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Aruba Access Points 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
6.1
Users reported operational efficiency, manageable licensing costs, and improved communication with Aruba Access Points, achieving ROI within five years.
Sentiment score
5.2
Fortinet FortiAP offers enhanced security, cost-effectiveness, and reliability, yielding an 80% savings and boosting productivity and operational efficiency.
This is why we do not require technical support, as the solution remains simple without AI implementation.
Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is acceptable; it was not very cheap, but it was acceptable, and we can tell our customers, 'This is a good solution and you should pay this once and you have this solution forever.'
Telecommunication Engineer at Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia
I do not have to continuously manage them, and their reliability means they are consistently up and running.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Fortinet FortiAP provides value for money, and I can quantify the savings at about 80%.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
Users appreciate Aruba Access Points support for efficiency and quick responses, but seek better handling of complex issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAP's customer service is efficient for some, but regional and service tier disparities affect user satisfaction.
A company called ACT is very good at support.
Senior Manager, Hospitality Program at ACT international
For technical support alone, I would give them a score of nine out of ten.
Owner at Shree Atharva Sales Corporation
Because we work with different HP products, such as servers, storage, and high-end switches, technical assistance is only needed when there are issues on the compute side.
Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We keep a support contract open with Fortinet, so we have instantaneous response from them.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The RMA process is very good, with same-day replacement in our case.
Head Of Technical Operations at ITE
I am not satisfied with Fortinet FortiAP's technical support in India.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Aruba Access Points offer excellent scalability, easily integrating and expanding to support high-density users across various environments.
Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiAP is praised for scalability, handling large volumes well, though it faces challenges, enhanced by ISPs and FortiManager.
Aruba access points integrate well with existing networks via PoE switches.
Owner at Shree Atharva Sales Corporation
Scalability and expandability are adjusted from day one based on expansion and growth projections.
Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Every decision the central management makes takes extra latency to send over to the local area network.
Telecommunication Engineer at Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia
There could be constraints where a product can't be scaled further without purchasing a new model.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
We have good scalability with Fortinet FortiAP because we have multiple ISPs connected to it through FortiManager.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Aruba Access Points are highly reliable with minor issues, showing excellent short-term stability and robust long-term performance.
Sentiment score
6.8
Fortinet FortiAP's stability receives mixed reviews, with users noting both reliable performance and occasional issues after updates.
The failure rate is very rare.
Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The only thing the customers need is that wireless communications work stably.
Telecommunication Engineer at Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia
I have not experienced any issues, outages, or problems and have not had to interfere with them at all.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The stability of the solution is very high.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Access Points require enhanced security, seamless integration, scalability, improved performance in dense areas, and clearer licensing and support.
Fortinet FortiAP needs improvement in integration, wireless functionality, automation, support, easy deployment, and enhanced configuration for better performance.
Everyone discusses AI, but for providing wireless access to users, AI only plays its part when analytics are needed.
Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
There are some problems in assessing the performance of Aruba Access Points in environments with high user density.
Telecommunication Engineer at Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia
Some customers comment that the shape and size of the access point is a little big, especially the one installed in the guest room.
Senior Manager, Hospitality Program at ACT international
Security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
I know they're going up to six soon, which will enhance reliability.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Access Points are moderately priced, cheaper than Cisco but pricier than some, with negotiable discounts available.
Fortinet FortiAP is competitively priced, with varied opinions on affordability compared to Cisco, Palo Alto, Meraki, and Aruba.
The pricing is reasonable and lower than competitors.
Senior Manager, Hospitality Program at ACT international
They are priced at half the rate of Juniper access points for basic models.
Owner at Shree Atharva Sales Corporation
When comparing pricing between Aruba Access Points and Forti, I find Aruba to be on the higher side.
Head Of Technical Operations at ITE
The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The pricing is a little bit high, and I would rate it a ten on the scale where ten is the highest price.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The pricing is much better than Cisco pricing.
Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Access Points offer excellent coverage, reliability, and affordability, with advanced features for seamless connectivity and robust security.
Fortinet FortiAP offers seamless integration, strong security, and simplified management with Zero-Touch Deployment and passwordless authentication for enterprises.
We receive support from Aruba, with assistance from the country manager in providing better quotations and support for projects.
Senior Manager, Hospitality Program at ACT international
Additionally, they do not require any kind of license for implementation.
Owner at Shree Atharva Sales Corporation
Price-wise, they are cheaper than Cisco and other options.
Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
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.
Senior IT System Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Fortinet FortiAP is effective in protecting against wireless threats.
Senior Network Security Engineer at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
Unlike other wireless controllers, the firewall is controlling the AP, so you have a much higher level of security.
Co Founder And Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Access Points is 3.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 5.3%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiAP5.3%
Aruba Access Points3.2%
Other91.5%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

HJ
Telecommunication Engineer at Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia
Wireless connectivity has remained reliable and supports flexible, cloud‑independent management
As I already mentioned, the ability to stay with self-hosting solutions for central management is what I think could be improved about Aruba Access Points. If this becomes available in the future, I think it should change the game. However, I don't currently see this because I see nothing about AirWave anymore on your roadmap. I don't understand what happens next. There are some problems in assessing the performance of Aruba Access Points in environments with high user density. If there is a dense environment, a mobility controller would be the one you should go with because this needs more telemetry to calculate. I suspect this will be easier to do with local administration or local management because if everything goes over the internet through Aruba Central, it takes time. Every decision the central management makes takes extra latency to send over to the local area network. I think this is not a good approach to move to central management that is hosted somewhere far away. It should still retain the functionality to use Instant AP functionality that is available until 500 and maybe 600 as well. If you go to software version 10 and future versions, then you lose this functionality and you can't go back anymore. It would be good to assist with local location management and BLE-based functionalities as additional features I expect from future Aruba Access Points. There were some attempts to support third-party integrations through cooperation between Aruba and Meridian. However, I don't understand what happened there, and nothing is clear in this area. IoT will also be very important for people. You should add functionality to the platform that will support third-party IoT devices.
Shahnawaz Nusrat - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Technical Operations at ITE
Has simplified wireless integration while needing better throughput and captive portal features
The product can be improved depending on the model selected as per requirements. Support is good and throughput is good. What we need to do is select a better product as per our requirement and environment. If proper working is done in terms of wireless heat map or radio connectivity in our environment, I believe it's good. There is always a chance to improve. Throughput can be better in terms of other vendors, but currently, it's working fine. One feature that I still need to explore is the captive portal. When we deploy a unit in a public environment, users need to sign in with a pop-up box to connect.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Access Points?
After we installed the Aruba switches, the work became faster because the network speed improved.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Access Points?
When comparing pricing between Aruba Access Points and Forti, I find Aruba to be on the higher side.
What needs improvement with Aruba Access Points?
As I already mentioned, the ability to stay with self-hosting solutions for central management is what I think could be improved about Aruba Access Points. If this becomes available in the future, ...
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 needs improvement with FortiAP?
A point for improvement for Fortinet FortiAP would be improvements in the GUI, which is adequate but could be improved. Additionally, wireless coverage and the mapping area are fairly static and co...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Access Points vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.