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Aruba Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points 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

Aruba Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Insight Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Access Points is 3.2%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Access Points3.2%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points1.7%
Other95.1%
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.
DG
Owner at ERIM S.A.
Centralized management has simplified our home Wi‑Fi setup and supports multiple users reliably
Given my experience with NETGEAR Insight Access Points, my piece of advice for other organizations considering it is that they have to look at the rest of their system because NETGEAR Insight Access Points is quite useless with anything but the Wi-Fi system. I rate this product an 8 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution gives good visibility into access points."
"The solution's support, stability, scalability, and good redundancy features are beneficial for our network management."
"It offers remarkable client-handling capacity."
"The product has good coverage."
"The product’s most valuable feature is its ability to offer wireless connectivity to any service provider."
"One of the most valued aspects of Aruba access points is their price competitiveness; they are available at half the price of Juniper access points."
"The product is quite accessible and reliable."
"Aruba's virtual controller is the most important feature."
"The metrics demonstrate that NETGEAR really does a good job of balancing the load between the various access points on the networks and this results in an elimination of downtime."
"The solution enables me to manage my entire network from anywhere in the world."
"From the WiFi aspect, it's very intuitive and easy to use, and the solution enables me to manage my entire WiFi from anywhere in the world."
"The biggest lesson that I've learned from using the Insight access points is that there is no need for expertise."
"I'm able to do a lot of things, because the GUI is designed very well. I'm able to remotely make certain changes via my phone and apply them right away. It makes life easier when it comes to managing the equipment. The Insight management solution phone app is very good. It enables me to do what I want to do."
"I am all about simplicity. With the Insight management solution, I don’t need an additional cloud controller, appliance, network manager, or PC/server to configure and manage my access points. You have to look at cost, and everything has a cost. There is a cost to using Insight. But if the cost is reasonable, I don't want another layer. The ability to deploy a network and then have that software built-in, without having to go to a third-party, is big. Also, the less pieces that I have to call in on, the better. So, when I'm calling NETGEAR, it's not like I'm using some third-party piece of software to manage their product. It doesn't add that layer of complexity, which is key."
"My advice would be to go ahead and switch to this one, because this is the best-performing device I have seen so far."
"The meshing capabilities are the most valuable feature. When I am going in-between buildings, my phone doesn't have to pick up different WiFi. They are all the same. Even in-between the buildings, I stay connected."
 

Cons

"I would like Aruba to provide integration capabilities for Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Directory, or other identity verification engines like Okta, Google Identity, or Ping Identity."
"The product fails to provide better and extended coverage, making it in an area where improvements are required in the tool."
"The solution's lead time is very slow and should be improved."
"There should be enhancements to support open Wi-Fi technology for seamless authentication across different access points."
"I would like Aruba to provide integration capabilities for Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Directory, or other identity verification engines like Okta, Google Identity, or Ping Identity."
"They should reduce the prices as an advanced marketing tool."
"The ICT dynamic is important. Every other vendor is innovating with new features and ideas. They need to compete and implement these things to stay ahead. So, I would suggest Aruba continue to gain the competitive edge."
"The product's prices are an area of concern. The product should be available at a lower price point."
"Software-wise, they need to provide the ability to kick users out."
"The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward."
"A con is the backend system which is very, very slow."
"Ubiquiti is a very good company. NETGEAR should look at that model and expand on its remote capabilities. Ubiquiti seems to have a better product."
"I have some frustrations with the ease of use. It tends to be sluggish. The graphical interface is pretty, but not useful. They have this tree that shows connected devices, which makes no sense whatsoever because the labeling field of the tree truncates all the items to the point that it's almost useless. You can't even tell what it is. I would prefer a spreadsheet list of the gear as opposed to a graphical representation."
"Managing users could be improved as it is quite difficult to block someone, and it is impossible to block someone on one specific access point."
"I have some frustrations with the ease of use. It tends to be sluggish."
"The biggest issue I've had is that it works very well with the WiFi, but it does not offer any assistance at all with the routers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a reasonably priced tool."
"My company needs to pay yearly for the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional payments towards the solution apart from its licensing costs."
"The tool is priced the same as its competitors."
"Aruba Central is a bit overpriced for some customers."
"My company needs to pay around 50,000 JPY to 1,00,000 JPY towards the licensing costs of the product on a monthly basis. Additional payments are to be made towards the maintenance and support costs of the product."
"Although not cheap, Aruba Access Points is a reasonably priced solution."
"Overall, I would say the pricing is reasonable and meets our expectations."
"The product is costly and comes with a lifetime license. There is neither renewal nor subscription. It is a one-time solution."
"We have some basic models they give without a license."
"Price-wise, it is a little too high, about $20 higher than what it should be, but it's worth it. It's cheaper than Cisco's access point, but the products are not apples to apples."
"I can source the stuff pretty quickly wherever I go through the distributor. There is pricing available at NETGEAR if you can spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on a solution. So, there is special pricing that they can help with. The vendor's reps are very responsive. They have a good channel system."
"For what you get, the price of Insight access points is very reasonable."
"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."
"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."
"Their pricing is perfect for smaller businesses who are money and budget conscious. There are a lot of other solutions out there that are two to three times more expensive."
"The pricing seems to be reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Retailer
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

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 Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

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 advice do you have for others considering Aruba Access Points?
I'm very pleased with Aruba Access Points. I'm even using Aruba's 500 series at my home, so I'm very pleased with it. To be honest, I must consider dealing with Ubiquiti because we have some tender...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
My impression of the pricing aspect of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is that it is not exactly cheap. I find the pricing reasonable, but it is at the upper end of the reasonable bracket.
What needs improvement with NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
Managing users could be improved as it is quite difficult to block someone, and it is impossible to block someone on one specific access point. Regarding specific features that I would like to see ...
What is your primary use case for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
We are using NETGEAR Insight Access Points in a domestic environment with four or five users.
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Access Points vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.