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Aruba Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLC 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLC
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 16.0%, down from 22.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLC is 0.2%, down from 0.3% 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.
Md.Mehedi Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a seamless and secure WiFi experience with outstanding customer support
FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides. Our customers benefit greatly from the security aspect, especially since they are already using Fortinet for Firewall services. The security features are crucial for their requirements. The stability and ease of use of FortiWLC also add to its effectiveness.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity."
"The initial setup was very simple."
"The initial setup is straightforward. Configure one IAP and all the rest self-configure to that one.​"
"Aruba Wireless is stable."
"One advantage is the built-in Zigbee-based IoT functionality. You don't need an additional dongle to enable that option."
"The product improved overall scalability and simplicity in configuring and replacing. The use of an Aruba Controller to configure multiple APs was game-changing."
"The main features of Aruba Wireless in my country is its popularity, long hardware warranty when compared to other solutions, and it integrates well with our network access control solution."
"It has an aesthetically pleasing GUI for configuration."
"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
 

Cons

"They need to work on reducing prices as they are currently on the higher side."
"The price could be better. In the next release, I would like to have more analytics features."
"There is a lot of information for users about the product, but it needs to be better organized so that solutions are easier to find."
"Zero-touch provisioning is needed."
"I would have liked to see more manufacturer driven events and outings to drive brand recognition and familiarity.​"
"The ceiling grid mount clips have room for improvement. ​"
"For a more senior tool, a local application monitoring related to IoT vendors would be useful."
"The product should be more affordable, especially the cloud and console for the Aruba product as it is currently very expensive."
"However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."
"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."
"For massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better. Competitors offer more features for a similar cost."
"I don't know the exact costs associated with Aruba Wireless, but I have a rough idea, and it's not too cheap, though it's less costly than Cisco Wireless. Pricing for Aruba Wireless is moderate. It's a three out of five."
"The price is reasonable. I would rate the cost as 8 out of 10."
"Pricing support has always been cost-effective."
"The system was very good, but we needed to upgrade in order to adapt for our needs, and doing so with Aruba would have been more expensive. ​"
"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.​"
"In terms of pricing, the pricing for Aruba Wireless is not bad for large-sized companies, but for medium-sized companies, it's on the higher end, but because Aruba has a good company image, medium-sized companies still go with Aruba Wireless."
"The access points are more cost-effective over some other providers, both in cost per AP and the option of a controller-less environment."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
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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
16%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Non Profit
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLC?
I cannot disclose the license price, however, I recommend Fortinet reduce its pricing for massive implementations.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLC?
Until now, I have not observed any issues. However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLC?
We are resellers of FortiWLC, and our customers mainly use it in enterprise settings, particularly for chemical companies.
 

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
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.