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

"Fantastic product for an indoor wireless solution."
"The ROI that I get using a Cisco AP is very high; when I have my device today, I am guaranteed to use it for the next five years."
"Cisco Wireless is quite convenient for mobile and laptop access."
"Cisco Wireless is one of the top solutions in the market, I would recommend them."
"The most valuable feature is the coverage."
"The product enables mobility and centralized control."
"Security and support are important factors when looking at this kind of solution."
"The deep knowledge of Cisco is its most valuable aspect, and the Wireless Cisco solution has been in development for many years, which gives users trust in the solution."
"For small businesses, this is definitely a product that I recommend."
"The system simplifies network management."
"We have 200 to 250 users and the solution can scale without any problem."
"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"The setup process is very easy."
"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"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."
 

Cons

"Cisco Wireless has not been that stable. In the past, Cisco Wireless could handle only a small number of users per access point."
"Initial setup was, of course, challenging. For example, redundancy during controller failover was very challenging as the AP was taking a long time to join with the controller."
"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."
"Technical support takes too long and is something that should be improved."
"Sometimes it requires three to five years, and it depends on the subscription. I sometimes face issues with clients regarding this."
"The reporting of the product could be improved. When I needed to troubleshoot, I couldn't get sufficient information from the controller."
"There needs to be an access point that is compact and more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses."
"Apple is definitely causing a lot of issues by turning on more security features on its equipment. It is causing more problems on the business side. One is what they call a randomized Mac address that Apple has put out. As far as I know, Cisco doesn't have a fix for that."
"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."
"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 support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."
"Sometimes, the solution needs to be restarted."
"The cloud managed solution needs improvement, and they should focus on the SD-WAN segment with regard to integration."
"D-Link Wireless’s stability needs improvement."
"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."
"The solution's performance could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is a one-time purchase."
"Never pay the full GPL price."
"Cisco is more on the expensive side, as compared to Aruba, but I must say Cisco's quality is unmatched, for sure."
"There are no subscription fees."
"The price for this product is a little bit high, which is why I am not using the most recent version."
"The pricing is high. It could be cheaper."
"Cisco Wireless solutions should have a price reduction for educations centers. Education centers are there to help people grow and there are not large budgets. The solution tends to be expensive and it can cause difficulties when purchasing them here in Africa."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is in the high range compared to other solutions. The solution could be less expensive."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"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 pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"The product is affordable."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
906,887 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%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
University
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
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.
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.
906,887 professionals have used our research since 2012.