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ExtremeWireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM 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
1.0
Fortinet FortiWLM offers ROI within 6-12 months, reducing costs and enhancing sales through improved management and security integration.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
 

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
6.7
Fortinet FortiWLM customer support is generally high-rated, proactive, and effective, though response times and first-level support need improvement.
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.
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
The response time and quality could be better, and updates can be troublesome at times.
The local support we receive from our distributor is perfect.
If we encounter any bugs, they inform us of the recommended configuration and firmware to resolve our problems.
With active maintenance, we can open tickets and receive professional assistance without issues.
 

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
7.0
Fortinet FortiWLM offers scalable architecture with strong support, excelling in diverse environments, despite occasional scalability limitations in enterprise settings.
ExtremeWireless is suitable for companies with a user base below three hundred.
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
The scalability of ExtremeWireless is average.
Fortinet's solutions are integrated into many standard frameworks, allowing for good scalability and interaction with other vendors' products.
 

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
8.4
Users praise Fortinet FortiWLM for its stability and reliability, citing minor issues and minimal downtime with high satisfaction.
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.
 

Room For Improvement

ExtremeWireless must enhance affordability, integration, security, support, and performance to improve competitiveness and meet small business needs.
Fortinet FortiWLM needs improved management, user interface, and integration, with enhancements in reporting, support, and advanced features.
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
Another area that could use enhancement is the clarity and implementation of updates, as they can be troublesome sometimes.
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points.
Firmware upgrades and bug improvements need to be tested well.
Regarding the integration with other vendors, we try to buy only products from a single vendor to avoid problems of compatibility from devices of different vendors.
One area that needs improvement is the configuration aspect, which is more challenging compared to other products.
 

Setup Cost

ExtremeWireless provides good value with both free and paid options, despite medium-high pricing and substantial hardware costs.
Fortinet FortiWLM is competitively priced, but some find costs high, especially due to mandatory contracts and unbundled pricing.
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
From a corporate point of view, stability is more important than pricing.
Fortinet's pricing is different from Aruba, as Aruba has solutions for small business and enterprise in different categories.
While the pricing of Fortinet FortiWLM is a bit high, it remains effective.
The price is competitive.
 

Valuable Features

ExtremeWireless offers cloud management, strong security, seamless integration, and stability, making it ideal for security-focused sectors.
Fortinet FortiWLM offers centralized, scalable management with high security and integration, praised for ease and cost efficiency.
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
One of the most valuable features of ExtremeWireless is its centralized control, which influenced our choice.
Extreme access points perform very well in high-density environments, and we use them at sites with our customers.
It also has integration capabilities with FortiFirewall which is beneficial for customers.
The solution is controlled from one device and one GUI for all devices.
The tool facilitates network connectivity effectively.
 

Categories and Ranking

ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.9%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 1.9%, down from 2.1% 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…
Mohammad Talha Talkin Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable network creation and management with an efficient setup process
My primary use case involves creating SSIDs and defining VLANs within the VLAN using Fortinet FortiWLM. I have been working with Wi-Fi access points for network connectivity I primarily use Fortinet FortiWLM for creating SSIDs and defining VLANs. While there isn't much focus on security, layer…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare 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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult. Regarding the integration with other vendors, we try to buy only products from a single vendor to a...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
I don't know about potential areas for improvement for Fortinet FortiWLM. Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult. Regarding the integration...
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
 

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 FortiWLM and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.