Exinda vs Fortinet FortiWLC comparison

Why PeerSpot?

The compared GFI and Fortinet solutions aren't in the same category. GFI is ranked #4 in WO , and holds a 7.3% mindshare in the category. Fortinet is ranked #27 in Wireless LAN , and holds a 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of GFI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Exinda

Read 9 Exinda reviews

1,818 Views
1,709 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiWLC

Read 3 Fortinet FortiWLC reviews

1,179 Views
1,038 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Exinda

Fortinet FortiWLC

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Exinda and Fortinet FortiWLC based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Riverbed, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cato Networks and others in WAN Optimization.

To learn more, read our detailed WAN Optimization Report (Updated: October 2026).

Buyer's Guide

WAN Optimization

October 2026

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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

Exinda

Average Rating

8.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

WAN Optimization (4th)

Fortinet FortiWLC

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless LAN (27th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Exinda is designed for WAN Optimization and holds a mindshare of 7.3%, up 6.6% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiWLC, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 0.4% since last year.

WAN Optimization Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Exinda	7.3%
Steelhead	15.5%
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform	15.2%
Other	62.0%

WAN Optimization

Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLC	1.1%
Aruba Wireless	12.8%
Cisco Wireless	10.4%
Other	75.7%

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

Eugene Hacker

Director of Network Services at a university with 201-500 employees

Gives us the ability to prioritize network traffic into a hierarchy

Creating the custom application is a bit awkward. I kind of have to guess my way through it sometimes. A lot of working with this solution is really intuitive. I have picked it up mostly on my own. I'm sure that there are some things that maybe I hadn't thought of or really hadn't considered, and I think it would be good just to promote some day courses. I don't really see a whole lot that comes out for Exinda as far as training or informational sessions through our normal resellers. It would be cool to know more about the solution by utilizing educational resources or even have Exinda promoted a bit better.

Read full review

Md.Mehedi Hassan

Team Lead Manager at Blue Pill Ltd

Offers a seamless and secure WiFi experience with outstanding customer support

FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides. Our customers benefit greatly from the security aspect, especially since they are already using Fortinet for Firewall services. The security features are crucial for their requirements. The stability and ease of use of FortiWLC also add to its effectiveness.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"You can use Exinda as a network orchestrator so you can be sure that the throughput is managed well and everything gets what it needs."

"Getting Exinda was a life saver for our voice traffic"

"One of the great things for us is that the solution works, and it works whether you're looking at it or not."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to manage the traffic at the application layer. It makes things a lot easier. We're not digging for port numbers and IP addresses and different services... It makes us far more responsive in our ability to do things and speed up the process. We're a very small shop, so having something that's straightforward and easy to use is a big help."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to create policies where we can tailor them to the customer. It enables us to prioritize apps and users for bandwidth."

"Customer Service: Top notchTechnical Support: Top notch"

"The most valuable feature is the ability to provide very granular classes of service. That's important because it allows us to prioritize certain traffic types over others, to a very granular level."

"It has the ability to prioritize, providing an automatic optimization. I can put it in a hierarchy and know that certain devices will be prioritized over others. It is able to identify the traffic. It can pick out whether if its a Zoom meeting (or something like that), then it's able to put that somewhere in the hierarchy based on the traffic type."

More Exinda pros

"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."

"The security within the access point and the controller is the solution's most valuable aspect."

"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."

"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."

Cons

"The stability was terrible in version 7.0 but it's been good since version 7.2."

"GFI's technical support for this solution could be better. It's hard to find information about Exinda, directly."

"What I don't like is the fact that I haven't purchased the overall management interface. That is the interface that allows you to manage multiple Exindas. Personally, I think Exinda should provide that for free. I think that if you buy more and more Exinda boxes, you shouldn't then have to incur a charge for the overall management software. While I can manage each Exinda separately, if they provided me with the overall management platform for free that would probably encourage me to buy more appliances."

"Fundamentally sound with WAN acceleration, but needs to expand the range of accelerated applications."

"It should improve the quality of service. It can improve their connection to the internet and your IP."

"Creating the custom application is a bit awkward. I kind of have to guess my way through it sometimes."

"In terms of improvement, one thing that has always frustrated me about it is that when you look at real-time monitoring, you can only filter it by IP address. You can't filter it by anything else. It would be good if we could filter by VLAN."

"The areas for improvement would be around the support service that GFI provides."

More Exinda cons

"However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."

"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."

"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is priced well for the market, for what it needs to do."

