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Cisco Wireless vs D-Link Wireless comparison

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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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
D-Link Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
17th
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 November 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 10.4%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless10.4%
D-Link Wireless2.3%
Other87.3%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Tejas Jain - PeerSpot reviewer
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Improved mobile connectivity has supported seamless work while configuration complexity remains
Cisco Wireless does not integrate into network security and threat detection by itself. Integration with other tools is necessary for security functions. I do not think threat intel feeds can be ingested locally, and the platform must work with EDR or threat prevention tools. We handle security after the user is connected, with particular traffic landing on the wired network and passing through the firewall. We do not typically use native threat prevention capabilities because it becomes too cluttered and creates troubleshooting challenges when relying on the platform's primary functionality to provide wireless access while securing it simultaneously. The areas for improvement are not challenges for every single version. We faced several issues with a few versions, primarily involving hardware and software compatibility where upgrades became necessary. A couple of our locations have devices deployed years ago that have remained stable. Other locations required device refreshes because those devices reached end-of-sale and end-of-life status, necessitating several iterations before reaching a stable state.
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

"The configuration is simple; the controllers are reliable, and the support is second to none, and the system works for us."
"The most valuable features for network security with Cisco Wireless were the policy enforcement capabilities."
"Authentication has played a big role for us, and it has given us mobility."
"Introducing a wireless infrastructure is probably the biggest single improvement in the network area we have had over the last few years."
"The technical support is very good."
"It gave us the ability to view wireless traffic, unwanted devices on the network, and how they affected overall network performance."
"Cisco Wireless has been around for quite some time, Cisco is a leader and its Wireless product is very reliable, so investing in it is a safe bet."
"The product enables mobility and centralized control."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."
"The setup process is very easy."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The connectivity is good."
"D-Link is a good product that is quite affordable and I recommend it."
 

Cons

"Cost. Also, it is slow to update configurations, with cloud access, no way to configure devices locally, network data information is hard to find."
"Overall, it's a pretty good solution; however, it's end-of-life, it will be end-of-support in the next two years. The APs are also end-of-life."
"The main problem that traditional solutions like this one have is that you need to buy packages to deliver a similar solution as a Meraki one."
"It would be better if some utility lets us know the best place to install the system. Every time we install it, we have to change it, and we have to add more access points. This is a problem we have all the time. It would be better if it integrated seamlessly with products from other vendors. It'll also help if they included a device diagnostics feature in the next release."
"Cisco support is good, but I think it could be better."
"The technical support could be better. They aren't as helpful as they need to be when we run into issues."
"Its licensing has been very frustrating. There is also the complexity of managing the product. These are probably the two reasons why we're looking at Aruba. The way they license this product is not simple. There are some good features in the latest version, but there are additional license costs as well, which is frustrating for us. It is not really a feature issue for us. It really comes down to cost and licensing. They should make it a bit simpler to manage. We find the overall solution a little bit more complex than we would like to deal with. Its troubleshooting is a bit difficult, and it does require a high skill set. Comparatively, Aruba seems quite simple. One of the benefits of the Aruba product is that it is cloud-managed. We don't have to manage the management platform itself, whereas Cisco is on-premise. Its user interface could also be better."
"Customer service is only good for money."
"Password restriction: Sometimes we set a password and it uses that password but, after some days/months, the password gets changed and a few laptops still use old the password while a few use the new password. The password restriction option needs to improve."
"D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"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)."
"The solution's performance could be improved."
"D-Link has some catching up to do in terms of advancing and improving its technology."
"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

"Cisco WiFi 1572 is very expensive locally and our budget for this year is used."
"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."
"I think that the solution is expensive because the customer has to pay for a full year, at a minimum, in up-front costs."
"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."
"There is a need to renew the licenses for Cisco Wireless every three years. My company needs to pay around 25 percent of the budget meant for the tools we purchase towards the price of Cisco Wireless."
"Its price is a bit high. It is more expensive than its competitors, but when I look at the return on investment, it is worth it."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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 product is affordable."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"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
13%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
University
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise74
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 c...
 

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: November 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.