ExtremeCloud IQ vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi comparison

The compared Extreme and WatchGuard solutions aren't in the same category. Extreme is ranked #11 in NMA , with an average rating of 8.5, and holds a 2.8% mindshare in the category. WatchGuard is ranked #23 in Wireless LAN , with an average rating of 7.0, and holds a 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Extreme users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

ExtremeCloud IQ

Read 76 ExtremeCloud IQ reviews

2,716 Views
489 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Read 7 WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi reviews

510 Views
500 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

ExtremeCloud IQ

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ExtremeCloud IQ and WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications.

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Network Management Applications

June 2025

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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

ExtremeCloud IQ

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (11th), Network Access Control (NAC) (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (20th)

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless LAN (23rd)

Mindshare comparison

ExtremeCloud IQ and WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. ExtremeCloud IQ is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.8%, down 2.9% compared to last year.
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 0.5% mindshare, up 0.4% since last year.

Network Management Applications

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

KristianLarsen

Senior Consultant at Mikla IT

Helps resolve network-related issues quickly and is reasonably priced

The tool has both advantages and weaknesses because it has several pieces of software on which it has been working because of buyouts. The tool has several branches of software versions, and you can consolidate it into ExtremeCloud, but it also has the disadvantage that sometimes people can get issues because the software on the hardware is different than they expected, especially if it is not converted to the tool used. The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users. In the future, I think the tool’s onboarding setup of a new tenant could be smoother or faster. I also think that they could provide a simpler setup for first-level support so that it can be easier for them to have a support dashboard that would help them. I am talking about customer support organizations, so you usually have a high turnaround, but you need to have something that is easier to use and where you don't need so much training.

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WarrenWilliams

Senior Account Manager at Bralin Technology Solutions

A solution that offers excellent support and makes it easy to manage networks

To utilize the solution properly, you need some training and guidance on that. Getting it working is easy, but if you're going to use it with feature sets that make WatchGuard worthwhile to use, it's probably not the easiest to set up. I'd rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. The time taken to deploy the solution depends on the project scope you're doing. Do you need ten WiFi access points or one? You could deploy the solution in an hour. We need one person to deploy the solution. But the number of people required for deployment depends on where the access points are deployed. Like, if it's the ceiling or whatever. The way we do it, we usually have an on-site technician who sets up the backend. We usually have two people when deploying the solution, but you can do it with one person. We have a team that manages the solution. But if you have ten people on a site to manage the solution, 15 minutes daily is enough.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Integrated Firewall in every AP (with DPI inspection) is a killer feature and it is included already in the price of licence (with others, this feature is an add-on licence)."

"It is more cost effective and gives more flexibility."

"What's most valuable for me in ExtremeCloud IQ is easy management. It also has centralized administration, so you don't have to go to the customer site to program it. It can be programmed remotely."

"ExtremeCloud IQ is a complete package with the pilot and the co-pilot feature that gives me full visibility of the network."

"HiveManager is incredibly useful for managing APs and switches from one cloud interface."

"App and firewall security at the AP."

"HiveManager is extremely easy to use for anyone with little network experience."

"Our transaction polling is now way more secure."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pros

"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."

"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."

"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."

"The solution has been stable."

"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."

"The configuration part of WatchGuard is very flexible."

"They're very easy to set up and get running."

Cons

"I know a school district, a big school district of mine, ripped out Extreme due to inefficiencies. It was the guest network that can be a struggle. They tried to differentiate between their primary network, and then offer a secondary."

"Integrating the network access control solution can be complex, as it essentially combines two separate products."

"Pricing could be improved. It could be lower."

"A mobile app would be awesome."

"The managing of switches within this solution could be improved."

"Pricing is a bit expensive."

"ExtremeCloud IQ’s user interface needs to be improved, and its current bugs need to be fixed."

"The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users."

More ExtremeCloud IQ cons

"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."

"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."

"Inability to import a user with one click."

"The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention."

"I don't think they're available at the best price."

"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."

"If a client device had issues with authentication due to out of date browser or similar difficulties, it would be nice to have the ability to migrate the client onto the portal via one click."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is easy for customers to use this product because they are able to interchange the license depending on their usage rather than having to buy individual licenses for each asset."

"For example, if you compare Aruba vs Aerohive, you need to check which licences from Aruba you need to match the functionality of Aerohive (usually you need at least three types of licences and a controller with redundancy). The same goes with Cisco, where you need buy additional licences for central management, firewall, spectral analysis, WIPS, PPSK, etc. Aerohive has a very simple model - one licence for all the functionalities - and you can believe that there are many. One licence makes it easy to maintain, scale, renew and you can plan your costs 10 years in advance."

"ExtremeCloud IQ's pricing is medium, but its support contract costs more."

"The product pricing is reasonable."

"Although the pricing is a bit high, I consider Aerohive to be well worth the money."

"Buy near the end of Q4 in order to get a deal."

"Bring the cost down."

"Extreme licensing is based on the number of access points. When you buy the license for the first year, everything is included, such as access to mapping, etc. If you don't renew your software assurance for the second year, the access points will still work, but you can't use the cloud management tools."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pricing and cost advice

"WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing."

"The solution is priced high compared to competitors. However, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."

"Your licensing and cost, as would be required for many other solutions, being considered for eighty to two hundred and eighty different physical locations, is just about the same amount per access point."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Non Profit

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?

Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...

See all answers

What do you like most about ExtremeCloud IQ?

The Client 360 feature provides a comprehensive view of your clients and their activities, including the devices they use. Additionally, a feature called Network 360 offers a 360-degree view of the...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?

The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...

See all answers

What do you like most about WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?

We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?

WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?

The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention. Also, when an incident occurs, the impact can be significantly huge. A recent p...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 14% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 12% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 7% of the time

More ExtremeCloud IQ Competitors

Ruckus Wireless vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 34% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 32% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 22% of the time

Fortinet FortiWLM vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 12% of the time

More WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ

July 2025

Download ExtremeCloud IQ product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

June 2025

Download WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi product report

Also Known As

Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity

No data available

Overview

ExtremeCloud is a resilient and scalable cloud-based network management solution offered by Extreme Networks as a subscription service.

The network is your platform of engagement for clients and staff. We have designed ExtremeCloud to provide superior user experience by empowering you and the applications that drive your business. The combination of Extreme Networks’ smart wired and wireless edges and the elasticity, resilience and scalability provided via state-of-the-art datacenters distributed strategically for worldwide availability allows you to respond to the changing needs of your business, at the speed of cloud, through a simple, multi-site aware user interface.

Extreme

WatchGuard is a global leader in network security, secure Wi-Fi, and network intelligence products and services for SMBs and Distributed Enterprises worldwide. Our mission is to make enterprise-grade security accessible to companies of all types and sizes through simplicity, making WatchGuard an ideal solution for distributed enterprises and SMBs. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

WatchGuard

Sample Customers

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange

Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

June 2025

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