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Fortinet FortiWLM vs SonicWall SonicWave 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
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SonicWave Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 2.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SonicWave Access Points is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM2.4%
SonicWall SonicWave Access Points0.9%
Other96.7%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

LuayHlaleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Team Lead at TechnoPeak
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.
Winsley De Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at ANOC
An industry-leading security and wireless solution packaged in one box
We make our customers SonicWall clients. We have a solution package: If you have a contract to network with us, we will deliver SonicWall firewalls, access points, VPN clients, and all the other equipment with the SonicWall solution. We have been selling this solution for the past 30 years. We had a customer three months ago struggling with a Fortinet solution. We convinced them that the Fortinet solution would not work perfectly during renewal. We made a bet and delivered SonicWall equipment for free for one week, and if they had no more issues, they would buy it. That's precisely what happened. The customer ended up purchasing an $80,000 SonicWall solution. The SonicWall SonicWave Access Points are a good product compared to Cisco, Sophos, and Fortinet. In Brazil, Ruckus is taking market share in some key areas, such as hotels and hospitals. They are into big solutions with thousands of access points. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In my experience with Fortinet FortiWLM, I can rate its stability as 10; until today, I haven't had any problems."
"The security is a valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLM is the single management pane and integrated controller inside the firewall."
"Security is the feature we like most from Fortinet. In general, their security architecture is really great, because it involves everything: firewalls, wireless LANs, the user. Everything is really secure."
"The most useful aspect of Fortinet FortiWLM is that you can manage all the Fortinet products from one portal, from one device."
"The most valuable features are the roaming profile, the mesh, and the performance."
"We can deploy a tunnel-based VLAN and SSID, for something that happens at the last minute, in a matter of minutes, because of the interaction between the FortiGate, the FortiSwitches, and the FortiAPs."
"I have not faced any issues with stability or downtime."
"A good management tool that can be managed through the cloud or firewall."
"Unlike the Cisco solution that needs a dedicated wireless controller outside of a firewall, SonicWall has everything in one box. Fortinet is close to it."
"I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten."
"The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to provide cloud access to configure and manage devices."
"The security features of SonicWall are highly valued."
 

Cons

"The pricing for the solution is expensive and can be improved."
"Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed."
"One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting. If you want to have proper, end-to-end reporting, you must purchase the FortiAnalyzer... If Fortinet could offer some better, built-in reporting, that would be a point of improvement."
"There are currently issues with Fortinet's software quality."
"Technical support is very poor. We are not satisfied with the technical support because there is not any direct person from Fortinet for any troubleshooting, which we expected."
"In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial."
"Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration."
"The solution should improve user capacity."
"They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration."
"Integrating with the firewall and management console was a little complex."
"We have a lot of overlapping wireless networks with a lot of cheap equipment that does not run on any rules or regulations. The best way to improve the wireless network, like in SonicWaves, is to defeat these networks by isolating, preventing them, or overcoming their wireless signal. We try to do that, but I live near an airport, and the AirPortRadar glitches my wireless network every nine seconds."
"The product's pricing is high and could be improved."
"The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing costs are reasonable. There are so many different types of licenses with Fortinet, but the licensing and the 24/7/365 support are so reasonable that I automatically include it with every transaction. I never line item it without it. There are no additional costs."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"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."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"The pricing of the SonicWave Access Points solution is different in the US and Brazil. In the US, the solution is priced more competitively than other vendors. In Brazil, the exchange rate is a problem. To address this, SonicWall managers in Brazil are running several sales promotions and improving the price of new units."
"The platform offers yearly licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult. Regarding the integration with other vendors, we try to buy only products from a single vendor to a...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
The price could be reduced by 20%. In Dubai, UniFi costs 700 dirham for the UniFi Pro 7th generation. For Fortinet FortiWLM, a similar model would cost around 1,300 dirham. If this price was reduce...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
Our customers' main use cases for Fortinet FortiWLM come from three classes. We have clients that pay attention to the cost, and we have customers that pay attention to security, such as in the DIF...
What do you like most about SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to provide cloud access to configure and manage devices.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
The platform offers yearly licenses. We receive all the support services through our partners. Thus, there are no extra costs involved. However, some partners might charge for deployment services.
What needs improvement with SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration.
 

Also Known As

FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
SonicWave 200 Series, SonicWave 200 Series Access Points, SonicWave 400 Series, SonicWave 400 Series Access Points
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
St. Dominic's School for Girls
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWLM vs. SonicWall SonicWave Access Points and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.