Aruba Instant On Access Points vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

Aruba Instant On Access Points vs. Fortinet FortiWLM

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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

Aruba Instant On Access Points

Ranking in Wireless LAN

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Fortinet FortiWLM

Ranking in Wireless LAN

17th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Access Points is 0.9%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 1.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

Ricardo Quintero

Infrastructure/Telcom Coordinator at Schnellecke Group AG & Co. KG

Affordable and offers an easy setup phase

I was working on the on-premises solutions, like IronNet, Aironet, and some other tools from Cisco, but not with Meraki. The last Aironet model that we have here in Mexico, in the corporate office, and in some of the other regions of Mexico is Cisco Aironet 3700 and Cisco Aironet 3800, so it is just two or three devices. Aruba Instant On Access Points was working with Aruba 2540 and Cisco 3850 In Cisco, I found some issues. I was working well with a vendor. I was working with Cisco Catalyst 9200 and Cisco Catalyst 9300, along with Cisco Catalyst 2916M XL Switch. With all devices, we got a report. During the immigration, we choose another vendor, which Aruba. We have some issues with Aruba Instant On Access Points in iOS that are targeting the devices, and I have seen some problems with the DHCP solution.

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Zachary Wheeler

President / CEO at Secure Solutions Center LLC

Impressive manufacturing quality, highly durable, and very easy to deploy

They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with. It would be nice if they had some smaller switches or hubs. They should offer two-port, three-port, or four-port devices so that you don't have to buy an eight-port switch, and you don't have to use an unmanaged element, but their product line is very complete, and I can't say enough about it.

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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 aspect of Unifi switches is the Unifi Controller."

"Configuring everything in the cloud with Aruba Central and having all the devices be independent of a centralized controller has made it simple to deploy."

"Its technical support is excellent."

"It's super user-friendly."

"Its performance is very good. It suits small and medium sites very well."

"The product is scalable. It has 20 users."

"The advantages of Aruba Instant On Access Points include using a mobile application to control various aspects, making it a user-friendly solution for home use."

"Aruba is much better than other vendors like Cisco and NETGEAR in terms of quality, price, and value for money."

More Aruba Instant On Access Points pros

"Seamless roaming by leveraging Virtual Cell is a major advantage which reduces roam times and issues related to roaming. Code stability has been excellent and the hardware quality is second to none."

"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."

"We're using SD-WAN at all of our locations now, which helps increase and aggregate and lower response time and improve application performance."

"This is the only product on the market currently that supports as many access points for wifi users."

"At the moment, particularly with the COVID-19 situation, the most valuable feature is probably the IPsec VPN, which is easy to implement with Fortinet."

"The Fortinet FortiWLM system can be controlled through the cloud controller, which is convenient when the solution is not installed in our environment, as it allows us to manage the entire WiFi or access points and provides more adaptability."

"If you do have a FortiGate Firewall somewhere in the network, you can connect the wireless controller to that... You get 100 percent visibility from a single point... You can see everything that's connected to the FortiGate, whether it's a switch or a wireless AP or a wireless controller or any other Fortinet product."

"The greatest advantage is the security fabric Fortinet offers."

More Fortinet FortiWLM pros

Cons

"While it is mostly scalable, there are some limitations."

"If anything, its reporting could be improved."

"With Aruba, the documentation on the website is not too easy to use, and some information is not found."

"The setup is not very easy. It requires some experience with Wi-Fi, especially with cloud connection and security."

"It is suitable for smaller organizations, but it may not be the best choice for large enterprises."

"If there's a way to get a floor map of our office space so we can place the access points on a map to be able to see what's what, where everything is going, where the most traffic is being connected, that would be a nice feature."

"The security aspect needs improvement."

"The Unifi Controller is slower compared to other options like Aruba."

More Aruba Instant On Access Points 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."

"The initial setup is complex and has room for improvement."

"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."

"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."

"The pricing for the solution is expensive and can be improved."

"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."

"The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned."

"Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration."

More Fortinet FortiWLM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It needs a license."

"You buy it for $165 an AP, which is what we paid."

"The price of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable. They are competitively priced. I've even used it in my home at one time because of the low price."

"Aruba Instant On Access Points are license-free. It's a very good and cheap solution for wireless networks. It can be compared with solutions from Ubiquiti and TP-Link, but it is in a different class. Aruba Instant On Access Points are cheaper than those from Cisco, Ruckus, and Motorola. It's perhaps the cheapest one. They do not use licenses, so it is a solution from the box. You don't need to pay extra money or deal with hidden payments."

"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the standard licensing charges associated with the product. There are some additional costs associated with the product since I have seen customers who purchase three-year or five-year plans."

"It's a cost-effective solution."

"I rate the product's pricing a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."

More Aruba Instant On Access Points pricing and cost advice

"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."

"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."

"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."

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLM is reasonable compared to the other vendors. We are using a five-year license."

"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."

"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."

"The solution is fairly priced."

"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."

More Fortinet FortiWLM pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

63%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Access Points?

It's really easy to set up. And, you don't have to pay for the cloud solution. That's really interesting for our clients. And the other thing is, the roaming is also quite good.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Access Points?

Aruba Instant On Access Points work without a list price, suggesting that they are open source and no additional licensing costs are incurred.

What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Access Points?

All features already exist in Aruba Instant On Access Points. However, in future updates, more AI for intelligence and the option for a separate network could be beneficial.

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiWLM?

The security is a valuable feature.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?

While the pricing of Fortinet FortiWLM is a bit high, it remains effective. However, the cost could be better if reduced.

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?

In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial.

Fortinet FortiAP vs Aruba Instant On Access Points

Comparisons

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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Aruba Instant On Access Points

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Omada Access Points vs Aruba Instant On Access Points

Compared 13% of the time

Aruba Instant vs Aruba Instant On Access Points

Compared 10% of the time

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Aruba Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 26% of the time

Cisco Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 12% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 12% of the time

Cambium Networks Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 8% of the time

More Fortinet FortiWLM Competitors

Product Reports

Aruba Instant On Access Points

Download Aruba Instant On Access Points product report

Fortinet FortiWLM

Download Fortinet FortiWLM product report

Also Known As

No data available

FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN

Overview

Ingredients for success.

Fast 802.11ac Wave 2, secure employee and guest access, easy-to-use web, and mobile app management.

Say yes to secure Wi-Fi access.

Pre-built access control lists (ACLs) and built-in firewall in the access points prevent malicious traffic from entering your network – we call it “hassle-free” security.

Never drop an important call.

With Instant On, voice and video business applications are automatically prioritized, so you stay connected with your peers.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Consolidate security and wireless LAN management with our integrated wireless solutions. Single-pane-of-glass management for security and access without the need to add point products simplifies deployment and reduces management complexity. These solutions are highly scalable to support even the largest organizations and distributed enterprises.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Aruba Instant On Access Points vs. Fortinet FortiWLM