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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 February 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.5%, 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 Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Wireless9.5%
D-Link Wireless2.1%
Other88.4%
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

"Our environment has many devices constantly moving within our environment—approximately 3,000 devices daily, many of which change locations every 45 minutes. Therefore, the tool's seamless handoff is valuable for us. It's one of the reasons we have stayed with the product."
"Cisco Wireless is mostly stable with a low downrate and the signal rate is good. It is also easy to use."
"Its stability is most valuable."
"The initial setup was quite easy. We have a very good relationship with our integrator and our integrator has a good relationship with Cisco. The integrator that installs Cisco is quite knowledgeable about the technology. They are trained and have a good relationship with their tech. We cannot be experts in each domain and we have to be supported by an integrator."
"There are a lot of valuable features and functions. One example is CleanAir to detect and troubleshoot interference issues. Another is RX-SOP to optimize roaming."
"With Cisco Wireless we have DNA technology for the frequency in which it operates, so that in case of any frequency interference it can look for and switch to another frequency, where there no interference."
"It is a reliable and robust solution. Access and Mobility Groups are useful. We don't use anything very fancy."
"The technical support is excellent."
"The system simplifies network management."
"Overall, I rate D-Link Wireless nine out of ten as a solution."
"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"This is an affordable product that offers good performance. This is why it is popular with our customers. It offers good speed and bandwidth."
"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
 

Cons

"There's a delay in equipment that comes to Columbia, to our country, and that lasts almost six months."
"There are areas for improvement with Cisco Wireless, as well as with wireless technology in general. For instance, while Wi-Fi 6 offers significant advancements, some unresolved issues and quirks have delayed our migration to this standard."
"In this part of the world, support is the weak side of this solution."
"Installation is complex."
"The integration with our CM and other technologies could improve this solution."
"It should be fully compatible with other devices."
"The solution is stable but it could be improved. However, this could be because there are not enough APs."
"It's very scalable, but when you shift gears sometimes, you have to do more work than people anticipate."
"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."
"In future, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."
"The only issue is with the controller visibility of the devices connecting to the network."
"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)."
"D-Link has some catching up to do in terms of advancing and improving its technology."
"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 stability could be a bit better."
"Sometimes, the solution needs to be restarted."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco Wireless is expensive and there is an additional cost for support."
"The cost model is expensive."
"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."
"We have to pay for the hardware and support is extra and we do pay for the support."
"Its licensing is not simple. There are additional license costs for features, which is frustrating for us. There are some features that are included for free in the base Aruba product, but they are available at additional costs in this solution."
"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."
"This is an expensive product."
"It might be around $100 for a license. The internal ones are far cheaper than that."
"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 cost can range from $100 to $400."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"The product is affordable."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
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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
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Construction Company
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

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: February 2026.
882,032 professionals have used our research since 2012.