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Fortinet FortiWLM vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi 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

Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi
Ranking in Wireless LAN
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 1.2%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.4%
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi1.2%
Other95.4%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

LuayHlaleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Team Lead at IT Solutions AE
Offers robust network management with cost considerations for large deployments
Large enterprises typically invest in FortiAnalyzer, though our company and SMB clients don't require this analysis tool. We use Ekahau for floor planning and Wi-Fi coverage analysis rather than Fortinet FortiWLM's built-in features. Ekahau helps us perform site surveys and plan access point placement. Fortinet FortiWLM is a flexible and common solution in Dubai. It's one of the best-selling products, with Etisalat, the largest ISP, installing Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 70-80% of their clients. The solution offers different series to accommodate various needs. The triple radio model costs around $1,000 (3,500 dirham) and supports 40-50 connected devices. The 231F model suits smaller deployments of 20-25 devices. I rate Fortinet FortiWLM a seven out of ten. While it's an excellent solution, Cisco remains the market leader.
reviewer2562924 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT System Support Administrator at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
Configuration offers flexibility but response to incidents needs improvement
We recommend using WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi, but when incidents occur, it can be very difficult to identify why they happen. Normally, the issues are simple to fix, but we recently faced a major incident. We are still trying to identify the cause, which is why I would rate it seven out of ten. Without this incident, I might have rated it eight to nine. Overall, I give the solution a rating of seven.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are central management and the many other features available."
"For me, the ease of setup and the rugged nature in harsh environments are most valuable. So, durability and ease of use have been its best features."
"The most valuable features are the roaming profile, the mesh, and the performance."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks."
"Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The Fortinet product is intuitive, scalable, stable, and easy to manage."
"The firewall integration is very important for the security of the connection."
"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."
"The solution has been stable."
"The configuration part of WatchGuard is very flexible."
"All you have to do is take it out of the box, plug it in and you're ready to go."
"If I were tasked to set up new WiFi at a single site, or at multiple locations for hundreds of sites, I would make this solution my first choice."
"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."
"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."
"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."
 

Cons

"Improving support and firmware upgrades is necessary. Firmware upgrades and bug improvements need to be tested well."
"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."
"In the next release, they could improve by adding a controller-less server, or architecture that is provided in other solutions, such as Aruba. Additionally, they could improve the feature sets to be more competitive."
"In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial."
"They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with."
"Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult."
"The guest management features need to be improved by adding automation."
"Because of this, our experience with FortiWLM hasn't been very good, and we have not implemented any further FortiWLM solutions for other customers to date."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
"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."
"The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience. The access points are rated for 500 people but I think the max is closer to 200."
"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"In terms of improvement, one issue I have is that I can't import a user with one click."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLM is reasonable compared to the other vendors. We are using a five-year license."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"If a customer already is a FortiGate customer, the cost to go to the FortiAP is incredibly affordable, because you already have the controller."
"To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"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
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I do not have knowledge about the pricing or the cost of Fortinet FortiWLM because the license is for the package of the firewall, FortiGate.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed. For the moment, I don't have anything else in Fortinet FortiWLM that I would l...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I use this solution for the enterprise to segment the department.
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...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
We use WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi because we have used different tools as well, like Ubiquiti. The complexity of Ubiquiti is much more compared to WatchGuard, which provides more flexibility and is ea...
What advice do you have for others considering WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
We recommend using WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi, but when incidents occur, it can be very difficult to identify why they happen. Normally, the issues are simple to fix, but we recently faced a major inc...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWLM vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
906,852 professionals have used our research since 2012.