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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
155
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 May 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.0%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.0%
D-Link Wireless2.4%
Other88.6%
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

"I like many of the features that Cisco Wireless has to offer."
"It can provide support for real-time applications, such as VoIP and Video Conferencing over wireless infrastructure."
"Cisco’s product has made a big difference in our plants."
"Cisco Wireless is scalable."
"The technical support is very good."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is its durability because we can rely on this solution."
"The support is very good. Technical support is very helpful."
"The tool is mainly improving our productivity."
"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."
"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The system simplifies network management."
"The initial setup process was easy."
"D-Link comes with a complete solution including wireless, switching, and static wiring."
"D-Link is a good product that is quite affordable and I recommend it."
"The initial setup is super straightforward; you just add them and in a few clicks, they are ready to go."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
 

Cons

"A mobile app would be great to see if the system is up, and some minor tools, but not to add or remove rules."
"Older WAP's can be an issue as the firmware makes them problematic."
"The pricing is a bit high. It could be less expensive."
"At this time, I feel that setting up these products is complex and difficult for customers to understand."
"Because the Cisco architecture is quite complex, you may end up having to add more components and licenses. So, the cost could go up."
"There is room for improvement regarding HA issues and Radius integration."
"The biggest reason why we could no longer continue with Cisco Wireless was because of the high cost to upgrade everything."
"Improvements can be made to the telemetry. The licensing gets in the way here. It makes it impossible to record the different flows across the wireless network."
"The only issue is with the controller visibility of the devices connecting to the network."
"In future releases, it can keep improving on countering the new patterns of security attacks."
"In future, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."
"In future, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"The cloud managed solution needs improvement, and they should focus on the SD-WAN segment with regard to integration."
"The tool's technical support can get difficult sometimes. We got a technician only after complaining for 10-15 days. The tool's technicians need to be made available everywhere."
"The solution doesn't have hotspots. Users can't set it up so that visitors can log in via Facebook or social media as they can at, for example, airports. D-Link should include hotspots that offer integration with social media. That way, visitors don't need to be asking people for passwords. They can just use Facebook."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this solution is a little more than competitors."
"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."
"I think that the solution is expensive because the customer has to pay for a full year, at a minimum, in up-front costs."
"The price of the solution is fair."
"As far as I know Cisco is very competitive, price-wise. Talk to your third-party vendor. It all depends on the company size - how many employees, how big the building is. If it's wireless, and you have only 50 employees but you're using a large building floor, in that case you need many access points. But if you have 50 employees using two or three rooms, then you probably don't need it and it's going to be high density, so there is a different design. So you need to talk to a subject matter expert. Talk to them and design accordingly."
"This product's pricing is good. It's not too expensive."
"The pricing is a bit high."
"It's expensive. The pricing is an obstacle."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"The product is affordable."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"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."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
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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
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

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: April 2026.
896,034 professionals have used our research since 2012.