Cisco Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points comparison

Cisco and Netgear are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5, while Netgear is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 9.8% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Netgear’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Netgear users who would recommend it.

Cisco Wireless

Read 154 Cisco Wireless reviews

8,848 Views
8,671 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Read 12 NETGEAR Insight Access Points reviews

1,251 Views
1,251 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Cisco Wireless

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Wireless and NETGEAR Insight Access Points compete in the wireless networking space. Cisco Wireless seems to have the upper hand due to its robust support and integration, whereas NETGEAR Insight Access Points attracts with cloud-based management and cost-effectiveness.

Features: Cisco Wireless is notable for its comprehensive network management and high-level security features, making it ideal for enterprises. It offers integration with Cisco products, scalability, and powerful tools like CleanAir to detect interference. NETGEAR Insight Access Points excels with its cloud-based management system, allowing remote control and flexibility. It also provides advanced throughput speeds, easy configuration via mobile apps, and excellent remote monitoring capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Wireless could improve in terms of cloud integration and offering more user-friendly interfaces for non-IT professionals. Pricing could also be optimized for smaller businesses. NETGEAR Insight Access Points could enhance enterprise-level security features, expand scalability options, and offer more robust IT support and documentation to assist in complex deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NETGEAR Insight Access Points facilitates simplified deployment through its intuitive cloud platform, reducing complexity for small businesses. Cisco Wireless, while slightly more complex to deploy, offers robust customer service and detailed documentation, aiding enterprise-level IT environments with structured support channels.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Wireless generally involves higher initial setup costs due to its feature-rich services, leading to a longer ROI period suitable for enterprises seeking advanced functionalities. Conversely, NETGEAR Insight Access Points offers competitive pricing, attractive for businesses aiming for quicker ROI through cost-effective solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 2025

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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

Ranking in Wireless LAN

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

4.9

Number of Reviews

154

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Ranking in Wireless LAN

21st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.8%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Wireless	9.8%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points	1.6%
Other	88.6%

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

EvansEsezobor

Group IT Head at Euracare

Has enabled centralized user management and improved wireless access point aggregation

To improve Cisco Wireless, the ports on the access points are all 100 Meg, not 1 gig. We have not gotten a gigabyte interface of about 1,000, but the controller we have is just 1 gig. We would prefer if we could increase the controller to a 10 gig interface because we want to connect our controller to a 10 gig interface, which currently limits us to 1 gig. When we want to move higher capacity data via wireless, it limits us to 1 gig.

Read full review

Calvin Ong

Business Manager at KAIRA Technologies pte ltd

Reasonably priced product with a straightforward deployment process

I never thought about what could be made better in the product since my company is a customer-centric organization where we provide Aruba or NETGEAR, depending on the demands and needs of our customers. The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward. It would be great if it was possible to send notifications regarding some errors related to the product that can be sent from our company to our clients through the organization's post-sales team.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Before COVID, the emphasis was primarily on wireless connectivity in specific areas like conference rooms. However, with the shift to remote work and increased mobility, coverage areas needed to be expanded to accommodate users throughout the entire location. We are beginning to expand our infrastructure."

"The advantages of Cisco Wireless include helping me aggregate all the access points, managing one point connection for my users easily, controlling rogues, and addressing hotspots effectively."

"The product has valuable features for integration and authentication."

"The most valuable feature for us is management of the systems. We can easily access all features."

"The customer always feels confident with the solution because of its reliability."

"The solution is scalable."

"Stable and scalable with good technical support."

"Support is fantastic. They are helpful and responsive."

More Cisco Wireless pros

"The internet connectivity is good."

"[Being] able to configure the WiFi devices and to see utilization remotely, or from the cloud."

"The product's deployment is straightforward."

"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."

"The meshing capabilities are the most valuable feature. When I am going in-between buildings, my phone doesn't have to pick up different WiFi. They are all the same. Even in-between the buildings, I stay connected."

