Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Aruba Wireless vs Fortinet FortiAP 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.4
Aruba Wireless offers cost-effectiveness with positive ROI although some need more time to assess complete benefits.
Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiAP offers cost-effective, secure network solutions, enhancing productivity and reducing operational costs compared to competitors.
There are significant time savings, around thirty to forty percent, due to minimal disconnections.
There is no need to buy additional controllers for managing access points.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Aruba Wireless customer service is mixed, with variable quality depending on the engineer and source of assistance.
Sentiment score
7.6
Fortinet's support quality is mixed, with premium services preferred, local partners praised, and common service queue complaints.
I only needed support once or twice for a replacement, and it was handled smoothly without any difficulty.
I would rate their technical support nine out of ten.
The customer support is good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Aruba Wireless is highly scalable, supporting seamless expansion from small to large setups with flexible licensing and cloud support.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiAP offers high scalability, though adding new units can be complex, with users experiencing varying challenges.
The solution is scalable, as multiple sites connect seamlessly.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Aruba Wireless is praised for stability and reliability under heavy load, with excellent support across various sectors and company sizes.
Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiAP stability varies, with mixed reviews, occasional disconnections, and updates addressing previous vulnerabilities, depending on usage.
I have been using the product for the last nine years without facing any issues post-installation.
I don't remember it going down during the years it existed.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Wireless struggles with firmware instability, costly pricing, and user-reported connectivity issues, needing better support and enhanced features.
Fortinet FortiAP users face high pricing, installation challenges, and performance issues, recommending integration and configuration improvements.
The product should be more affordable, especially the cloud and console for the Aruba product as it is currently very expensive.
While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive.
At the time of purchase, the prices were moderate, but now they are quite expensive.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Wireless offers competitive pricing with a one-time licensing model, yet maintenance costs and discounts impact overall affordability.
Fortinet FortiAP offers competitive pricing, considered cost-effective compared to major competitors, with various licensing options available.
The initial prices were more affordable compared to the current high prices.
The pricing can be expensive.
The pricing seems reasonable compared to other brands; however, it is too expensive for smaller businesses.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Wireless delivers robust security, scalability, and management with Wi-Fi 6, centralized control, and cost-effective deployment features.
Fortinet FortiAP offers seamless integration with centralized control, ensuring efficient and user-friendly management without separate controllers.
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity.
I do not need to buy a controller for the access point since the Aruba Access Point has a built-in virtual controller.
I can have a clear picture of what's happening in my Wi-Fi cellular networking environment.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
146
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 19.1%, down from 23.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 3.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience seamless connectivity with top-notch roaming capabilities
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity. Once installed, Aruba Wireless works robustly without overheating issues. This is particularly effective compared to other products I've used, like FortiMonitor and FortiAPs, which sometimes heat up. I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another. The product's stability, after setting it up, adds to its value.
Yati Gharat - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates well with Fortinet products, but there are signal issues in the outdoor environment
FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment. That is where we are having certain issues. We are not 100% happy with it. With the indoor environment, we are okay, but we are facing some issues when certain voice-related calls go from wireless points. There are certain drops, and we have faced these issues on an ongoing basis. We also have other vendors such as Aruba and Meraki, and we do not face any issues when there is a Teams or Zoom meeting going on. It could be that FortiAP is okay, but that particular device or appliance is not capable of handling that much load of voice and video. This might be the issue. RF Spectrum Analysis helps to understand what is the coverage and hotspots related to a particular access point, but then when we bought it, we did heat mapping through different vendors. If there are any rogue APs, we can identify them with RF Spectrum Analysis. We can see what the coverage area is, but there are some issues with that. Some of the offices have thick glasses, or the cabins are different, so in the RF coverage, what is shown is not what we get on the practical grounds. There are some issues with signal performance. It has the basic functionality that is mostly used, but there are certain devices that are not able to interconnect. When there is any issue or problem, if the administrator can get some information about that, that will be good. With Meraki and Aruba, we get certain beautiful things. If those can be integrated into this solution, it will be more beneficial, but we understand that being a security company, Fortinet's focus is on security.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
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...
What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiAP?
The pricing for Fortinet FortiAP is good compared to other competitive vendors.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
The radio band support could be improved, especially for legacy devices. We have faced issues where older devices are not able to connect to the access point, often receiving messages that the pass...
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.