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Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points vs Fortinet FortiAP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2026

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

Cisco Wireless 9100 Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
21st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Bharath _Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Velocis Systems
Wireless has delivered advanced analytics and remote troubleshooting for diverse use cases
Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is valuable because of Cisco's Wi-Fi integration with Cisco Spaces, previously called DNA Spaces. When you bundle Cisco AP with Cisco Spaces, the complete wireless story comes into the picture. The first major advantage is the hardware, the chipset, the processor, and the IOS. There is unified licensing and unified iOS, and once you have DNA advantage, you can get a separate AVIX and the Wi-Fi 6 or 6E dashboard in DNAC. These advantages provide basic throughput support, OFDMA, multi-MIMO architecture, and the latest 4K QAM in Wi-Fi 7, previously 1024 QAM, and MLO in Wi-Fi 7. These functionalities exist for every OEM, but the Cisco advantage is the integration with Wi-Fi Spaces. Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points includes one AP that can operate in dual mode. You can onboard it in Meraki or Catalyst, meaning on-premises or cloud controller. Single hardware can be dual OS, either Meraki OS or Catalyst OS. For IoT and industrial wireless, Cisco has a different technology called CURV. The APs are different from the Catalyst 9000 series APs. There is a different set of series with different models working on fluid mesh architecture of Cisco CURV. Remote troubleshooting is a basic functionality of any SDN controller these days. Engineers do not need to manually log in to the end device, which could be either a switch or an AP. From DNA Center itself, you can get visibility from the assurance. You can get client 360, network 360, and application 360 where the health scores of each individual client are clearly visible in DNAC Center. The assurance data provides visibility and highlights the issues that a particular user or particular network node is facing. You can access the device without any challenge. Similar to how SD-WAN came into the picture seven to eight years ago where you could remotely log in to the WAN edge devices and troubleshoot it, the same principle is being applied in DNAC Center for the campus, whether it is switching or WAN. If the RTT latency has been met from the branch to the place where DNAC Center is deployed, you can easily access those devices without needing an engineer to visit that particular location for troubleshooting.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"My favorite thing about Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is that they just work, and they work reliably."
"The features in Catalyst 9100 Access Points that I have found most valuable include that it's a complete solution; we go with Cisco because you have access points, you have a controller, you have Cisco ISE, and you have Cisco DNA Center."
"What I appreciate about Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is the convenience to operate them and install them across locations remotely or on-premise."
"Wi-Fi 6 technology has improved wireless connectivity to such an extent that LAN cable connectivity is no longer necessary, allowing users to work remotely with Wi-Fi connectivity while achieving both speed and scalability."
"Wi-Fi 7 and WPA3 connectivity has made a difference for my organization as it allows for better and faster connectivity."
"Cisco is technically superior to competitors."
"Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is valuable because of Cisco's Wi-Fi integration with Cisco Spaces, previously called DNA Spaces."
"There is not much in terms of potential improvement for Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points; the product is good on wireless."
"I always recommend to customers who have a FortiGate firewall to choose Fortinet FortiAP instead of deploying any other wireless controller or OEM because it provides a single posture of security and a single management console, is easy to use, easy to deploy, and offers central management with FortiGate."
"I always recommend to customers who have a FortiGate firewall to choose Fortinet FortiAP instead of deploying any other wireless controller or OEM because it provides a single posture of security and a single management console, is easy to use, easy to deploy, and offers central management with FortiGate."
"Fortinet FortiAP's zero-touch deployment feature with FortiManager is utilized in the current deployment, enabling deployment and configuration that is very useful, leading to huge cost savings."
"The setup was straightforward."
"Fortinet FortiAPs are useful for small to medium-scale companies where there are budget concerns."
"The product's deployment phase is very easy since its documentation part is available in the public domain."
"I would give FortiAP a rating of ten out of ten so far."
"The solution supports recent security components like encryption or hashing algorithms. We can control the APs from FortiGate Firewalls and integrate those APs into FortiGate. You don't have to purchase a separate controller for it."
 

Cons

"Cisco is always expensive. In terms of pricing, it is very tough because I have lost many RFPs because of the pricing where Ruckus is much less expensive."
"Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points are expensive. They are definitely expensive."
"The deployment process itself is complex because we need to ensure that software requirements are running."
"Theoretically, you can connect up to 100 clients simultaneously, but practically, this is not feasible. There will be bandwidth deterioration, and 100 clients using the same bandwidth will impact the quality of service."
"Technical support from Cisco has been a bit degraded lately because the first support we get is challenging."
"I do not see support for advanced wireless technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and IoT applications."
"Frankly, ease of use is one of the things that needs improvement, as the management interfaces have always been complex and not very intuitive."
"Apart from that, the security measures of Cisco have not provided us with great help in reducing network vulnerabilities."
"I am not satisfied with Fortinet FortiAP's technical support in India. Whenever we call them, they only provide KB articles first."
"FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment."
"The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"I would like to have automation capabilities that would help us reduce the configuration steps."
"Throughput can be better in terms of other vendors, but currently, it's working fine."
"The improvement factor could be in APs. Also, it could have a control, like MAC address."
"Throughput can be better in terms of other vendors, but currently, it's working fine."
"The security integration between the network and firewall has room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet."
"The devices under Fortinet are not expensive. The solution's licensing part is expensive."
"If I compare it with the other enterprise products, the price is good."
"The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet."
"Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point."
"FortiAP is more expensive than some other options."
"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
I do not see support for advanced wireless technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and IoT applications. There is nothing to add on this technology.
What is your primary use case for Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
The major use case is to couple that with the WLC wireless controller and push the different SSIDs on these access points to permit different devices and endpoints to connect to it.
What advice do you have for others considering Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
In these last ten years, the projects I made were for customers, but right now, I am a client and a customer. Cisco Wireless support for IoT is good and effective. We do not use AI analytics in Cis...
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?
A point for improvement for Fortinet FortiAP would be improvements in the GUI, which is adequate but could be improved. Additionally, wireless coverage and the mapping area are fairly static and co...
 

Also Known As

Catalyst 9100 Access Points
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
890,071 professionals have used our research since 2012.