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Aruba Access Points 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

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
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 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 WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Access Points3.2%
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi0.9%
Other95.9%
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.
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

"We like the flexibility and the security, and the product is very easy to use."
"The controller software, which can control multiple access points remotely, is very convenient."
"The tool's most valuable feature is better connectivity."
"It is a reliable solution with good coverage."
"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."
"After we installed the Aruba switches, the work became faster because the network speed improved."
"The product’s most valuable feature is its ability to offer wireless connectivity to any service provider."
"I'm very pleased with Aruba Access Points."
"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."
"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."
"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."
"The solution has been stable."
"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."
"They're very easy to set up and get running."
 

Cons

"The solution should be made more robust."
"The delivery timeline is a major problem. There are also configuration and integration issues since not many engineers are available in the market who has expertise with the product. Some of our customers also experience network slowness."
"The support from Aruba, as well as the overall HPE unit, has been lacking. The regional head and hepatic services are nonresponsive, leading to a decline in market share. While Aruba is recognized for its top-notch quality, especially in switching technology, the services and support in the African region need significant improvement. There is a suggestion to focus on enhancing services, support, and presale activities in this region to address the challenges faced by customers, particularly in healthcare. Continued emphasis on research and development, along with addressing regional issues, is recommended for sustained success."
"The platform’s speed for data flow could be better."
"The product is highly priced. They could improve pricing."
"I am not able to integrate Aruba Access Points in Azure AD. It is also quite expensive."
"Since we are in health care, it would be beneficial to have enhanced security features around medical devices and IoT, especially for improving the visibility of medical devices within the WiFi network."
"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 price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Users have to pay a licensing fee for Aruba Access Points, which could be cheaper."
"The product is costly and comes with a lifetime license. There is neither renewal nor subscription. It is a one-time solution."
"The pricing is competitive. It is neither cheap nor expensive. It is moderate. It offers better price than Cisco and other competitors."
"I implemented seven access points in 2015, and I only spent $6,000 for the whole project."
"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"The product's pricing could be better than one of its competitors."
"Overall, I would say the pricing is reasonable and meets our expectations."
"The cost of Aruba Access Points has been on the rise, which may be due to market dynamics or regional factors, such as in Egypt. Additionally, the availability of Aruba products is a concern, with a lead time of approximately twelve months. This prolonged waiting period and a lack of responsiveness from HP, the parent company of Aruba, have led to the cancellation of some orders. The supply chain for Aruba appears to face challenges, impacting product delivery timelines."
"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
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Non Profit
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Government
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 Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
 

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 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...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Access Points vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.