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Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 13.9%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.8%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper WLC Series is 1.4%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Aruba Wireless13.9%
Cisco Wireless9.8%
Juniper WLC Series1.4%
Other74.9%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

UM
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
Strong performance supports network team effectively but guest access compatibility needs improvement
We connect the network using Aruba Wireless. We connect our office network, and we use it primarily within our network team Aruba Wireless has many features, especially their state-of-the-art controller, which can be connected to the cloud. They also have an unlimited lifetime warranty, which is…
EvansEsezobor - PeerSpot reviewer
Group IT Head at Euracare
Has enabled centralized user management and improved wireless access point aggregation
To improve Cisco Wireless, the ports on the access points are all 100 Meg, not 1 gig. We have not gotten a gigabyte interface of about 1,000, but the controller we have is just 1 gig. We would prefer if we could increase the controller to a 10 gig interface because we want to connect our controller to a 10 gig interface, which currently limits us to 1 gig. When we want to move higher capacity data via wireless, it limits us to 1 gig.
RN
National Marketing Manager at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
AI-driven optimization enhances network management and reduces hardware needs
In my region, access to the product is very difficult and presents a logistical nightmare. Also, pricing is a big problem and a barrier to entry when selling Juniper against competitors. Furthermore, the knowledge of the product's capabilities is not understood properly by those selling it, leading to overselling and overquoting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Aruba Wireless is stable."
"The dashboard tells us who is using most of the bandwidth, and how many APs are not in good range, or that do not actually have good security. It shows us which users are trying to hack or how many users are trying to use BitTorrent. So it gives us very good visibility into the user."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution is well designed so you can easily integrate it in an infrastructure network."
"The most useful feature of this product is the configuration that allows us to have several areas covered with one unit."
"The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity."
"Clearpass solution from Aruba."
"With Aruba Wireless Controller, all our access points are connected to one controller. Through that controller, we can actually handle each access point; we can disconnect or connect that access point, and then we can tell, or see, or allow how many users are, or should be, connected through that access point."
"Some of the features I find valuable are the FlexConnect and overall it is a good global solution."
"Cisco's technical support is very good, I've never had an issue with their technical support."
"Cisco Wireless is reliable and stable."
"It gave us the ability to view wireless traffic, unwanted devices on the network, and how they affected overall network performance."
"The product’s stability is great."
"Device profiling allows us to have different policies applied by ISE to wireless clients."
"This increased mobility has helped our organization. We can talk to one another from different locations and stay in constant contact and with employees across the enterprise. Everyone has access to up-to-the-minute communications and all documents and applications on our network."
"Cisco has good support services."
"It is a very stable solution."
"The AI integration with Marvis is very valuable."
"Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment."
"Juniper Wireless is reasonable, with a bit of complexity compared to Alibaba and SQL."
"The Artificial Intelligence on offer is very useful."
"The installation process is nice and easy."
"The installation process is very easy."
"The AI integration with Marvis is very valuable."
 

