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Aruba Wireless vs Fortinet FortiAP 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
5.4
Aruba Wireless boosts productivity, flexibility, and cost savings, offering a valuable investment despite challenges in quantifying direct ROI.
Sentiment score
6.3
Fortinet FortiAP offers high ROI with robust security, minimal maintenance, and 80% cost savings compared to competitors.
There is no need to buy additional controllers for managing access points.
Consultant at Lantec
There are significant time savings, around thirty to forty percent, due to minimal disconnections.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
I do not have to continuously manage them, and their reliability means they are consistently up and running.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Fortinet FortiAP provides value for money, and I can quantify the savings at about 80%.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Aruba's support is praised for professionalism and expertise, but resolution speed and accessibility can be inconsistent.
Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiAP's customer service experiences vary, with mixed support quality influenced by region, service tier, and training resources.
I only needed support once or twice for a replacement, and it was handled smoothly without any difficulty.
IT Infrastructure at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate their technical support nine out of ten.
Sales Engineer at SGE
The customer support is good.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
We keep a support contract open with Fortinet, so we have instantaneous response from them.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The RMA process is very good, with same-day replacement in our case.
Head Of Technical Operations at ITE
I am not satisfied with Fortinet FortiAP's technical support in India.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Aruba Wireless is praised for its scalability, adaptability, and ease of managing many devices across diverse environments.
Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiAP is scalable, supporting thousands of users, but may require new purchases due to technology constraints.
The solution is scalable, as multiple sites connect seamlessly.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
It is easy to adapt and very scalable.
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
There could be constraints where a product can't be scaled further without purchasing a new model.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
We have good scalability with Fortinet FortiAP because we have multiple ISPs connected to it through FortiManager.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Aruba Wireless is highly stable, reliable, handles high-density environments well, rarely needs reboots, and surpasses competitors in satisfaction.
Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiAP's stability is mixed; some praise performance while others face disconnections and vulnerabilities, influenced by location and setup.
I have been using the product for the last nine years without facing any issues post-installation.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
I don't remember it going down during the years it existed.
IT Infrastructure at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Aruba Wireless is stable.
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
I have not experienced any issues, outages, or problems and have not had to interfere with them at all.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The stability of the solution is very high.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Wireless needs better stability, intuitive UI, support, documentation, reduced costs, and enhanced analytics, integration, and security.
Fortinet FortiAP needs improvements in wireless functionality, support, outdoor performance, and configuration, despite effective cloud management capabilities.
The product should be more affordable, especially the cloud and console for the Aruba product as it is currently very expensive.
Sales Engineer at SGE
While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive.
Consultant at Lantec
At the time of purchase, the prices were moderate, but now they are quite expensive.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
Security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
I know they're going up to six soon, which will enhance reliability.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Wireless pricing is competitive with low operational costs, offering value through versatile licensing and favorable comparisons to Cisco.
Fortinet FortiAP offers competitive enterprise pricing, though licensing costs can be high, generally rated six to nine out of ten.
The pricing seems reasonable compared to other brands; however, it is too expensive for smaller businesses.
Sales Engineer at SGE
The pricing can be expensive.
Consultant at Lantec
The initial prices were more affordable compared to the current high prices.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The pricing is a little bit high, and I would rate it a ten on the scale where ten is the highest price.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The pricing is much better than Cisco pricing.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Wireless excels in security, scalability, seamless connectivity, and user-friendly design, offering cost-effective and efficient network management.
Fortinet FortiAP excels in integration, management, and security, providing stability and performance for small to medium enterprises.
I do not need to buy a controller for the access point since the Aruba Access Point has a built-in virtual controller.
Consultant at Lantec
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
It has many features and is integrated with Azure AD and multiple active directories, making authentication easy.
Senior Network Engineer at Zerone Technologies
Compatibility with Fortinet firewalls allows clients to set up new businesses with integrated firewalls and access points, offering a cost-effective solution while providing excellent wireless coverage.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Fortinet FortiAP is effective in protecting against wireless threats.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 14.3%, down from 19.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 5.9%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Aruba Wireless14.3%
Fortinet FortiAP5.9%
Other79.8%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
Experience seamless connectivity with top-notch roaming capabilities
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity. Once installed, Aruba Wireless works robustly without overheating issues. This is particularly effective compared to other products I've used, like FortiMonitor and FortiAPs, which sometimes heat up. I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another. The product's stability, after setting it up, adds to its value.
Shahnawaz Nusrat - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Technical Operations at ITE
Has simplified wireless integration while needing better throughput and captive portal features
The product can be improved depending on the model selected as per requirements. Support is good and throughput is good. What we need to do is select a better product as per our requirement and environment. If proper working is done in terms of wireless heat map or radio connectivity in our environment, I believe it's good. There is always a chance to improve. Throughput can be better in terms of other vendors, but currently, it's working fine. One feature that I still need to explore is the captive portal. When we deploy a unit in a public environment, users need to sign in with a pop-up box to connect.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
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 Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

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 have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
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 hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
The product can be improved depending on the model selected as per requirements. Support is good and throughput is good. What we need to do is select a better product as per our requirement and env...
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
No data available
 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.