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ExtremeWireless vs Fortinet FortiAP comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides scalable, cost-effective solutions with 30% ROI savings, easy deployment, and excellent support for long-term use.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiAP offers high ROI with robust security, minimal maintenance, and 80% cost savings compared to competitors.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
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
7.2
ExtremeWireless support is helpful but inconsistent, with slow response times and limited availability affecting user satisfaction. Ratings vary.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAP's customer service experiences vary, with mixed support quality influenced by region, service tier, and training resources.
I rate their support as a nine because they are very helpful when we need assistance and they strive to help, even if not the fastest.
The technical support sometimes closes cases without resolution.
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
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
6.7
ExtremeWireless is scalable and adaptable for medium to large enterprises but may face stability issues at higher user thresholds.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAP is scalable, supporting thousands of users, but may require new purchases due to technology constraints.
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
ExtremeWireless is suitable for companies with a user base below three hundred.
ExtremeWireless is quite scalable.
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
7.0
ExtremeWireless is praised for its stability and reliability, though some encounter challenges with firmware updates in high-density environments.
Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiAP's stability is mixed; some praise performance while others face disconnections and vulnerabilities, influenced by location and setup.
They work well without failures.
I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability.
The stability of ExtremeWireless is somewhat weaker compared to previous solutions, like Motorola before its acquisition.
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

ExtremeWireless must enhance affordability, integration, security, support, and performance to improve competitiveness and meet small business needs.
Fortinet FortiAP needs enhancements in wireless functionality, affordability, security integration, configuration, automation, compatibility, support, and reporting.
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management.
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points.
Security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily.
I know they're going up to six soon, which will enhance reliability.
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

ExtremeWireless provides good value with both free and paid options, despite medium-high pricing and substantial hardware costs.
Fortinet FortiAP offers competitive enterprise pricing, though licensing costs can be high, generally rated six to nine out of ten.
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
The pricing is favorable due to its flexible licensing model.
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
The pricing is a little bit high, and I would rate it a ten on the scale where ten is the highest price.
The pricing is much better than Cisco pricing.
 

Valuable Features

ExtremeWireless offers cloud management, strong security, seamless integration, and stability, making it ideal for security-focused sectors.
Fortinet FortiAP excels in integration, management, and security, providing stability and performance for small to medium enterprises.
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine.
The support from Extreme is very good and helpful.
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.
Fortinet FortiAP is effective in protecting against wireless threats.
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality.
 

Categories and Ranking

ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
9th
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 June 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 5.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Seungho Yang - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming
Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…
Brian M. - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise-level control simplifies wireless management and increases reliability
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality. A benefit is their controllability by local firewalls, which simplifies management and eliminates the need to buy separate hardware or virtual appliances. The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall. Firmware updates are also pushed to Fortinet access points. The lack of maintenance needs and their reliability means I almost never experience wireless problems in the campuses where they are deployed.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
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

What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?
There are concerns regarding the stability of ExtremeWireless. It could be an area of improvement, especially when compared to previous solutions such as Motorola before their acquisition. Another ...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We mainly use ExtremeWireless ( /products/extremewireless-reviews ) for the warehouse, specifically for the Zebra handheld devices and printers.
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiAP?
Fortinet solutions are more cost-effective compared to Cisco. The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
I cannot pinpoint the exact improvements needed at the moment. However, security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily. There should be alerts to in...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about ExtremeWireless vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.