Cons

"The price is high and not too reasonable. It is very high compared to other products."
"The access points could be cheaper."
"The Help option within the GUI needs to be improved."
"We're using the Aruba Sensor, but sometimes the sensor isn't talking to AirWave or the AP. If something happens, we need to receive an email directly from the sensor, but the controller doesn't know. If there's something like the high channel utilization from the sensor we send to the controller, the controller can change the channel because they're all in the same environment."
"Initial setup was complex."
"The network times for protocol synchronization can be improved."
"I need more access. I only install the hardware and the software part for the client. However, there are no admin privileges, which is an issue. You need to contact them and make a special request."
"MAC authentication against an external Radius server while using 802.1X. This feature will help the L2 devices to authenticate via external Radius servers."
"If needs to provide more visibility. It can detect and do it, but as technicians we don't have a lot of visibility into seeing exactly what's happening. It doesn't give us a lot of log information for us to troubleshoot. They probably have additional software you need to purchase to get that kind of information. But I think not all companies can afford additional software to see those kinds of details. So if the wireless controller already had, built-in, those types of things for the technician or wireless engineer, it would be more attractive for the end-user."
"Sometimes I've seen some issues come up with the interference. That's an issue users face at times. It becomes very complex when you have a lot of wireless interference in the area, or in your office. It's because of the environment of Cisco. Maybe, in the future, they can work on this area, and fix this issue."
"The GUI could be made more user-friendly. There should also be a dashboard where it can showcase how many end-users are connected to a particular access point."
"It requires a few tweaks in order to stabilize it. Its portal is complex. Cisco solutions are complex in general."
"Older versions used to be hard to deploy. The latest OS, however, has made things a lot easier. While deployment is much better, it could always be even easier."
"There are performance issues, particularly with video calls where throughput is not great."
"The solution doesn't have much coverage area."
"The pricing of the solution is expensive if you compare it to other competitors."
"The biggest issue was that Juniper stopped developing, so we had to look for another solution."
"The solution could offer more integration with other products."
"The support on offer to other vendors switching - like Aruba or Ruckus - could be improved."
"In my region, access to the product is very difficult and presents a logistical nightmare. Also, pricing is a big problem and a barrier to entry when selling Juniper against competitors."
"The network coverage of Juniper WLC Series and Cisco is different. We need to add additional access points."
"The solution should create configuration documentation."
"There could be more information from the controller, and it could be easier to work with the controller lights. It's not easy to bring up the upgrades."
"We would prefer it if the solution could be less expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Aruba Wireless is fairly reasonable. It was within our budget."
"Besides paying for the APs, you need to pay a license each year for their use. Therefore, watch out for that and do the best you can to keep costs down.​"
"When you look at the price it is a higher price than Cisco."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is higher than other products, but you'll get stability, performance, and functionality out of it. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the price of Aruba Wireless a three."
"Licensing is a one time purchase (only the cloud license has to be renewed, which is worth trying out).​"
"The price of Aruba Wireless has a more competitive price than other solutions."
"The solution's cost is affordable."
"I would rate the cost as an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"The license structure is confusing."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is expensive and there is an additional cost for support."
"The licensing system is very rigid. I work for a school and we are just treated like big companies. At some point, there's a limit to what we can do about that."
"Pricing is a little higher for Cisco Wireless than all other vendors. Cisco should work on improving the pricing because there are some other vendors out there in the market which may have the same features or equivalent features that Cisco has at a lesser price."
"Never pay the full GPL price."
"I rate the tool's pricing a ten out of ten. It is expensive compared to Aruba and Juniper."
"The product is expensive."
"Its licensing is hard to understand."
"Juniper WLC Series is a bit pricey but worth its cost."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"There is a certain amount that needs to be paid towards the licensing charges associated with the product, but though I am not sure, I feel the licenses that we have in our company are for three years."
"The product is relatively affordable for enterprise companies."
"The licensing cost is quite high, but considering it's an enterprise solution, the complexity justifies the price."
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise74
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise74
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they h...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What di...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three ...
Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user frie...
What do you like most about Cisco Wireless?
Cisco Wireless improves mobility and flexibility. The only case we are working on is with hospitals, focusing on the ...
What do you like most about Juniper WLC Series?
Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment.
What needs improvement with Juniper WLC Series?
Juniper lacks a network access control agent similar to solutions like Alubakya Path and Cisco ISE. There should be a...
What is your primary use case for Juniper WLC Series?
I work with Juniper service provider solutions. I have a service provider customer and some enterprise customers in r...
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
Cisco WLAN Controller
Juniper WLAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)
Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BAS Group, Borealis, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Jan Yperman Hospital, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, MercaSID, S.A., NHTV Breda University, Parklands College and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary, San Antonio Community Hospital, Sandia National Laboratories, Springfield Public Schools (SPS), St. Catherine University, TalkTalk, The Education Village, University of Copenhagen, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Valdosta State University, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), zulily
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: December 2025.
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