Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Wireless WAN vs Fortinet FortiExtender comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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

Cisco Wireless WAN
Ranking in Wireless WAN
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiExtender
Ranking in Wireless WAN
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless WAN is 6.8%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiExtender is 5.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless WAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Wireless WAN6.8%
Fortinet FortiExtender5.3%
Other87.9%
Wireless WAN
 

Featured Reviews

HassanBilal - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager IT Infrastructure & Helpdesk at LCI Pakistan
Solution supports extensive connectivity but faces occasional coverage challenges
Cisco Wireless WAN has room for improvement in WiFi coverage. Sometimes, their coverage is normally good, but at the same area where the access points are deployed, people face continuous disconnectivity issues. These kinds of issues come over time, and we need to do troubleshooting, but they get resolved. This is a performance-related issue, and I think they have to work on that.
SyedQuadri - PeerSpot reviewer
IT director at Sajaya Medical Care Services
Has supported multi-branch connectivity effectively and still has potential for deeper feature utilization
Centralized management via FortiManager for my organization is very useful and a must-have. I have used Sophos Central as a manager and Fortinet manager as well. I believe Fortinet Manager has more in-depth features compared to Sophos or some other manager. The threat intelligence integration in Fortinet FortiExtender helps me to meet my industry's compliance standards. Fortinet FortiExtender brought many benefits to my organization. It was a very useful solution for us to have such a service.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution offers very good performance, especially for iPhones."
"Cisco Wireless WAN benefits our customers' organizations because it is very easy to connect with the Wi-Fi SSIDs and regarding the password settings."
"It's a small feature, but Cisco allows me to see access points with blinking lights. This shows me which access point is which."
"Coverage for the access points is really good."
"The program is very stable."
"The Cisco solution is good, the new GUI looks good and we are seeing more telemetry from it."
"The most valuable features are coverage and reliability."
"It's easy to deploy ."
"Management can be carried out from a central point."
"Centralized management via FortiManager for my organization is very useful and a must-have."
"The product is easy to use and easy to integrate."
"The integration is easy and it works as a normal internet connection."
"For me, the best feature of Fortinet FortiExtender is its integration with an external solution such as a 5G LTE broadband modem, wired modem, and cellular network. I also like that the product can be integrated into one device or a unified device, and that is one of its best features because it allows you to manage and centralize the control of every device."
"We appreciate that this solution can be used as an active secondary link as well as a backup."
"Centralized management via FortiManager for my organization is very useful and a must-have."
"The solution is extremely user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Include more managing features within the product, rather than having to purchase them as extras."
"The coverage area on some of the low-end access points isn't the best. The high-end ones are fine, but we've had bad experiences on the other ones."
"We feel that Cisco is quite expensive, so we're looking for a reasonable alternative. We are considering Aruba and some other brands that are less expensive. Cisco works fine, but the issue is the annual licensing and support costs."
"We cannot use wireless for the servers due to potential performance issues. They must be connected via fiber."
"The cost and support should be improved, and there should be support for the 6E standard."
"The solution could lower its pricing to make it more affordable."
"The only thing I would like to see is better high availability if you're using the embedded wireless controller."
"The pricing of the solution could always be better."
"In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product."
"There is a huge downside because we need to remove and insert the SIM to get it working."
"The support could be faster and more responsive."
"Though Fortinet FortiExtender has some security features, the product could still be improved by adding features similar to those in FortiGuard, such as antivirus, intrusion, prevention, and detection, as well as web filtering features. The product is also not as user-friendly, so that's another area for improvement. In the FortiGate UTM solution of Fortinet, there's software-defined or SD-WAN, and in the next release of Fortinet FortiExtender, I'd like to see SD-WAN embedded in the product. Most of the communication in Fortinet FortiExtender is related to WAN and Edge, so having an SD-WAN function in the product would be useful for integrating and controlling WAN communication."
"The solution would be a lot better if it was a little bit more intuitive. Additionally, the help menu would be a lot better if it was easier to identify the items that I was looking for. I find the graphical interface a little bit difficult to navigate. And I find the font that is used on the HTML interface not conducive to being able to be read in low light situations."
"In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product."
"What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem."
"The engineering of the solution has some negative points, especially in terms of troubleshooting. It's difficult to troubleshoot when we have a problem. It's not like other products like Cisco or Palo Alto which make troubleshooting much easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco is more expensive than other solutions."
"The cost of Cisco Wireless WAN is expensive. There is an annual subscription to use the solution."
"It is a bit expensive compared to others."
"I rate the product price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"The license is not subscription-based."
"Cisco products generally have high list prices, but substantial discounts are available."
"Cisco is much more expensive than the other vendor solutions."
"There is a license that is needed for the use of this solution."
"The solution is not that expensive."
"I'm not sure what the cost is. However, I anticipate that the purchase price will range between $2,500 and $5,000."
"I've only used the open-source version of Fortinet FortiExtender, but I know that it has some features that require you to pay for a license."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless WAN solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Performing Arts
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Media Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Wireless WAN?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Wireless WAN?
I think the pricing of Cisco Wireless WAN must be reasonable at present.
What needs improvement with Cisco Wireless WAN?
Cisco Wireless WAN's interface could be simplified in the future. Simplification would make it more helpful to see how the user is connecting. We are able to see the connectivity details, and we al...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiExtender?
The price for Fortinet FortiExtender deserves the highest rating.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiExtender?
In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiExtender?
Since I was having FortiManager and everything, Fortinet FortiExtender was suggested by the vendor. I went through it and appreciated the product. There are plenty of things we are using Fortinet F...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.