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ExtremeCloud IQ vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

ExtremeCloud IQ
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (12th), Network Access Control (NAC) (10th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (17th)
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

ExtremeCloud IQ and WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. ExtremeCloud IQ is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.9%, up 2.9% compared to last year.
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 0.4% since last year.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ExtremeCloud IQ2.9%
Cisco DNA Center9.4%
OpenText Network Node Manager5.5%
Other82.2%
Network Management Applications
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi1.1%
Aruba Wireless12.3%
Ruckus Wireless10.8%
Other75.8%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

José Roldan - PeerSpot reviewer
Ingeniero De Preventa at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Has improved network monitoring with AI-driven insights and centralized device management
The best features of ExtremeCloud IQ include the integration of different vendors in one dashboard, the evolution of the manager, and any devices in networking. The impact of ExtremeCloud IQ on my organization is positive as the deployment is for a hybrid solution, using third-party vendors and cloud solutions for Extreme devices, switches, IP, and access points or SD-WAN solution devices. My IT team is occupied with other jobs, and ExtremeCloud IQ helps with monitoring networking at low costs. For networking and access points, it acts as a controller in a cloud environment, eliminating the need for an appliance controller or wireless LAN controller, thus saving on investment and reducing TCO costs.
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

"The most valuable feature is that you can assign zero trust policies from the user, as a result policy enforcement is very good, it's simple to use and it can traverse multiple switches."
"Flexible configuration, multitude of features, and cloud management are the most valuable features."
"ExtremeCloud IQ is integrated with the Ekahau tool so that you can log in to the ExtremeCloud IQ portal, upload the cloud plans, draw all the interiors, and plan the APs with the real-time AP position."
"What our customers like the most is that this device is so rugged. It has very good performance and throughput. Its console is very easy to use and has many features, which makes it different from its competitors. Cloud IQ has all the features built into the console, whereas other solutions require you to integrate multiple solutions with their consoles. You don't need to add anything extra with Cloud IQ. With this single solution, you can do almost everything."
"We have installed these in around 40 nursing homes and they are working great."
"Customer Service: Our VAR/customer service is very responsive and always goes the extra mile."
"Aerohive has been a very good solution for us, and we have always been able to get great service and great support."
"What I like best about ExtremeCloud IQ is its ease of use. Flexibility is another pro of ExtremeCloud IQ. I also find ExtremeCloud IQ feature-rich."
"All you have to do is take it out of the box, plug it in and you're ready to go."
"The solution has been stable."
"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."
"The configuration part of WatchGuard is very flexible."
"The solution is priced high compared to competitors, however, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."
"If I were tasked to set up new WiFi at a single site, or at multiple locations for hundreds of sites, I would make this solution my first choice."
"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."
"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."
 

Cons

"The certification costs from suppliers are getting out of control, and it's not just Extreme. We have the same problem with Cisco and Huawei."
"Pricing could be improved. It could be lower."
"The on-premises version of HiveManager NG that we use does not receive updates as soon as the cloud-based version does."
"Their firewall configuration gets funky and it can be difficult to understand."
"Its price could be lower. It is a simplified solution, but it has price challenges."
"Integrating the network access control solution can be complex, as it essentially combines two separate products."
"While the UI is great, it could still use some tweaks."
"They can improve just the onboarding process. More user information about the introduction to the product would be helpful."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"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."
"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."
"The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is costly as compared to Meraki, Aruba, Juniper, and Cisco. Cloud IQ is an enterprise solution, whereas Meraki is specifically a single solution."
"I would advise that you be sure to compare apples with apples. Many customers just look at the price per AP and licences, and compare that against other solutions. But, they do not look at the complete picture such as: TCO - how much the equipment will cost you over, say, seven years? Will the customer need to change complete infrastructure when they want to buy the newest hardware? Does support include a lifetime warranty and RMA?"
"It is not the cheapest product but I think that the price is reasonable because you get a lot of support of it's needed."
"There are probably cheaper solutions but we invest for stability and performance for the longer haul."
"Buy near the end of Q4 in order to get a deal."
"I am not involved in the price, but I am sure that it is not cheap."
"ExtremeCloud IQ's pricing is medium, but its support contract costs more."
"Bring the cost down."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...
What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeCloud IQ?
I use ExtremeCloud IQ's real-time analytics. In the cloud solution, I get reports, and it works together with machine learning and artificial intelligence for those reports. This tool permits the c...
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...
 

Also Known As

Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange
Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: May 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.