Cisco Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points comparison

Cisco and Netgear are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while Netgear is ranked #21 with an average rating of 7.3. Cisco holds a 12.1% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Netgear’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Netgear users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Wireless and NETGEAR Insight Access Points compete in the wireless networking space. Cisco Wireless seems to have the upper hand due to its robust support and integration, whereas NETGEAR Insight Access Points attracts with cloud-based management and cost-effectiveness.

Features: Cisco Wireless is notable for its comprehensive network management and high-level security features, making it ideal for enterprises. It offers integration with Cisco products, scalability, and powerful tools like CleanAir to detect interference. NETGEAR Insight Access Points excels with its cloud-based management system, allowing remote control and flexibility. It also provides advanced throughput speeds, easy configuration via mobile apps, and excellent remote monitoring capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Wireless could improve in terms of cloud integration and offering more user-friendly interfaces for non-IT professionals. Pricing could also be optimized for smaller businesses. NETGEAR Insight Access Points could enhance enterprise-level security features, expand scalability options, and offer more robust IT support and documentation to assist in complex deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NETGEAR Insight Access Points facilitates simplified deployment through its intuitive cloud platform, reducing complexity for small businesses. Cisco Wireless, while slightly more complex to deploy, offers robust customer service and detailed documentation, aiding enterprise-level IT environments with structured support channels.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Wireless generally involves higher initial setup costs due to its feature-rich services, leading to a longer ROI period suitable for enterprises seeking advanced functionalities. Conversely, NETGEAR Insight Access Points offers competitive pricing, attractive for businesses aiming for quicker ROI through cost-effective solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 2024

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Juniper Mist Wireless Acces...

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points is 5.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 12.1%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.4%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

Gyan Sharma

Assistant Programmer at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha

Offers good performance, good solution and smooth implementation

I do have a suggestion: it would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network. If there are access points from other brands installed nearby; they can cause interference and disrupt the range of our Mist access points. So, the security features could be stronger, especially in terms of authentication. The connectivity is excellent, but security needs improvement. In future releases, integrating more AI features would be beneficial. If Mist had stronger AI features, it could provide better security against network threats and cyberattacks. So, this solution still needs to improve its AI capabilities. It would be great if the AI could improve the range of the access points, and auto-protect functionality should be there to avoid interference by other nearby access points and enhance threat detection. In the future, I'd like to see stronger threat detection features integrated with Mist, as well as better detection of nearby access points that might cause interference.

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Michael Lees

Production Director at Whitespider

Affordable, resilient, and performs better than other solutions in the market

Assurance capabilities must be improved. There should be more Assurance features on the Wireless LAN Controller. A lot of it is bundled into the DNA Center. Having a little more Assurance regarding what the RF Spectrum looks like will be good. Juniper Mist has a lot of analytical data on the dashboard. The customers would be compelled to look at DNA Center as a longer-term and more comprehensive solution if Cisco were to give them an insight into some of the Assurance capabilities that might be available in DNA Center. The tool must provide something like RF Neighbor. It must enable organizations to receive signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio and see how clients perform in their wireless network. It must have a cap. If we want additional functionality to see our entire network, that's where DNA Center fits in.

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Calvin Ong

Business Manager at KAIRA Technologies pte ltd

Reasonably priced product with a straightforward deployment process

I never thought about what could be made better in the product since my company is a customer-centric organization where we provide Aruba or NETGEAR, depending on the demands and needs of our customers. The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward. It would be great if it was possible to send notifications regarding some errors related to the product that can be sent from our company to our clients through the organization's post-sales team.

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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 simplicity is great."

"The most useful feature of Juniper Wireless AP is the reporting Marvis."

"With Mist, every Wednesday they roll out new features."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is Marvis, the AI-driven network management system."

"The AI capabilities of Mist Wireless are superior to other OEMs."

"You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment."

"It's well-detailed in terms of troubleshooting logs."

