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Fortinet FortiWLM vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points comparison

 

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

Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Insight Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.3%, up from 1.9% 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 Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.3%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points1.6%
Other95.1%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

LuayHlaleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Team Lead at IT Solutions AE
Offers robust network management with cost considerations for large deployments
Large enterprises typically invest in FortiAnalyzer, though our company and SMB clients don't require this analysis tool. We use Ekahau for floor planning and Wi-Fi coverage analysis rather than Fortinet FortiWLM's built-in features. Ekahau helps us perform site surveys and plan access point placement. Fortinet FortiWLM is a flexible and common solution in Dubai. It's one of the best-selling products, with Etisalat, the largest ISP, installing Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 70-80% of their clients. The solution offers different series to accommodate various needs. The triple radio model costs around $1,000 (3,500 dirham) and supports 40-50 connected devices. The 231F model suits smaller deployments of 20-25 devices. I rate Fortinet FortiWLM a seven out of ten. While it's an excellent solution, Cisco remains the market leader.
DG
Owner at ERIM S.A.
Centralized management has simplified our home Wi‑Fi setup and supports multiple users reliably
Given my experience with NETGEAR Insight Access Points, my piece of advice for other organizations considering it is that they have to look at the rest of their system because NETGEAR Insight Access Points is quite useless with anything but the Wi-Fi system. I rate this product an 8 out of 10.

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 the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks."
"The most useful aspect of Fortinet FortiWLM is that you can manage all the Fortinet products from one portal, from one device."
"I found that It's really good when comparing it to any other product or it is much better in terms of features that the customer requires."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
"The greatest advantage is the security fabric Fortinet offers."
"We are highly impressed with the ease of use of Fortinet."
"The product is a stable solution."
"Fortinet Wireless is a very good product, in terms of reliability and in terms of configuration also."
"[Being] able to configure the WiFi devices and to see utilization remotely, or from the cloud."
"The metrics demonstrate that NETGEAR really does a good job of balancing the load between the various access points on the networks and this results in an elimination of downtime."
"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."
"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."
"This solution has been a big return on investment."
"With the Insight management solution, it is awesome that you don’t need an additional cloud controller, appliance, network manager, or PC/server to configure and manage your access points."
"We use NETGEAR's Insight management solution to do off-property controls. It is user-friendly and provides network management, monitoring, and service deployment across multiple remote and local sites. That means I don't have to be physically at a location to do things if I want to make any changes to the network. It saves time and money."
"From the WiFi aspect, it's very intuitive and easy to use, and the solution enables me to manage my entire WiFi from anywhere in the world."
 

Cons

"One area that needs improvement is the configuration aspect, which is more challenging compared to other products, despite Fortinet FortiWLM being a popular brand in Sri Lanka."
"Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult."
"The pricing for the solution is expensive and can be improved."
"In the next release, they could improve by adding a controller-less server, or architecture that is provided in other solutions, such as Aruba. Additionally, they could improve the feature sets to be more competitive."
"The roaming of Fortinet FortiWLM could improve when comparing it to other solutions. We are missing some of the functionality in the controller. Additionally, they should offer more logs instead of using FortiAnalyzer because all the users will not be using the same thing."
"There is very little publicly available information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture. Promotion of the overall technology is limited as well. Being more vocal about a product that has many advantages would go a long way to eliminating a lot of the confusion and negative perception about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture."
"In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial."
"The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned."
"I put in a NETGEAR BR200 router and it gave me a lot of headaches when trying to create VLANs."
"I have some frustrations with the ease of use. It tends to be sluggish."
"While the data throughput does provide us with full insight into data being used, we find that it's not very accurate."
"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."
"When it comes to features needing improvement, the WAX610, WAC540 and the WAX610Y do not reliably stay online and this is especially true of the WAC540."
"My major problem is right now, the area which I need to cover is around 7,000 to 10,000 square feet...I would like NETGEAR Insight Access Points to extend the area coverage they provide."
"There is always room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"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."
"It is an expensive solution."
"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."
"We have some basic models they give without a license."
"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."
"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I do not have knowledge about the pricing or the cost of Fortinet FortiWLM because the license is for the package of the firewall, FortiGate.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed. For the moment, I don't have anything else in Fortinet FortiWLM that I would l...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I use this solution for the enterprise to segment the department.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
My impression of the pricing aspect of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is that it is not exactly cheap. I find the pricing reasonable, but it is at the upper end of the reasonable bracket.
What needs improvement with NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
Managing users could be improved as it is quite difficult to block someone, and it is impossible to block someone on one specific access point. Regarding specific features that I would like to see ...
What is your primary use case for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
We are using NETGEAR Insight Access Points in a domestic environment with four or five users.
 

Also Known As

FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWLM vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.