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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 October 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 10.2%, down from 10.9% 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 Wireless10.2%
D-Link Wireless2.3%
Other87.5%
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's support team is the best in the industry."
"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."
"It is a reliable and robust solution. Access and Mobility Groups are useful. We don't use anything very fancy."
"It's very easy to configure the access points."
"It's very useful in terms of mobility."
"We find this solution very cost effective, and we are using the WAP121 model which has good manageability and stability."
"Our number of students increased by 35% (more than 600 students) and we used different devices (Mac OS X, Windows, Chrome OS for grade 4 through grade 12, Android, and iOS), which need a very good roaming sensitivity between access points."
"One of the main advantages of Cisco Wireless is its DNAT compatibility."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."
"The initial setup is super straightforward; you just add them and in a few clicks, they are ready to go."
"I like the product's signal continuity and range. We can receive the signal up to 20-30 meters from the wireless antenna."
"The setup process is very easy."
"The connectivity is good."
"We have 200 to 250 users and the solution can scale without any problem."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
 

Cons

"The price should be reduced. It should be cheaper."
"I rate Cisco Wireless six out of 10."
"For pricing, Cisco has to make an effort, or Cisco has to improve the distribution channel."
"Many wireless controllers' firmware have bugs in their new releases, which are not stable, especially in an environment with many wireless AP (WAP) types."
"The software quality could be improved, in particular for the new Cisco Aironet Series 2800/3800 Access Point which is pretty Linux-based."
"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."
"Cisco Wireless needs to improve pricing. I understand that Cisco products are typically more expensive than other vendors. Therefore, I believe that adjusting the pricing could potentially be beneficial. Discounts may be available depending on the customer or type of purchase, which could help offset the higher costs."
"Cisco Wireless is a little bit expensive when compared to other solutions."
"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."
"We've had issues with the 150MG and 300MB dongles. The 300MB works okay but the 150MB is not working well for us."
"D-Link Wireless’s stability needs improvement."
"The cloud managed solution needs improvement, and they should focus on the SD-WAN segment with regard to integration."
"In future releases, it can keep improving on countering the new patterns of security attacks."
"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."
"D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco Wireless is expensive and there is an additional cost for support."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The price of this solution is a little more than competitors."
"The cost model is expensive."
"Because the Cisco architecture is quite complex, you may end up having to add more components and licenses. So, the cost could go up."
"Pricing is a bit on the high side compared to its competitors but we have to consider the support and usages of the solution. Licensing is now RTU and smart licensing. We need three types of licenses. One for each of the: APs, HA, controller."
"We opt for a one-time purchasing fee model in our setup. Since we don't utilize a management platform or WLAN controller, there are no recurring costs. The access points we typically use, which support Cisco's wireless masters, are priced at around $250 each. Occasionally, we purchase them in packs of five or as part of extended packs at a prorated cost."
"Cost is one of the reasons why we are switching to Aruba. Aruba is significantly lower than Cisco in price. We do the licensing on a three-year basis. Cisco makes licensing very difficult."
"The product is affordable."
"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."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"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' 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
Manufacturing Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
University
11%
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 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: September 2026.
919,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.