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ExtremeWireless vs Fortinet FortiWLC 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLC
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLC is 0.2%, down from 0.3% 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…
Md.Mehedi Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The platform's most valuable feature is the ability of its access points to adapt and self-heal."
"The customer service and support provided by Extreme are excellent."
"ExtremeWireless has good performance."
"The solution is easy to use and manage. Overall it is very simple to understand and users do not know it is a cloud solution."
"The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine."
"The technical support from Extreme Networks is perfect."
"The security is very good."
"Extreme access points perform very well in high-density environments, and we use them at sites with our customers."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management."
"Wireless products, in general, have room for improvement compared to wired ones, which are more stable."
"Technical support is an area that needs to be improved."
"The performance of the access points could be improved."
"It is a subscription model, so it is maybe a bit pricey."
"ExtremeWireless support isn't very good."
"The management portal is in need of improvement."
"The APs have quite a low signal compared to other brands."
"For massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."
"However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"ExtremeWireless is subscription-based for both cloud and on-prem solutions, and it's quite expensive."
"There are both paid and free licenses of the cloud environment, with only basic functionality in the free version."
"The solution is priced well and we currently are only paying for a license for maintenance."
"It's not as expensive as some and is scalable to our needs."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"Extreme isn't the most expensive, but it's not a low-cost solution, and because there are no big volumes, you don't receive significant discounts, making the final price higher."
"Our access points device is at its end of life. I can buy one more and then I must buy a new device, but if it is a new device it will not support the old virtual appliance. I would need to upgrade our virtual appliance to the next version or build a new virtual appliance with new devices, and it's not good for us. The overall licensing subscription could be better."
"ExtremeWireless isn't budget-friendly. The hardware costs around 20,000 Indian rupees. We're still using an older controller, so it doesn't require a license, unlike the newest versions of the ExtremeWireless controller."
"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
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
11%
Non Profit
6%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Non Profit
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points. When there is a problem with the firmware of one access point, the correction might be too late.
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We work with some end customers, and we use ExtremeCloud IQ ( /products/extremecloud-iq-reviews ) for the administration of the wireless platform. We use Wi-Fi 6 E for many users.
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.
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.
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about ExtremeWireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.