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Cisco Wireless vs Fortinet FortiAP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Cisco Wireless delivers fast ROI with improved productivity, security, and connectivity, valued by both profit and non-profit organizations.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiAP offers high ROI with robust security, minimal maintenance, and 80% cost savings compared to competitors.
I do not have to continuously manage them, and their reliability means they are consistently up and running.
Fortinet FortiAP provides value for money, and I can quantify the savings at about 80%.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.8
Cisco Wireless customer service is highly rated for prompt, knowledgeable support, despite some regional variability in quality.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAP's customer service experiences vary, with mixed support quality influenced by region, service tier, and training resources.
The technical support from Cisco is of high quality.
The technical support from Cisco is good.
We keep a support contract open with Fortinet, so we have instantaneous response from them.
I am not satisfied with Fortinet FortiAP's technical support in India.
The technical support from Fortinet FortiAP is rated 7.5 out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.9
Cisco Wireless offers efficient scalability for various business sizes, though costs and controller limits may pose challenges.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAP is scalable, supporting thousands of users, but may require new purchases due to technology constraints.
There could be constraints where a product can't be scaled further without purchasing a new model.
We have good scalability with Fortinet FortiAP because we have multiple ISPs connected to it through FortiManager.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Wireless is highly stable and reliable, performing well across environments with minimal issues and high user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiAP's stability is mixed; some praise performance while others face disconnections and vulnerabilities, influenced by location and setup.
I have not experienced any issues, outages, or problems and have not had to interfere with them at all.
The stability of the solution is very high.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Wireless faces cost, configuration, usability, security, cloud integration, and compatibility issues, requiring improvements across features, UI, and support.
Fortinet FortiAP needs enhancements in wireless functionality, affordability, security integration, configuration, automation, compatibility, support, and reporting.
Sometimes, integration with other Cisco products requires manual intervention for tasks such as firmware upgrades, which should be automated.
In the long term, there could be a cost reduction because it does not require much maintenance.
I know they're going up to six soon, which will enhance reliability.
Security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily.
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Wireless offers premium, high-quality solutions with complex licensing, perceived as costly but justified by reliability, security, and performance.
Fortinet FortiAP offers competitive enterprise pricing, though licensing costs can be high, generally rated six to nine out of ten.
The setup cost involves licenses.
The licensing of Cisco Wireless is competitive.
Cisco has provided significant discounts for large-scale deployments.
The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
Fortinet FortiAP is affordable, not expensive.
The pricing is much better than Cisco pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Wireless excels in security, scalability, integration, ease of installation, and management, offering reliable connectivity and advanced features.
Fortinet FortiAP excels in integration, management, and security, providing stability and performance for small to medium enterprises.
If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity.
When I install it, I can forget about it because there is no need for ongoing maintenance, and no other problems occur.
Cisco Wireless is easy to configure.
Fortinet FortiAP is effective in protecting against wireless threats.
Compatibility with Fortinet firewalls allows clients to set up new businesses with integrated firewalls and access points, offering a cost-effective solution while providing excellent wireless coverage.
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.0%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 5.8%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Bridging capabilities ensure network continuity and reliability in large-scale deployments
The most valuable feature of Cisco Wireless ( /products/cisco-wireless-reviews ) is the bridging capability. If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity. Additionally, Cisco offers significant discounts for large projects. The reliability and robust solution are also key aspects, as there have been no errors or failures. The implementation is straightforward, and the user interface connection is easy.
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Room for improvement in customer support as overall satisfaction remains low
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also. That requirement has been covered. Currently, I cannot see any areas for improvement because it fulfills my requirements, and I can do everything I need with it.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also. That requirement has...
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
No data available
 

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)
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.