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
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 July 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.5%, down from 11.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.5%
D-Link Wireless2.4%
Other88.1%
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 is one of the leading brands, particularly in the commercial sector. Other brands such as Extreme, cater to different categories at lower levels. Cisco maintains a comprehensive product range across all levels and excels in comparison to other networking sites. They also boast a team of highly qualified professionals, a feature that sets them apart from competitors like Netgear, which lacks such expertise."
"The increased productivity and low downtime from the wireless network is worth every cent spent."
"The support offered by Cisco is excellent, and they are very responsive and knowledgeable."
"We find this solution very cost effective, and we are using the WAP121 model which has good manageability and stability."
"Cisco Wireless solutions are highly scalable."
"So far, overall, it's been good. The solution has been stable."
"The performance of the network, the connection and stability, are very good, perfect."
"Good connectivity and easy to configure."
"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."
"The initial setup is super straightforward; 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 product's initial setup phase is easy."
"We have 200 to 250 users and the solution can scale without any problem."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
"The tool supports new technologies."
"I like the product's signal continuity and range. We can receive the signal up to 20-30 meters from the wireless antenna."
 

Cons

"Technical support takes too long and is something that should be improved."
"Cisco's architecture is becoming complex."
"In Latin America, Cisco is very expensive in comparison to other technologies."
"We sometimes have issues with user load; we have close to 12 users and we have performance issues, especially when we are on video calls, with lags and connectivity issues and the throughput is not that good."
"One of the issues with Cisco, particularly for smaller companies, is the cost."
"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."
"The main concern is the length and overlapping. We have to put on four to six access points on the same floor, and we face the issue of overlapping areas. If Cisco can extend the range of their indoor APs, we would need to install just one or two access points, and it would eliminate the problem of the overlapping area."
"The product is quite expensive, and it's making us reconsider staying with Cisco."
"D-Link Wireless’s stability needs improvement."
"It would definitely help if we had more advanced features for distributing bandwidth."
"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."
"We've had issues with the 150MG and 300MB dongles. The 300MB works okay but the 150MB is not working well for us."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"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."
"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)."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"We have to pay for the hardware and support is extra and we do pay for the support."
"I think it's affordable. Maybe there are little differences, but it's not very expensive. But with all Cisco products, you have to pay more for the power supply. You'll have to pay for the PoE converter."
"Cisco Wireless is a little bit expensive when compared to other solutions."
"This product's pricing is good. It's not too expensive."
"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."
"It is an expensive product. I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The pricing is high. It could be cheaper."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"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."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"The product is affordable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
902,988 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
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Educational Organization
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.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.