"Juniper Mist offers valuable features like comprehensive network insight, granular policy control, fast device setup, strong security, and efficient SSL traffic management."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pros

"I'm very satisfied with Cisco's technical support."

"Cisco Wireless is scalable."

"It's a reliable solution."

"This increased mobility has helped our organization. We can talk to one another from different locations and stay in constant contact and with employees across the enterprise. Everyone has access to up-to-the-minute communications and all documents and applications on our network."

"Cisco Wireless solutions are easy to use."

"The product’s stability is great."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the Cisco CleanAir and Cisco RRM."

"The most valuable features of Cisco Wireless are the level of control and management. I am happy with it."

More Cisco Wireless pros

"The product's deployment is straightforward."

"The initial setup of NETGEAR Insight Access Points was straightforward."

"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."

"The internet connectivity is good."

"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."

"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."

"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."

"The meshing capabilities are the most valuable feature. When I am going in-between buildings, my phone doesn't have to pick up different WiFi. They are all the same. Even in-between the buildings, I stay connected."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pros

Cons

"It would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network."

"Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points’ support services need improvement."

"The pricing should be made cheaper."

"If you want to do more specific stuff, it's a bit limited."

"Juniper should make the products more affordable."

"I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features."

"The price could be better."

"The solution is expensive."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points cons

"Cisco Wireless is expensive."

"There is room for improvement regarding HA issues and Radius integration."

"Requires a firewall body to improve security."

"The new GUI interface and the newer version OS are a little bit more complex than the older version, however, it just might take some getting used to."

"This solution is very expensive, which means we often have to go for cheaper options instead."

"The media stream and Mojo settings are not sufficiently supported."

"It should be fully compatible with other devices."

"The main disadvantage of Cisco Wireless is its cost - it's expensive. Its interface is not easy. However, I like it since I am an engineer."

More Cisco Wireless cons

"There is always room for improvement."

"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."

"The biggest issue I've had is that it works very well with the WiFi, but it does not offer any assistance at all with the routers. You can't control them or manage them at all. As soon as you want to use anything on the network side—because I have multiple 28-port switches—you can't manage them using this app."

"Software-wise, they need to provide the ability to kick users out. If multiple users are abusing the system or the network, I should be able to block them for a time and, when I need to unblock them, I should be able to do so by using their MAC ID. That feature might already be there and I just don't know about it."

"I have some frustrations with the ease of use. It tends to be sluggish. The graphical interface is pretty, but not useful. They have this tree that shows connected devices, which makes no sense whatsoever because the labeling field of the tree truncates all the items to the point that it's almost useless. You can't even tell what it is. I would prefer a spreadsheet list of the gear as opposed to a graphical representation."

"The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward."

"Due to certain shortcomings in the solution's stability, I feel that the solution's stability requires improvement."

"While the data throughput does provide us with full insight into data being used, we find that it's not very accurate."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is too high."

"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."

"The pricing is fair."

"I rate Juniper Mist's pricing a ten out of ten since it is expensive."

"The pricing is something Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) can work on. The pricing is very high compared to the competition."

"If a customer has a budget of around five lakhs in Indian currency, they can afford Juniper products."

"The solution is expensive."

"We pay maybe 1000 SEK per year, per access point."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pricing and cost advice

"From a pricing point of view, it's a little bit expensive compared to competitors like Aruba and others."

"Its licensing is hard to understand."

"However, when you integrate the access point and the controller with the DNAT across multiple sites, you need a DNAT cluster, which is a costly solution. Every site has a controller, and a DNAT cluster is not a good option in a global framework. It's okay for a small office or a few offices. But when you're talking about 500 offices, the cost becomes enormous."

"I am not a fan of Cisco's software pricing model. Their management software is far too expensive."

"It might be around $100 for a license. The internal ones are far cheaper than that."

"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."

"It is expensive, and there are some costs in addition to the standard licensing fee. Its licensing model and cost should be improved."

"Cost is one of the reasons why we are switching to Aruba. Aruba is significantly lower than Cisco in price. We do the licensing on a three-year basis. Cisco makes licensing very difficult."

