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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
7.2
Number of Reviews
148
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 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 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 335-AP provides reliability, stability."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Wireless is application monitoring."
"​It has improved overall IT efficiency across the board."
"One advantage is the built-in Zigbee-based IoT functionality. You don't need an additional dongle to enable that option."
"I like the analytics feature."
"I really like the user interface."
"The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller."
"The web-based GUI is much simpler to use than similar products by Cisco."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."
"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The price is high and not too reasonable. It is very high compared to other products."
"I believe that Aruba's support could be improved."
"The user interface could be improved in Aruba Wireless. This would make the setup easier."
"I believe it would benefit from more reporting, other than just a dashboard. It needs some type of report builder so you can have PDFs to show upper management what is going on in the wireless network."
"We have an issue with the integration of Aruba Wireless with our LDAP servers."
"There are some issues we occasionally have. However, they are easily remedied."
"Aruba’s poor performance and random upgrade issues caused too much time consuming maintenance and troubleshooting."
"Aruba Wireless is a good product, but it still has some issues, especially at the beginning, where there's inconsistent syncing between the cloud and the APs. Sometimes, there's also a little lag when accessing the query."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive."
"It's not expensive. That is the reason we switched to Aruba."
"The price point is pretty high compared to Ubiquiti and other equipment."
"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."
"Aruba Wireless is the best for the price. Aruba Wireless is the least expensive, the second is Huawei, and the most expensive is Cisco."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is fairly reasonable. It was within our budget."
"​Price is fairly expensive, however it is worth it. If the “master” fails, another AP can take over the role.​"
"I think it would be better if they lowered the price."
"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
17%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Non Profit
9%
University
8%
 

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: June 2025.
855,752 professionals have used our research since 2012.