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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 June 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.4%, down from 11.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.3%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.4%
D-Link Wireless2.3%
Other88.3%
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

"Even though Cisco tends to be more costly than other solutions you get more than you pay for."
"Cisco Wireless is mostly stable with a low downrate and the signal rate is good, and it is also easy to use."
"This increased mobility has helped our organization as we can talk to one another from different locations and stay in constant contact with employees across the enterprise, with everyone having access to up-to-the-minute communications and all documents and applications on our network."
"I like that Cisco Wireless is easy to implement. If you get stuck with any issues, they have ample documentation on the internet. It's easy to implement, and Cisco documentation is easily accessible."
"It is a reliable and robust solution. Access and Mobility Groups are useful. We don't use anything very fancy."
"It provides the flexibility to create and integrate with many social Wi-Fi solutions and is a reliable and stable solution with very good ROI."
"The FlexConnect feature is the most valuable."
"Good connectivity and easy to configure."
"D-Link is a good product that is quite affordable and I recommend it."
"The setup process is very easy."
"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."
"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The tool supports new technologies."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
"The system simplifies network management."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
 

Cons

"The smaller WLAN controllers don’t grow well."
"The licensing models need to be reviewed in some instances. Obviously Cisco's licensing models are quite challenging, and it can be costly."
"Cisco is on the expensive side. I'd rate the product a three out of five in terms of affordability of the product."
"There should be an option for a wireless bridge that can be used to join two access points."
"The product could be priced better."
"The solution is stable but it could be improved. However, this could be because there are not enough APs."
"The biggest reason why we could no longer continue with Cisco Wireless was because of the high cost to upgrade everything."
"The older product has an installation that is complex, and not easy to configure."
"D-Link Wireless’s stability needs improvement."
"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."
"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."
"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."
"In future, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."
"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."
"In future releases, it can keep improving on countering the new patterns of security attacks."
"The stability could be a bit better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an expensive product."
"The price is a little high. However, you get what you pay for. The quality of the product is high, you will find it is worth the money. There is some additional cost, for example, customer support."
"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."
"It is expensive, and there are some costs in addition to the standard licensing fee. Its licensing model and cost should be improved."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I am not a fan of Cisco's software pricing model. Their management software is far too expensive."
"Never pay the full GPL price."
"I rate the tool's pricing a ten out of ten. It is expensive compared to Aruba and Juniper."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"The product is affordable."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"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 is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
902,495 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
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise42
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.
902,495 professionals have used our research since 2012.