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Cisco Wireless vs Fortinet FortiAP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Cisco Wireless delivers fast ROI with improved productivity, security, and connectivity, valued by both profit and non-profit organizations.
Sentiment score
6.3
Fortinet FortiAP offers high ROI with robust security, minimal maintenance, and 80% cost savings compared to competitors.
I do not have to continuously manage them, and their reliability means they are consistently up and running.
Fortinet FortiAP provides value for money, and I can quantify the savings at about 80%.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.8
Cisco Wireless customer service is highly rated for prompt, knowledgeable support, despite some regional variability in quality.
Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiAP's customer service experiences vary, with mixed support quality influenced by region, service tier, and training resources.
The technical support from Cisco is of high quality.
The technical support from Cisco is good.
We keep a support contract open with Fortinet, so we have instantaneous response from them.
The RMA process is very good, with same-day replacement in our case.
I am not satisfied with Fortinet FortiAP's technical support in India.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.9
Cisco Wireless offers efficient scalability for various business sizes, though costs and controller limits may pose challenges.
Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiAP is scalable, supporting thousands of users, but may require new purchases due to technology constraints.
We have good scalability with Fortinet FortiAP because we have multiple ISPs connected to it through FortiManager.
There could be constraints where a product can't be scaled further without purchasing a new model.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Wireless is highly stable and reliable, performing well across environments with minimal issues and high user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiAP's stability is mixed; some praise performance while others face disconnections and vulnerabilities, influenced by location and setup.
I have not experienced any issues, outages, or problems and have not had to interfere with them at all.
The stability of the solution is very high.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Wireless faces cost, configuration, usability, security, cloud integration, and compatibility issues, requiring improvements across features, UI, and support.
Fortinet FortiAP needs improvements in wireless functionality, support, outdoor performance, and configuration, despite effective cloud management capabilities.
Sometimes, integration with other Cisco products requires manual intervention for tasks such as firmware upgrades, which should be automated.
In the long term, there could be a cost reduction because it does not require much maintenance.
I know they're going up to six soon, which will enhance reliability.
Security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily.
What we need to do is select a better product as per our requirement and environment.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Wireless offers premium, high-quality solutions with complex licensing, perceived as costly but justified by reliability, security, and performance.
Fortinet FortiAP offers competitive enterprise pricing, though licensing costs can be high, generally rated six to nine out of ten.
The setup cost involves licenses.
The licensing of Cisco Wireless is competitive.
Cisco has provided significant discounts for large-scale deployments.
The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
The pricing is much better than Cisco pricing.
Fortinet FortiAP is affordable, not expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Wireless excels in security, scalability, integration, ease of installation, and management, offering reliable connectivity and advanced features.
Fortinet FortiAP excels in integration, management, and security, providing stability and performance for small to medium enterprises.
If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity.
When I install it, I can forget about it because there is no need for ongoing maintenance, and no other problems occur.
Cisco Wireless is easy to configure.
Compatibility with Fortinet firewalls allows clients to set up new businesses with integrated firewalls and access points, offering a cost-effective solution while providing excellent wireless coverage.
Fortinet FortiAP is effective in protecting against wireless threats.
In a FortiGate, especially a Forti wireless environment, it's always easy to troubleshoot problems and it gives better visibility of our environment.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.0%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 6.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Wireless11.0%
Fortinet FortiAP6.2%
Other82.8%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Bridging capabilities ensure network continuity and reliability in large-scale deployments
The most valuable feature of Cisco Wireless is the bridging capability. If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity. Additionally, Cisco offers significant discounts for large projects. The reliability and robust solution are also key aspects, as there have been no errors or failures. The implementation is straightforward, and the user interface connection is easy.
Shahnawaz Nusrat - PeerSpot reviewer
Has simplified wireless integration while needing better throughput and captive portal features
The product can be improved depending on the model selected as per requirements. Support is good and throughput is good. What we need to do is select a better product as per our requirement and environment. If proper working is done in terms of wireless heat map or radio connectivity in our environment, I believe it's good. There is always a chance to improve. Throughput can be better in terms of other vendors, but currently, it's working fine. One feature that I still need to explore is the captive portal. When we deploy a unit in a public environment, users need to sign in with a pop-up box to connect.
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business74
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise74
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also. That requirement has...
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
No data available
 

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)
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.