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Cisco Wireless vs Ruckus Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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
5.1
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ruckus Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
104
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 Ruckus Wireless is 14.1%, up from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Q&A Highlights

NC
Oct 27, 2021
 

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.
Xander Janse Van Rensburg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and high-performance wireless networking with exceptional stability, scalability, and robust feature set
One of the most valuable features I appreciate is auto channelization, facilitated by a proprietary product called ChannelFly. This feature enables APs in a specific zone to automatically adjust their channels, optimizing performance. Additionally, Ruckus Wireless stands out for its ability to reuse certain beams, resulting in smaller data spots. In my experience with various products, Ruckus Wireless consistently delivers unparalleled throughput, coverage, and reliability in wireless networking across different environments. As a noteworthy point, the newly launched WiFi 7 standard is measured against Ruckus's WiFi 7 AP, establishing it as the global benchmark. When it comes to WiFi, Ruckus sets the standard, outperforming competitors with its superior performance and capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the main advantages of Cisco Wireless is its DNAT compatibility. When we have dynamic segmentation, or the DNAT enabled on the LAN, Cisco Access Point integrates with the DNAT architecture. Aruba Switches cannot integrate with the Cisco DNAT architecture."
"Compared to other solutions, captive guest network is one of the best isolation and tunneling."
"Cisco Wireless products are easy to use."
"The ability to deploy wireless access points with templates."
"Support is fantastic. They are helpful and responsive."
"Cisco's support team is the best in the industry."
"For me, the most valuable thing about Cisco Wireless is its ease of use and stability."
"It always runs, and it's very reliable in terms of performance."
"I find signal combining and team forming in Ruckus Wireless most valuable."
"The most valuable feature is that this solution is reliable."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is the simple interface of the SmartZone platform."
"Ruckus Wireless is reliable. The most valuable features are BeamFlex technology, Wi-Fi 6, and channel management."
"Mesh networking and antenna patterns are the most valuable features of the solution."
"The product has some very awesome patents on their radios and their antennas and antenna patterns and how their signaling works. That's why nobody can touch them. If they go head to head with anybody."
"Good connection quality."
"The smart antenna is very good."
 

Cons

"They are a pretty expensive option."
"The new GUI interface and the newer version OS are a little bit more complex than the older version, however, it just might take some getting used to."
"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."
"There are performance issues, particularly with video calls where throughput is not great."
"And from an administration point of view, it is a very tedious job to check on each and every control. We have around 30 or 40 controls in our network."
"The price should be reduced. It should be cheaper."
"Cisco's architecture is becoming complex."
"The coverage area of Cisco Wireless could improve. Additionally, the reports when a problem arises could be better, such as how it is done in Aruba Wireless solutions. In the Aruba wireless solutions, there are reports that are provided regarding uploads, downloads, and other internet activity that are useful. If this feature was added to Cisco that would be a benefit."
"They could add more flexibility for switching over to another radio if a radio is poor. I am not able to change the radios from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz. I am yet to figure it out. I want it to be a bit more explicit or a bit easier to change radios. When you shut it down, you lose some of the information. It would be good to have a controller where I can store the information, and later on, I can retrieve the information. There should be some form of small storage to keep the information. Its price should also be improved. Its price is currently quite high."
"Lacks some analytics features in the control itself."
"What would be interesting to see is if they had more of an ability for their customers to capture revenue. They should offer some sort of gateway functionality that you could tie through radius authentication, so you can bill the customers. That way, when you go in, you could just have a device and set up a hotspot, and it's a totally billable tool at that point."
"The software should be made more stable."
"The solution is sensitive with reference to power fluctuations. This sensitivity should be improved. Additionally, the solution should have more security features integrated."
"They can improve the cloud portion. Other vendors have a cloud controller, and they can provide the same so that we can see everything."
"Some customers have issues with the price because it's more expensive than Ubiquiti, but they can accept the cost because it's reliable and has more features."
"The price is one area for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to pay for the hardware and support is extra and we do pay for the support."
"Its price is a bit high. It is more expensive than its competitors, but when I look at the return on investment, it is worth it."
"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."
"I rate the tool's pricing a ten out of ten. It is expensive compared to Aruba and Juniper."
"The price of this product is reasonable."
"The licensing system is very rigid. I work for a school and we are just treated like big companies. At some point, there's a limit to what we can do about that."
"Cisco WiFi 1572 is very expensive locally and our budget for this year is used."
"The price of Cisco Wireless equipment is expensive."
"It's definitely a good value. It's more expensive than some of the other offerings out there, but when you compare it to other enterprise-class gear, it's very well priced. And the beauty of it is, because it has better range because of their patented BeamFlex - which is the way they can send and receive and listen to signals - you can actually use fewer access points. That means that it's a cheaper overall project."
"The price is reasonable."
"​The cost can be prohibitive for many as it is a high-end product in the WiFi market.​"
"It is decently priced."
"Ruckus Wireless pricing is reasonable. On a scale from one to five, I would give Ruckus Wireless pricing a four."
"The price could be better. Normally, if you find customers paying for cost-effective wireless solutions, Ruckus devices are a little expensive compared to other vendors."
"The reason we picked Ruckus, in addition to our long-standing relationship with Ruckus, is pretty much that the RFS characteristics of it seem to be the best."
"We also looked at Cisco and Aruba but Ruckus pricing was better."
report
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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…
 

