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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
8.4
Aruba Wireless delivers mixed ROI, with gains in productivity and cost-effectiveness, but initial rollout and integration challenges impact returns.
Sentiment score
8.0
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.
There are significant time savings, around thirty to forty percent, due to minimal disconnections.
I do not have to continuously manage them, and their reliability means they are consistently up and running.
Fortinet FortiAP provides value for money, and I can quantify the savings at about 80%.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Aruba Wireless customer service yields mixed reviews, praised for knowledgeable support but criticized for language barriers and wait times.
Sentiment score
7.4
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.
I would rate their technical support nine out of ten.
The customer support is good.
We keep a support contract open with Fortinet, so we have instantaneous response from them.
I am not satisfied with Fortinet FortiAP's technical support in India.
The technical support from Fortinet FortiAP is rated 7.5 out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Aruba Wireless offers flexible, scalable solutions for businesses, enabling seamless integration and management across diverse infrastructures and industries.
Sentiment score
7.4
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.
It is easy to adapt and very scalable.
There could be constraints where a product can't be scaled further without purchasing a new model.
We have good scalability with Fortinet FortiAP because we have multiple ISPs connected to it through FortiManager.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Aruba Wireless is highly stable and reliable, suitable for large enterprises, with minimal issues apart from some configuration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.2
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.
I don't remember it going down during the years it existed.
Aruba Wireless is stable.
I have not experienced any issues, outages, or problems and have not had to interfere with them at all.
The stability of the solution is very high.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Wireless struggles with complex configurations, high costs, lacking support, and unfriendly interface, needing enhanced features and tools.
Fortinet FortiAP needs enhancements in wireless functionality, affordability, security integration, configuration, automation, compatibility, support, and reporting.
The product should be more affordable, especially the cloud and console for the Aruba product as it is currently very expensive.
While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive.
At the time of purchase, the prices were moderate, but now they are quite expensive.
Security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily.
I know they're going up to six soon, which will enhance reliability.
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.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Wireless is competitively priced, praised for perpetual licensing, but costs can rise with maintenance and add-ons.
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.
The pricing can be expensive.
The initial prices were more affordable compared to the current high prices.
The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
The pricing is a little bit high, and I would rate it a ten on the scale where ten is the highest price.
The pricing is much better than Cisco pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Wireless excels in scalability, security, and performance, offering seamless deployment and reliable connectivity, favored for large networks.
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.
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity.
It has many features and is integrated with Azure AD and multiple active directories, making authentication easy.
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.
Fortinet FortiAP is effective in protecting against wireless threats.
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 16.5%, down from 23.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 5.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Brian M. - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise-level control simplifies wireless management and increases reliability
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality. A benefit is their controllability by local firewalls, which simplifies management and eliminates the need to buy separate hardware or virtual appliances. The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall. Firmware updates are also pushed to Fortinet access points. The lack of maintenance needs and their reliability means I almost never experience wireless problems in the campuses where they are deployed.
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
17%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiAP?
Fortinet solutions are more cost-effective compared to Cisco. The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
I cannot pinpoint the exact improvements needed at the moment. However, security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily. There should be alerts to in...
 

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: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.