No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Aruba Access Points vs SonicWall SonicWave Access Points comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SonicWave Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Access Points is 2.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SonicWave Access Points is 1.3%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Access Points2.7%
SonicWall SonicWave Access Points1.3%
Other96.0%
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.
Jasmit Singh Juneja - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO & Technology Specialist at Karman Infotech Private Limited
Easy-to-deploy platform with prompt technical support services
The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to provide cloud access to configure and manage devices. It integrates with ETP solutions; thus, we don't need to run a firewall. They provide an online wireless line manager application. Its basic access point is Wi-Fi 621, which has 2.5 G connectivity. None of the competitors, including Fortinet, enables this facility on the most basic level.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I'm very pleased with Aruba Access Points."
"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 has good coverage."
"The technical support is perfect."
"The product's initial setup phase is very simple and very easy to use."
"The manageability of both on-premise and cloud versions is valuable."
"Aruba Access Points’ most valuable features are network mobility and reliability for network access."
"It offers remarkable client-handling capacity."
"Unlike the Cisco solution that needs a dedicated wireless controller outside of a firewall, SonicWall has everything in one box. Fortinet is close to it."
"I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten."
"This is a very good management option that can be managed through the cloud or firewall, is a very good solution for controlling or managing the device, and offers good integration with many capabilities."
"The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to provide cloud access to configure and manage devices."
"A good management tool that can be managed through the cloud or firewall."
"The security features of SonicWall are highly valued."
 

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."
"If the port is damaged, then Aruba Access Points don't work properly."
"They should reduce the prices as an advanced marketing tool."
"Aruba Access Points should improve its automation."
"The licensing models lack clarity."
"Some customers comment that the shape and size of the access point is a little big, especially the one installed in the guest room."
"Going with a cloud solution will make dependency no longer a challenge from a connectivity point of view."
"I am not able to integrate Aruba Access Points in Azure AD. It is also quite expensive."
"Integrating with the firewall and management console was a little complex."
"The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration."
"We have a lot of overlapping wireless networks with a lot of cheap equipment that does not run on any rules or regulations. The best way to improve the wireless network, like in SonicWaves, is to defeat these networks by isolating, preventing them, or overcoming their wireless signal. We try to do that, but I live near an airport, and the AirPortRadar glitches my wireless network every nine seconds."
"The product's pricing is high and could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is nominal and not as costly as Cisco's."
"The tool's pricing is not expensive. It is perfect as per the features."
"Users have to pay a licensing fee for Aruba Access Points, which could be cheaper."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The pricing is competitive. It is neither cheap nor expensive. It is moderate. It offers better price than Cisco and other competitors."
"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 product is expensive if you want it to have a long life."
"The platform offers yearly licenses."
"The pricing of the SonicWave Access Points solution is different in the US and Brazil. In the US, the solution is priced more competitively than other vendors. In Brazil, the exchange rate is a problem. To address this, SonicWall managers in Brazil are running several sales promotions and improving the price of new units."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
920,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise11
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Access Points?
I would rate the price for the product as two, with one being high and ten being low.
What needs improvement with Aruba Access Points?
AI is only in Aruba Central, and we don't use Aruba Central yet. Integrating AI in the controller would be a good point for improvement. Performance is an area that could be improved and represents...
What advice do you have for others considering Aruba Access Points?
Aruba Access Points work fine with another product called ClearPass. I integrated it with the Access Point. Overall, I would give a final rating of eight for Aruba Access Points. I would recommend ...
What needs improvement with SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration.
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
I am using the SonicWall SonicWave Access Point for our Proof of Concept (POC) to our customers.
What advice do you have for others considering SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten. It should provide training to end users to enhance their knowledge.
 

Also Known As

No data available
SonicWave 200 Series, SonicWave 200 Series Access Points, SonicWave 400 Series, SonicWave 400 Series Access Points
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
St. Dominic's School for Girls
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Access Points vs. SonicWall SonicWave Access Points and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.