Answers from the Community

NC
Oct 27, 2021
Oct 27, 2021
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 manage. There are no tricks involved when rolling it out for use. This straightforwardness is not limited to the initial point of setup. It continues on and applies to all of the time thereafter when i...
2 out of 3 answers
DG
Oct 18, 2021
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 manage. There are no tricks involved when rolling it out for use. This straightforwardness is not limited to the initial point of setup. It continues on and applies to all of the time thereafter when it is being put to use. The user interface seems to have been designed with the ease of the user in mind. Everything about it is straightforward, which makes this product ever more valuable to those for whom time is money. Additionally, the Wi-Fi coverage that Ruckus Wireless provides is of excellent quality, is long-lasting, and is supported by a team that provides great technical support. Their Wi-Fi service is the kind that is mostly employed in industries like resorts, which have to cater to large volumes of people over extended periods of time. These systems hold their integrity and allow for people to enjoy powerful coverage that at least appears to be constant. The industrial quality and strength of Ruckus Wireless makes it the sort of service that immediately deserves consideration. The teams that are tasked with supporting those who use Ruckus Wireless are professionals of the highest level. They are possible to reach without difficulty and are highly responsive to problems and work quickly to find solutions. Cisco Wireless provides a very robust service that will continue to run over long periods of time and under heavy usage. Furthermore, the teams that are responsible for assisting users and resolving any potential issues that may arise are highly professional. Setting up this service is not intuitive, though, and can be difficult. Conclusion The prices of these services are unlikely to be the deciding factor as to which of these services is better. They are both expensive. They both do a good job and have excellent tech support but the user-friendly setup and easy-to-use interface give Ruckus Wireless the clear advantage over Cisco Wireless.
NM
Oct 20, 2021
They both do a great job. But it depends on the application scenario.  For corporate environments probably Cisco will perform better not only because of Cisco Wi-Fi features but especially because you can be integrated with all Cisco infrastructure and manage it all. In heavy-duty environments, like public hot-spot, stadiums, exhibition centers, etc, Ruckus should be considered. In this type of applications, pure Wi-Fi performance is more important than management features or security, and therefore, it could be the better choice.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

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...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
What do you like most about Ruckus Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless is an easy to manage solution.
 

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)
American University of Sharjah, Baruch College, Centro Escolar Liceo Santo Tomšs, Chevalier College, Chico Unified School District, Colegio de Fomento El Prado, Columbia Public Schools, Delta School District, Dordt College, Douglas County School District, Drew University, Armonea, Central Utah Clinic, Grove Hill Medical Center, Inner South Community Health Service, Midwest Surgical, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Lyndoch Living, Polonus, Roaring Fork School District, Sonora State, Vivid, Sydney, Players Club, Sandals, Scandic Hotels, Sheraton LAX, Sunbird
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Ruckus Wireless and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.