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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
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

"Its stability is most valuable."
"Our organization has improved using this product because it helps enhance user experience, and we now get greater speed and performance with wireless that is nearly the same as a wired network."
"Overall, Cisco was stable and worked well for all our needs until we started having more and more students and teachers using YouTube and Zoom — what with classes being isolated and everything — which put a lot of strain on our Wi-Fi network."
"This solution is extremely scalable."
"The support offered by Cisco is excellent, and they are very responsive and knowledgeable."
"This product has a long life and you don't have any issues with it."
"I've found it to be quite secure."
"The switches can even detect cable issues which quite often can be the main cause for a call-out within my business."
"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."
"Technical support is quite good. We also have a local team and engineers trained by D-Link."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
"D-Link comes with a complete solution including wireless, switching, and static wiring."
"The setup process is very easy."
"We have 200 to 250 users and the solution can scale without any problem."
"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."
"For small businesses, this is definitely a product that I recommend."
 

Cons

"The price could be better."
"Sometimes our customers do not get proper IP addresses from the DHCP pool."
"The bind configuration between a physical port and an IP address is missing."
"There is no technology without room for improvement. The main setback with Cisco solutions, not only with Cisco Wireless, is having to update the OS manually. We are now migrating to Miraki, so we've been able to work that out."
"Their software's really clunky."
"Cisco Wireless is expensive."
"The GUI could be made more user-friendly."
"Cisco is costlier relative to other solutions."
"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's performance could be improved."
"The solution has been mostly stable; it sometimes fluctuates, however, largely, it is good."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points."
"Sometimes, the solution needs to be restarted."
"Sometimes we configure the SSID with a password but the same AP shows two WiFi connections with the same SSID name (one is protected by a password and another one give access without a password)."
"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

"From a pricing point of view, it's a little bit expensive compared to competitors like Aruba and others."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"Pricing is a little higher for Cisco Wireless than all other vendors. Cisco should work on improving the pricing because there are some other vendors out there in the market which may have the same features or equivalent features that Cisco has at a lesser price."
"The license structure is confusing."
"Cisco is not a cheap solution. Their licensing cost is higher than that for others."
"Cisco Wireless is a little bit expensive when compared to other solutions."
"The platform is expensive for small-scale businesses."
"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."
"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."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"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."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"The product is affordable."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
887,041 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
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
8%
 

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: April 2026.
887,041 professionals have used our research since 2012.