"I am all about simplicity. With the Insight management solution, I don’t need an additional cloud controller, appliance, network manager, or PC/server to configure and manage my access points. You have to look at cost, and everything has a cost. There is a cost to using Insight. But if the cost is reasonable, I don't want another layer. The ability to deploy a network and then have that software built-in, without having to go to a third-party, is big. Also, the less pieces that I have to call in on, the better. So, when I'm calling NETGEAR, it's not like I'm using some third-party piece of software to manage their product. It doesn't add that layer of complexity, which is key."

"I'm able to do a lot of things, because the GUI is designed very well. I'm able to remotely make certain changes via my phone and apply them right away. It makes life easier when it comes to managing the equipment. The Insight management solution phone app is very good. It enables me to do what I want to do."

"From the WiFi aspect, it's very intuitive and easy to use. The solution enables me to manage my entire WiFi from anywhere in the world..."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pros

Cons

"When you integrate a network access control with authentication with an ISE engine it's really complicated to put in place."

"There are areas for improvement with Cisco Wireless, as well as with wireless technology in general. For instance, while Wi-Fi 6 offers significant advancements, some unresolved issues and quirks have delayed our migration to this standard."

"Sometimes, in some rooms the signal could be a bit better, a little stronger."

"The web interface for Cisco controllers could be better. It could be more user-friendly. Sometimes I have to remember how to access some functionalities or how to enable or execute some functions. If it were more user-friendly it would save time."

"The biggest reason why we could no longer continue with Cisco Wireless was because of the high cost to upgrade everything. It was disappointing that Cisco treated us as just another big company, and did not offer any leeway on their pricing given that we are an educational institute. And although the system we had in place from Cisco Wireless was good enough over the last ten years, it started to show its age when pushed to its limit during the pandemic."

"Cisco is costlier relative to other solutions."

"The classic Cisco wireless interface is difficult for users to learn."

"In this part of the world, support is the weak side of this solution."

More Cisco Wireless cons

"While the data throughput does provide us with full insight into data being used, we find that it's not very accurate."

"There is always room for improvement."

"I have some frustrations with the ease of use. It tends to be sluggish. The graphical interface is pretty, but not useful. They have this tree that shows connected devices, which makes no sense whatsoever because the labeling field of the tree truncates all the items to the point that it's almost useless. You can't even tell what it is. I would prefer a spreadsheet list of the gear as opposed to a graphical representation."

"A con is the backend system which is very, very slow."

"The registration is annoying. I have to go back to NETGEAR and log tickets. Access points and router registration are something that they need to address in Insight. They need to fix the bug of getting the devices activated and enrolled in Insight without fighting with them. I have probably done about six of these in the last month. You get to see patterns."

"The biggest issue I've had is that it works very well with the WiFi, but it does not offer any assistance at all with the routers. You can't control them or manage them at all. As soon as you want to use anything on the network side—because I have multiple 28-port switches—you can't manage them using this app."

"The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved."

"Ubiquiti is a very good company. NETGEAR should look at that model and expand on its remote capabilities. Ubiquiti seems to have a better product."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Wireless is a little bit expensive when compared to other solutions."

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."

"Its licensing is not simple. There are additional license costs for features, which is frustrating for us. There are some features that are included for free in the base Aruba product, but they are available at additional costs in this solution."

"It is an expensive solution."

"They have simplified the licensing, now there is a single license that is required. Earlier, multiple licenses were required. Single licensing is good. As a customer, I don't need to keep an inventory of multiple licenses."

"The price is a little high. However, you get what you pay for. The quality of the product is high, you will find it is worth the money. There is some additional cost, for example, customer support."

"I think that the solution is expensive because the customer has to pay for a full year, at a minimum, in up-front costs."

"As far as I know Cisco is very competitive, price-wise. Talk to your third-party vendor. It all depends on the company size - how many employees, how big the building is. If it's wireless, and you have only 50 employees but you're using a large building floor, in that case you need many access points. But if you have 50 employees using two or three rooms, then you probably don't need it and it's going to be high density, so there is a different design. So you need to talk to a subject matter expert. Talk to them and design accordingly."

