No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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
16th
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 April 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 8.8%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.3%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless8.8%
D-Link Wireless2.3%
Other88.9%
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

"One of the main advantages of Cisco Wireless is its DNAT compatibility. When we have dynamic segmentation, or the DNAT enabled on the LAN, Cisco Access Point integrates with the DNAT architecture. Aruba Switches cannot integrate with the Cisco DNAT architecture."
"It has helped to provide mobility with committed throughput and performance, and Cisco wireless solutions are very stable, which with their rugged nature has helped overall efficiencies in information processing and daily operations while enhancing enterprise security and providing single-pane visibility for network monitoring."
"I find the tool to be 99 percent stable."
"Overall, it's a good solution."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the Cisco CleanAir and Cisco RRM."
"Compared to other solutions, captive guest network is one of the best isolation and tunneling."
"The controller has a built in best practice analysis engine that will not only give your setup a best practice score, but also automatically change settings to increase the score."
"Even though Cisco tends to be more costly than other solutions you get more than you pay for."
"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."
"The solution is extremely easy to install. You just add them and in a few clicks, they are ready to go."
"Technical support is quite good. We also have a local team and engineers trained by D-Link."
"The initial setup is super straightforward; you just add them and in a few clicks, they are ready to go."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
"The system simplifies network management."
"For small businesses, this is definitely a product that I recommend."
"I like the product's signal continuity and range. We can receive the signal up to 20-30 meters from the wireless antenna."
 

Cons

"The internet speed is high within environments. As you move further away from the access point, there is a decline in speed. Omada or Ruckus don’t have the speed degradation as you move away from the access point."
"The product could be improved with interference reduction. Because wireless frequency interferes with microwave or Bluetooth technologies, this causes issues."
"The price of Cisco Wireless could be adjusted down, it is a bit expensive."
"Improvement needed in RRM, ATF, Ortho-Polarization, AP concurrent client processing."
"As in the majority of new implementations there is a lack of knowledge of the products, but with some time and a lot readings at the end was easily."
"The pricing is high. It could be cheaper."
"The configuration interface could be easier. They should make roaming easier and should fix it so that when you cross a building you can keep the signal."
"Their software's really clunky."
"The cloud managed solution needs improvement, and they should focus on the SD-WAN segment with regard to integration."
"In future releases, it can keep improving on countering the new patterns of security attacks."
"The solution's performance could be improved."
"It would definitely help if we had more advanced features for distributing bandwidth."
"It would definitely help if we had more advanced features for distributing bandwidth."
"Sometimes, the solution needs to be restarted."
"The solution has been mostly stable; it sometimes fluctuates, however, largely, it is good."
"Its interface and support system need much improvement. Sometimes, when we use the interface to reset the password and configure SSIDs, or some other changes, the "Save" option does not show and we have to go to some internal setting and then we can "save" the setting. The “Save” option should be in front of or below of the settings."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost model is expensive."
"It might be around $100 for a license. The internal ones are far cheaper than that."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is okay. I believe it is competitively priced. But it is not just the price by itself, it's the price and the technical features. The features also play a big role. It has to give me the relevant output."
"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."
"Because the Cisco architecture is quite complex, you may end up having to add more components and licenses. So, the cost could go up."
"Its licensing is hard to understand."
"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."
"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."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
886,174 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
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
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.
 

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: March 2026.
886,174 professionals have used our research since 2012.