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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
4th
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 March 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.2%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.1%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.2%
D-Link Wireless2.1%
Other88.7%
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

"Cisco Wireless products are easy to use."
"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."
"The ability to disable RRM or set hybrid RRM provides a more granular design of RF in the environment."
"The solution offers very good application visibility and control integration for other analysis software."
"Wireless access has enabled users to be mobile and as a result, more productive."
"It is tough, has a nice speed, and is quite reliable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is reliability."
"We were able to utilize the elements of the core and provide a solution to our customers similar to that of Cisco Meraki."
"The system simplifies network management."
"The tool supports new technologies."
"The initial setup process was easy."
"The solution is extremely easy to install. You just add them and in a few clicks, they are ready to go."
"Overall, I rate D-Link Wireless nine out of ten as a solution."
"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"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 price could be better. The configuration is also complex. It would be better if there's an NEC solution. That's one of the things we really want to have. It should also be as fast as possible."
"In the future, I would like to have Cisco add video documentation on configuring and overall learning of how to use the solutions. For example, in such areas as, security, authentication, and load balancing."
"It's very scalable, but when you shift gears sometimes, you have to do more work than people anticipate."
"If needs to provide more visibility. It can detect and do it, but as technicians we don't have a lot of visibility into seeing exactly what's happening. It doesn't give us a lot of log information for us to troubleshoot. They probably have additional software you need to purchase to get that kind of information. But I think not all companies can afford additional software to see those kinds of details. So if the wireless controller already had, built-in, those types of things for the technician or wireless engineer, it would be more attractive for the end-user."
"Cisco Wireless could improve if they had some kind of social media integration. There is some limitation with social media integration and wireless interaction. They need to add some additional components to their wireless devices to complete the solution or requirements."
"The new GUI interface and the newer version OS are a little bit more complex than the older version, however, it just might take some getting used to."
"Code stability is something that needs to be improved."
"The reporting of the product could be improved. When I needed to troubleshoot, I couldn't get sufficient information from the controller."
"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, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."
"D-Link Wireless’s stability needs improvement."
"D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points."
"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."
"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 performance offered by D-Link Wireless can be a bit problematic at times, owing to which it is an area that can be considered for improvement."
"It would definitely help if we had more advanced features for distributing bandwidth."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is expensive, but you get value for your money."
"The license structure is confusing."
"Cisco WiFi 1572 is very expensive locally and our budget for this year is used."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The licensing system is very rigid. I work for a school and we are just treated like big companies. At some point, there's a limit to what we can do about that."
"The pricing is high. It could be cheaper."
"The product is expensive."
"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"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."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"The product is affordable."
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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
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Educational Organization
9%
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.
884,012 professionals have used our research since 2012.