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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
10th
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
23rd
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 May 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.3%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 1.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.3%
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi1.1%
Other95.6%
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

"At the moment, particularly with the COVID-19 situation, the most valuable feature is probably the IPsec VPN, which is easy to implement with Fortinet."
"We're using SD-WAN at all of our locations now, which helps increase and aggregate and lower response time and improve application performance."
"The product is a stable solution."
"We are getting better coverage, better throughput, and a more stable connection with Fortinet FortiWLM."
"The solution is controlled from one device and one GUI for all devices."
"Security is the feature we like most from Fortinet. In general, their security architecture is really great, because it involves everything: firewalls, wireless LANs, the user. Everything is really secure."
"The firewall integration is very important for the security of the connection."
"The most useful aspect of Fortinet FortiWLM is that you can manage all the Fortinet products from one portal, from one device."
"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."
"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."
"They're very easy to set up and get running."
"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."
"All you have to do is take it out of the box, plug it in and you're ready to go."
"The solution has been stable."
 

Cons

"Licensing is the only area that I think they are below average. They need enterprise licensing, an all-encompassing license to cover all products for a company."
"One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting."
"Technical support is very poor. We are not satisfied with the technical support because there is not any direct person from Fortinet for any troubleshooting, which we expected."
"The solution should improve user capacity."
"They have a business model where whatever you buy, you must make a service contract. But it seems a little bit like a moneymaking machine rather than a necessity."
"Licensing is the only area that I think they are below average. They need enterprise licensing, an all-encompassing license to cover all products for a company."
"This solution should be easier to set up in a production environment."
"The initial setup is complex and has room for improvement."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
"In terms of improvement, one issue I have is that I can't import a user with one click."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."
"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

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLM is reasonable compared to the other vendors. We are using a five-year license."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
"Licensing costs are reasonable. There are so many different types of licenses with Fortinet, but the licensing and the 24/7/365 support are so reasonable that I automatically include it with every transaction. I never line item it without it. There are no additional costs."
"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"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."
"The solution is priced high compared to competitors. However, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."
"WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Government
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: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.