"The pricing and licensing are pretty fair and really competitive. There are other SD-WAN solutions that are pretty costly because they build in a service where they'll manage it for you, which is really great. I don't know if Exinda has that option as well. However, we are a small shop and cost-conscious. For things like this, we are accustomed to self-managing and this solution suits us just fine. For a tool that gives you, like the graphs and reporting, it has a fair price point."

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Outsourcing Company

15%

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

22%

Outsourcing Company

16%

University

12%

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	4

No data available

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLC?

I cannot disclose the license price, however, I recommend Fortinet reduce its pricing for massive implementations.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLC?

Until now, I have not observed any issues. However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLC?

We are resellers of FortiWLC, and our customers mainly use it in enterprise settings, particularly for chemical companies.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Exinda

Compared 26% of the time

Steelhead vs Exinda

Compared 21% of the time

Sangfor WANO vs Exinda

Compared 14% of the time

Noction IRP vs Exinda

Compared 14% of the time

Symantec Proxy vs Exinda

Compared 3% of the time

More Exinda Competitors

Fortinet FortiWLM vs Fortinet FortiWLC

Compared 18% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Fortinet FortiWLC

Compared 13% of the time

Aruba Instant vs Fortinet FortiWLC

Compared 8% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Fortinet FortiWLC

Compared 7% of the time

Aruba Instant On Access Points vs Fortinet FortiWLC

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiWLC Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Exinda

October 2026

Download Exinda product report

Buyer's Guide

Wireless LAN

October 2026

Download Fortinet FortiWLC product report

Overview

Exinda provides granular traffic management and application performance monitoring with policy-based traffic shaping for prioritizing critical applications.

Exinda offers a user-friendly interface for managing bandwidth, ensuring business-critical applications receive priority while controlling non-essential traffic. Real-time monitoring offers network visibility, identifies bottlenecks, and suggests policy adjustments. It supports WAN optimization, satellite link management, and bandwidth control, aiding entities from corporate offices to remote locations.

What are Exinda's key features?

Granular Traffic Management: Provides precise control over network traffic.
Application Performance Monitoring: Monitors and analyzes application performance.
Policy-Based Traffic Shaping: Prioritizes critical applications efficiently.
Real-Time Monitoring Dashboard: Offers network visibility and identifies issues.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies bandwidth and traffic control.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Efficient Resource Utilization: Ensures critical applications receive necessary bandwidth.
Improved Network Performance: Identifies and resolves network bottlenecks.
Enhanced Traffic Control: Balances and limits non-critical traffic efficiently.
Actionable Insights: Provides recommendations for policy optimization.

Exinda is implemented in industries for WAN optimization, helping manage satellite links and control bandwidth on campuses and remote locations. It aids troubleshooting by monitoring satellite services and prioritizes network traffic for customers.

GFI

Fortinet FortiWLC enhances wireless networking with robust control and management capabilities tailored for businesses seeking efficient and secure network infrastructure.

Fortinet FortiWLC delivers a high-performance wireless LAN controller designed to support seamless connectivity and comprehensive network management. With its powerful platform, it efficiently handles complex wireless environments, ensuring optimal performance and security. FortiWLC is tailored to respond to challenging operational requirements, providing businesses with the technological backbone needed for reliable wireless communication.

What are the core features of Fortinet FortiWLC?

Advanced RF Management: Dynamically adjusts radio frequencies for optimal network performance.
Seamless Roaming: Ensures uninterrupted connections across different access points.
Comprehensive Security: Offers integrated security features to protect wireless traffic.
Scalable Architecture: Accommodates growth and network expansion effortlessly.

What benefits should be expected from Fortinet FortiWLC?

Improved Network Performance: Ensures consistent connectivity and reduces downtime.
Enhanced Security: Integrates advanced security measures to protect data.
Cost Efficiency: Minimizes operational costs with efficient management tools.
Scalability for Growth: Supports business expansion without compromising quality.

Fortinet FortiWLC is implemented in industries such as healthcare, education, and retail, where reliable wireless access and high security standards are essential. These sectors benefit from its ability to handle large numbers of devices, ensuring uninterrupted service and safeguarding sensitive information.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

UMass Dartmouth, MLB Network, R&R Ice Cream, Savills, Manhattan School of Music, Blum Shapiro, Cincinnati Public Schools, City of Richmond, Genting Casinos, The Salvation Army, VoIP Unlimited, Frontier Silicon, Lakeshore Toltest, CTI Foods

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Find out what your peers are saying about Riverbed, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cato Networks and others in WAN Optimization. Updated: October 2026.

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