Versatile Capabilities
In terms of areas for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points, when planning for the customer's end, you need to highlight the precautions against EMF emissions and environmental emissions, as well as power management limitations. If the user is in one direction and you're transmitting everywhere, that's not good power management. Currently, all access points provide the same power requirement to the client, but we should explore what extra mile we can go. We are facing energy crises and climate issues, along with GHG and SDGs protocols. If we highlight the alignment with these protocols, it can enhance the product quality as an environmentally friendly option. Apart from that, service-wise, every unit is the same. Users can only distinguish those requirements using spectrum analyzers; otherwise, minor data delays of one or two seconds do not matter, but for high-security or high-speed needs, it becomes significant.
KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.

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 of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages."
"We have many government colleges here and provide a wireless network to all students, faculty, and teachers, so we have deployed their security access network and firewall security."
"The most valuable features of Aruba Remote Access Points are the easy configuration, straightforward installation, and secure security features."
"It's easy to manage."
"The product is very flexible."
"What I like best about Aruba Remote Access Points is that it's pretty easy to set up."
"Once configured and operational, they tend to function reliably, with few reported issues from clients or customers."
"FortiClient benefits us by allowing control over internal and external users of the Fortinet network."
"I think the solution is highly scalable."
"Having a centralized console is a valuable feature. The Fortinet fabric is also very valuable where all different pieces talk together to secure our network and track the North, South, East, and West movement of files and data through our network."
"The solution has inexpensive scalability, works very well and can communicate with other Fortinet devices."
"The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level."
"We find the VPN features valuable."
"The solution is good; I like it very much, as it has inexpensive scalability, works very well, and can communicate with other Fortinet devices."
"Starting from FortiGate and from the EMS server, you have to begin at the endpoint, and that's the most useful thing about using FortiClient."
 

Cons

"Our difficulty with Aruba is that the product and the license are two different items. So, if we are adding an access point, we have to pay for two items."
"The security side of Aruba Remote Access Points could be improved."
"One thing that would be beneficial is for the Aruba Central mobile app to work more effectively. Currently, it does not function as expected when I really need it."
"But the hardware needs to be revamped when we compare the Meraki solution."
"It would help if the remote APs had some kind of SoHo environment with built-in firewall features. That way it could connect directly in a client-to-site type of environment, or a site-to-site VPN environment. That way users could have a complete office setup without coming to the private cloud."
"The remote access point coverage should be bigger than it is now."
"It could have better monitoring features."
"There is room for improvement in terms of pricing. If they can be more competitive."
"FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily."
"Their support is very bad. The product is good, but the support is very bad."
"The quality and response time of the support team must be improved."
"Fortinet frequently releases updates without thorough testing."
"The artificial intelligent aspect of it needs improvement."
"While I cannot think of new features to add, it would be nice if the reports were improved, to have these sent automatically."
"The setup process could be more simplified. There are complexities with the scalability part, particularly with routing and policy alignment."
"Cloud services are very expensive for us."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies."
"The solution's scalability is inexpensive."
"The solution is not expensive. We need more discounted rates in Pakistan. The price of the solution could be reduced to be more affordable for the solution."
"If we pay for the yearly package that includes the FortiGate firewall, then the FortiClient VPN license is included with it."
"It is not that expensive. It was within the range. A dollar per user per month is nothing."
"FortiClient is costly."
"Anyone can download this product for free, but you have to have a FortiGate gateway that you are connecting to."
"Generally, Fortinet is not cheap. The features that are available for free are only for FortiClient VPN clients, not other solutions. It includes web security, antivirus, and one more feature."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
19%
Construction Company
11%
Government
6%
Healthcare Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Remote Access Points?
This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We do not use Zero Touch Provisioning with Aruba Remote Access Points because the Aruba device being expensive compared to cheaper Cisco options holds us back.
What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?
The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting. This is a significant area for improvement, especially when the dev...
How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiClient?
The solution is not cloud-based; it comes from the firewall itself.
 

Also Known As

Aruba RAP
FortiClient
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Fortinet FortiClient and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.