More Cisco Wireless pricing and cost advice

"We have some basic models they give without a license."

"It is an expensive solution."

"I can source the stuff pretty quickly wherever I go through the distributor. There is pricing available at NETGEAR if you can spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on a solution. So, there is special pricing that they can help with. The vendor's reps are very responsive. They have a good channel system."

"The pricing seems to be reasonable."

"Their pricing is perfect for smaller businesses who are money and budget conscious. There are a lot of other solutions out there that are two to three times more expensive."

"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."

"Price-wise, it is a little too high, about $20 higher than what it should be, but it's worth it. It's cheaper than Cisco's access point, but the products are not apples to apples."

"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user212721

President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Retailer

University

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	77
Midsize Enterprise	40
Large Enterprise	74

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	2

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

The product's deployment is straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

We have some basic models they give without a license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved.

See all answers

Comparisons

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 27% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 22% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 7% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Wireless Competitors

Ubiquiti WLAN vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 19% of the time

Omada Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 12% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 12% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 11% of the time

D-Link Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 7% of the time

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless

January 2026

Download Cisco Wireless product report

Buyer's Guide

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

January 2026

Download NETGEAR Insight Access Points product report

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller

No data available

Overview

Cisco Wireless is a comprehensive suite of wireless solutions designed to deliver secure, high-performance connectivity for enterprises of all sizes. Offering a range of access points, controllers, and advanced management tools, Cisco Wireless ensures seamless and reliable network access, enhancing mobility and productivity.

Cisco Wireless solutions provide robust, scalable wireless networks capable of supporting high-density environments and diverse applications. With features such as seamless roaming, advanced security protocols, and detailed analytics, Cisco Wireless addresses the needs of modern businesses. The solutions include the Cisco Catalyst and Aironet series access points, wireless LAN controllers, and the Cisco DNA Center for centralized management and automation.

What are the key features of Cisco Wireless?

High-Density Performance: Optimized for environments with a high number of devices, ensuring reliable connectivity and performance.
Advanced Security: Incorporates robust security measures such as WPA3, Secure Boot, and segmentation to protect data and devices.
Seamless Roaming: Enables uninterrupted connectivity as users move across different areas within the network.
Centralized Management: Cisco DNA Center provides a single pane of glass for managing and automating wireless networks, enhancing operational efficiency.
Flexible Deployment Options: Supports various deployment models, including on-premises, cloud-managed, and hybrid solutions.

What benefits should users look for in reviews when evaluating Cisco Wireless?

Improved Mobility and Productivity: Users often highlight how Cisco Wireless enhances user mobility and productivity through reliable and consistent connectivity.
Scalability: Reviews frequently mention the scalability of Cisco Wireless, making it suitable for growing businesses.
Ease of Management: Many users appreciate the centralized management capabilities, which simplify network administration and troubleshooting.
Enhanced Security: The advanced security features are often noted for providing peace of mind and compliance with industry standards.
User Experience: The overall user experience, including ease of use and seamless integration with other Cisco products, is a common point of praise.

Cisco Wireless solutions are implemented across various industries, including healthcare, education, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, they support critical applications like patient monitoring and electronic health records. Educational institutions use Cisco Wireless to provide reliable internet access for students and staff. Retailers benefit from enhanced customer experiences through in-store connectivity, while manufacturers use wireless networks to improve operational efficiency and automation.

Pricing and licensing for Cisco Wireless solutions are typically based on the scale of deployment and specific product selections. Cisco offers various support plans, including 24/7 customer service, technical support, and access to software updates and patches.

In summary, Cisco Wireless provides robust, scalable wireless networking solutions that enhance connectivity, security, and management for diverse enterprise environments.

Cisco

At NETGEAR, we turn ideas into innovative networking products that connect people, power businesses, and advance the way we live. Easy to use. Powerful. Smart. And designed just for you.

Netgear

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 2025

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