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Cisco Wireless vs D-Link Wireless 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

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
D-Link Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.8%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.8%
D-Link Wireless2.4%
Other87.8%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

EvansEsezobor - PeerSpot reviewer
Group IT Head at Euracare
Has enabled centralized user management and improved wireless access point aggregation
To improve Cisco Wireless, the ports on the access points are all 100 Meg, not 1 gig. We have not gotten a gigabyte interface of about 1,000, but the controller we have is just 1 gig. We would prefer if we could increase the controller to a 10 gig interface because we want to connect our controller to a 10 gig interface, which currently limits us to 1 gig. When we want to move higher capacity data via wireless, it limits us to 1 gig.
NadirShahzad - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Wireless projects run smoothly with more access point support and competitive pricing
D-Link Wireless offers more supported APs to the WLC with the default license compared to other brands like Cisco. With Cisco, only four to five APs are connected with the default license, but D-Link Wireless provides more flexibility. Local support in Pakistan is necessary for those with limited budgets, creating a reach in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is an extremely stable and scalable solution. Its documentation and support are also very good."
"Our environment has many devices constantly moving within our environment—approximately 3,000 devices daily, many of which change locations every 45 minutes. Therefore, the tool's seamless handoff is valuable for us. It's one of the reasons we have stayed with the product."
"Cisco Wireless is scalable and very stable."
"The support is very good. Technical support is very helpful."
"The capacity, security, downloading, and exporting data are all very good. It's user-friendly, but if I look at Meraki versus normal Cisco equipment, then I think that Meraki will be much more user-friendly."
"The Guest feature is pretty good."
"The most valuable feature for us is management of the systems. We can easily access all features."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The tool supports new technologies."
"The system simplifies network management."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"We have 200 to 250 users and the solution can scale without any problem."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
"This is an affordable product that offers good performance, which is why it is popular with our customers, and it offers good speed and bandwidth."
"I like the product's signal continuity and range. We can receive the signal up to 20-30 meters from the wireless antenna."
 

Cons

"We have several users who get dropped from the Wi-Fi every once in a while. APs also don't typically work; they just stop working, and we have to reboot them and they magically work."
"Older versions used to be hard to deploy. The latest OS, however, has made things a lot easier. While deployment is much better, it could always be even easier."
"The installation is not too difficult but the solution could improve by making the configuration easier."
"Their software's really clunky."
"Customer service is only good for money."
"The reporting of the product could be improved. When I needed to troubleshoot, I couldn't get sufficient information from the controller."
"In the next release, they should add a better reporting feature. The reporting will tell you if you have a problem. That will make the diagnostics easier."
"There's a delay in equipment that comes to Columbia, to our country, and that lasts almost six months."
"D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points."
"D-Link has some catching up to do in terms of advancing and improving its technology."
"We've had issues with the 150MG and 300MB dongles. The 300MB works okay but the 150MB is not working well for us."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"The only issue is with the controller visibility of the devices connecting to the network."
"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."
"Sometimes, the solution needs to be restarted."
"In future, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an expensive product."
"The price of this solution is a little more than competitors."
"The price of Cisco Wireless equipment is expensive."
"I think it's affordable. Maybe there are little differences, but it's not very expensive. But with all Cisco products, you have to pay more for the power supply. You'll have to pay for the PoE converter."
"Cost is one of the reasons why we are switching to Aruba. Aruba is significantly lower than Cisco in price. We do the licensing on a three-year basis. Cisco makes licensing very difficult."
"There is no license required to use Cisco Wireless solutions."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"We opt for a one-time purchasing fee model in our setup. Since we don't utilize a management platform or WLAN controller, there are no recurring costs. The access points we typically use, which support Cisco's wireless masters, are priced at around $250 each. Occasionally, we purchase them in packs of five or as part of extended packs at a prorated cost."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"The product is affordable."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
907,768 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
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Construction Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Construction Company
13%
University
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise73
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
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...
Which wireless solution would you choose - Huawei or D-Link?
Huawei wireless is a strong and solid product that has a lot of features - and for all that it offers, it happens to be very cost effective. As a wireless solution, it is simple and its user interf...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for D-Link Wireless?
D-Link Wireless is notably more affordable than Cisco and Juniper. It suits SMB needs without the financial burden of purchasing additional licenses for extended APs.
What needs improvement with D-Link Wireless?
D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points. Working on this functionality for APs and WLC could be an i...
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
D-Link WLAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)
Metropolitan Public Defender, Mission Motorcycles
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. D-Link Wireless and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
907,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.