More Cisco Wireless pricing and cost advice

"It wasn't much more than 100 dollars a year. For the devices that we have, the pricing was pretty fair."

"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."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The pricing seems to be reasonable."

"We have some basic models they give without a license."

"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."

"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."

"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user212721

President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

15%

University

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

The solution is very secure.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

Juniper Mist is cheaper than Meraki, placing it in the middle of the pack.

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What needs improvement with Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial.

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Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?

Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to...

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Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?

Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user frie...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

The product's deployment is straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

We have some basic models they give without a license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 44% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 18% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Competitors

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 37% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 25% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 6% of the time

D-Link Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Wireless Competitors

Ubiquiti WLAN vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 19% of the time

Omada Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 18% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 18% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 17% of the time

Aruba Instant vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

December 2024

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points report

Download Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless

December 2024

Download Cisco Wireless product report

Buyer's Guide

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 2024

Download NETGEAR Insight Access Points product report

Also Known As

Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series), Mist Access Points

Cisco WLAN Controller

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Juniper

Cisco

Netgear

Overview

Juniper Wireless Access Points work in conjunction with Juniper Mist Cloud Services and Mist AI to deliver premier wireless access capabilities. The Juniper Mist Edge extends microservices to the campus to bring agility and scale while enabling new applications at the edge.

Cisco Wireless is a comprehensive suite of wireless solutions designed to deliver secure, high-performance connectivity for enterprises of all sizes. Offering a range of access points, controllers, and advanced management tools, Cisco Wireless ensures seamless and reliable network access, enhancing mobility and productivity.

Cisco Wireless solutions provide robust, scalable wireless networks capable of supporting high-density environments and diverse applications. With features such as seamless roaming, advanced security protocols, and detailed analytics, Cisco Wireless addresses the needs of modern businesses. The solutions include the Cisco Catalyst and Aironet series access points, wireless LAN controllers, and the Cisco DNA Center for centralized management and automation.

What are the key features of Cisco Wireless?

High-Density Performance: Optimized for environments with a high number of devices, ensuring reliable connectivity and performance.
Advanced Security: Incorporates robust security measures such as WPA3, Secure Boot, and segmentation to protect data and devices.
Seamless Roaming: Enables uninterrupted connectivity as users move across different areas within the network.
Centralized Management: Cisco DNA Center provides a single pane of glass for managing and automating wireless networks, enhancing operational efficiency.
Flexible Deployment Options: Supports various deployment models, including on-premises, cloud-managed, and hybrid solutions.

What benefits should users look for in reviews when evaluating Cisco Wireless?

Improved Mobility and Productivity: Users often highlight how Cisco Wireless enhances user mobility and productivity through reliable and consistent connectivity.
Scalability: Reviews frequently mention the scalability of Cisco Wireless, making it suitable for growing businesses.
Ease of Management: Many users appreciate the centralized management capabilities, which simplify network administration and troubleshooting.
Enhanced Security: The advanced security features are often noted for providing peace of mind and compliance with industry standards.
User Experience: The overall user experience, including ease of use and seamless integration with other Cisco products, is a common point of praise.

Cisco Wireless solutions are implemented across various industries, including healthcare, education, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, they support critical applications like patient monitoring and electronic health records. Educational institutions use Cisco Wireless to provide reliable internet access for students and staff. Retailers benefit from enhanced customer experiences through in-store connectivity, while manufacturers use wireless networks to improve operational efficiency and automation.

Pricing and licensing for Cisco Wireless solutions are typically based on the scale of deployment and specific product selections. Cisco offers various support plans, including 24/7 customer service, technical support, and access to software updates and patches.

In summary, Cisco Wireless provides robust, scalable wireless networking solutions that enhance connectivity, security, and management for diverse enterprise environments.

At NETGEAR, we turn ideas into innovative networking products that connect people, power businesses, and advance the way we live. Easy to use. Powerful. Smart. And designed just for you.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 2024

Free Report: Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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