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Aruba Instant On Access Points vs Fortinet FortiWLC comparison

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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 Instant On Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLC
Ranking in Wireless LAN
27th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Access Points is 2.2%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLC is 1.1%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Instant On Access Points2.2%
Fortinet FortiWLC1.1%
Other96.7%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

ANKIT GAJJAR - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Project Manager at CPS TECHNOLOGIES
Have faced challenges with visibility and support while exploring more accessible alternatives
I have been working with Aruba Instant On Access Points for the last five years, implementing the HP Enterprise series grade Wi-Fi in the Surat Diamond Bourse. HP Aruba is easily available in the India market, so sometimes customers are preferring the HP Aruba Central solution. When we talk about Cisco WireWorks, my thoughts about Advanced Threat Detection indicate that Cisco needs to improve the visibility of its products in the India market, as there is very much less visibility right now. I would rate the stability of Aruba Instant On Access Points as the best one. Overall, I rate Aruba Instant On Access Points eight out of ten, as Aruba is a most versatile solution. I can definitely recommend Aruba Instant On Access Points to others.
Md.Mehedi Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead Manager at Blue Pill Ltd
Offers a seamless and secure WiFi experience with outstanding customer support
FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides. Our customers benefit greatly from the security aspect, especially since they are already using Fortinet for Firewall services. The security features are crucial for their requirements. The stability and ease of use of FortiWLC also add to its effectiveness.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The coverage Aruba provides across the physical area is much better. Most probably because of the new technology, the 4x4 antenna, and everything around it. It's just a much better, easier to use, and easier to manage product."
"The virtual controller feature is very beneficial because it removes the need for a physical controller."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Instant On Access Points is they are easy to manage."
"The solution's most valuable features include a simple deployment phase, easy management, and scalability."
"It seems like Aruba is the best product out there at this point for a small business."
"Its performance is very good, and it suits small and medium sites very well."
"With a variety of switches in their setup, they find that Aruba's online monitoring tools and configuration options for applications effectively manage most of their requirements, all while keeping the process straightforward and user-friendly."
"I find Aruba Instant On Access Points easy to monitor and appreciate the notifications they provide if there is a problem in the network."
"The security within the access point and the controller is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
 

Cons

"I would like to see a feature that blocks, increases, or decreases bandwidth capacity for devices."
"I believe there's room for improvement in the validation process, especially for customers facing compliance issues when managing access points from the cloud. It would be beneficial if the access points could also be managed from an on-premises controller. Regarding additional features, customers express interest in enhancing the controller, specifically improving the capability to manage a higher number of access points from the same controller. This feature is crucial for better scalability. Another feature that customers would appreciate is the ability to increase the number of access points. However, the current process for obtaining this permission can be time-consuming, and customers would like to see improvements in this regard."
"The solution's range could be better."
"The limited functionality of the mobile app restricts its use primarily to small and medium-sized setups, making it less suitable for enterprise-level solutions."
"When there are a lot of people connected, especially during video streaming demonstrations, the connection can get a bit choppy."
"With Aruba, the documentation on the website is not too easy to use, and some information is not found."
"When I first deployed the solution, I couldn't use a tagged VLAN for the management. It might already have been fixed in a recent firmware upgrade."
"The challenging point for Aruba Instant On is the roaming capability, as it doesn’t perform as strongly as enterprise solutions."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
"However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The product's price falls on the cheaper end of the spectrum. The price of the product is one of the biggest benefits that it offers."
"Its price is fair. It is not really cheap, and it is also not expensive. It is in the middle."
"It is competitively priced. It was at a price point that made sense for me to put in my home, and that says something. The cost of the solution includes everything we need to manage and upgrade our Wi-Fi network, including the mobile management app. Having the licensing and all the functionality built into the base price of the product is really important for me. There are no extra costs for the security feature or automatic software/firmware updates, which is really important to me."
"Aruba Instant On Access Points are license-free. It's a very good and cheap solution for wireless networks. It can be compared with solutions from Ubiquiti and TP-Link, but it is in a different class. Aruba Instant On Access Points are cheaper than those from Cisco, Ruckus, and Motorola. It's perhaps the cheapest one. They do not use licenses, so it is a solution from the box. You don't need to pay extra money or deal with hidden payments."
"It is expensive."
"I rate the product's pricing a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"The price of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable. They are competitively priced. I've even used it in my home at one time because of the low price."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise9
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Access Points?
When comparing pricing with Cisco, Aruba Instant On Access Points are competitively priced, making them affordable solutions for SMBs, rather than being higher priced.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Access Points?
I believe that software usability could be improved.
What is your primary use case for Aruba Instant On Access Points?
My clients mostly request Aruba Instant On Access Points for use cases involving IoT utilization, bandwidth utilization, and user interference monitoring. All products are monitored from HP Aruba C...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLC?
I cannot disclose the license price, however, I recommend Fortinet reduce its pricing for massive implementations.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLC?
Until now, I have not observed any issues. However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLC?
We are resellers of FortiWLC, and our customers mainly use it in enterprise settings, particularly for chemical companies.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Access Points vs. Fortinet FortiWLC and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.