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Cisco Wireless vs Ruckus Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ruckus Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.5%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ruckus Wireless is 14.3%, up from 12.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Q&A Highlights

NC
Oct 27, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

GulfrazAhmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates with ISE, and is secure, reliable, and easy to deploy
The main concern is the length and overlapping. We have to put on four to six access points on the same floor, and we face the issue of overlapping areas. If Cisco can extend the range of their indoor APs, we would need to install just one or two access points, and it would eliminate the problem of the overlapping area. They should provide built-in features for safe authentication. Right now, we integrate with ISE and FortiClient for this feature. We first check the NAC, and after the NAC and before the domain, a token password installed on their mobile or a physical token is required to join the network. If Cisco had built-in authentication, we would be able to eliminate one product from our network.
Xander Janse Van Rensburg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and high-performance wireless networking with exceptional stability, scalability, and robust feature set
One of the most valuable features I appreciate is auto channelization, facilitated by a proprietary product called ChannelFly. This feature enables APs in a specific zone to automatically adjust their channels, optimizing performance. Additionally, Ruckus Wireless stands out for its ability to reuse certain beams, resulting in smaller data spots. In my experience with various products, Ruckus Wireless consistently delivers unparalleled throughput, coverage, and reliability in wireless networking across different environments. As a noteworthy point, the newly launched WiFi 7 standard is measured against Ruckus's WiFi 7 AP, establishing it as the global benchmark. When it comes to WiFi, Ruckus sets the standard, outperforming competitors with its superior performance and capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Compared to other solutions, captive guest network is one of the best isolation and tunneling."
"Cisco is one of the leading vendors and is at the top of many lists. The access software is robust, and the performance of the devices is excellent."
"Some of the valuable features of this solution are security, the controller is simple to configure, devices are easy to install, and we use the software to administrate all the APs."
"The speed and security are most valuable."
"Cisco Wireless is easy to use."
"The ability to make different types of networks, such as land networks, is the most valuable part of the solution."
"It's a reliable solution."
"The product is compatible with a lot of mobile devices."
"One of the biggest features of Ruckus Wireless is its BeamFlex+ technology."
"The setup is very straightforward."
"Stability has been very good. It is reliable."
"​BeamFlex works great in changing environments by bouncing WiFi signals around obstacles​."
"The most valuable is the central administration. Provides quick views of activity, from the number of clients online to signal and noise readings."
"Ruckus Wireless supports the most recent technologies. We can trace every individual and what kind of traffic they're using on our campus. It is very helpful."
"Comprehensive availability and performance of monitoring and reporting for WISP network monitor."
"This solution is easy to use and you need minimal IT experience to work with it."
 

Cons

"The technical support could be better. They aren't as helpful as they need to be when we run into issues."
"Cisco Wireless needs to improve pricing. I understand that Cisco products are typically more expensive than other vendors. Therefore, I believe that adjusting the pricing could potentially be beneficial. Discounts may be available depending on the customer or type of purchase, which could help offset the higher costs."
"Controllers could be improved."
"Many wireless controllers' firmware have bugs in their new releases, which are not stable, especially in an environment with many wireless AP (WAP) types."
"In the next release, I would like to have support for Wi-Fi 6."
"There is room for improvement regarding HA issues and Radius integration."
"What my company doesn't like about the product is related to the coverage it provides to access points, an area which is one of the most important ones for us."
"The stability could improve, there are some issues. We were told the version of the software we are using on all of the controllers is best for Cisco IOS, but we might need to update our software, this might fix the stability issues we are experiencing."
"I would like to see more location-based services on the Smart Cell Insight on access points."
"​They need more products in the lower-end range for smaller clients​."
"In my company, we still has to do some manual calculations on where we should set the access points, which is a time-consuming process as there were no automatic setup functions provided by the tool."
"The pricing needs to be more competitive. They need to re-examine their business model and see if there is a way to provide their service at a cheaper cost."
"The cost could be improved."
"Their support has been lacking a little bit and needs to be improved. I have had a ticket open for a month, and it is really hard to get a resolution out of them. They haven't really come out with anything that is much of an improvement in a long time. It has mostly just been fixes and things like that. We used to have a ZoneDirector or a physical controller for the wireless network, and that was kind of end of life. It was very old, and at the time, we were expanding the wireless network, and we didn't want to rely on one piece of hardware that was pretty old. So, we went to SmartZone Cluster, which has two VMs in a cluster. Unfortunately, we lost the feature ability for guest networks and other things that we were using before, and Ruckus just kind of told us that they weren't supporting that feature in the newer product, which is not really great. I was told initially that SmartZone was an upgrade to ZoneDirector. It is the logical thing to think that it is going to have all the same features, but it didn't. The issue that we have right now is onboarding BYOD devices. It is not really great for us, and we're looking for a new product to make that easier. We did have Cloudpath, which was a product that Ruckus purchased from another company that was an onboarding solution, but it just didn't really work very well for us. So, we discontinued using it, and it actually created more confusion for people. They should make BYOD or guest network portals a lot easier and better. In some areas, we have been having issues because there are just so many WAPs that are so close that we had to manually turn down the radio of power because the automatic feature of the AP wasn't really doing it right. It should also have a little bit better RF analysis capability to be able to see on the controller side. The front end for our staff, students, and guests has also not been quite as good as we had hoped."
"It would be nice if there was a way to compare access points and hardware so you can always get the same level of performance."
"APs should be more adaptable to denser client regions and, most important, the logs on the ZoneDirector should be classified into groups, such as type of logs and alerts."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a little expensive compared to other brands."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"Cisco is more on the expensive side, as compared to Aruba, but I must say Cisco's quality is unmatched, for sure."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is in the high range compared to other solutions. The solution could be less expensive."
"Its price is a bit high. It is more expensive than its competitors, but when I look at the return on investment, it is worth it."
"The cost model is expensive."
"As far as I know Cisco is very competitive, price-wise. Talk to your third-party vendor. It all depends on the company size - how many employees, how big the building is. If it's wireless, and you have only 50 employees but you're using a large building floor, in that case you need many access points. But if you have 50 employees using two or three rooms, then you probably don't need it and it's going to be high density, so there is a different design. So you need to talk to a subject matter expert. Talk to them and design accordingly."
"With Ubiquiti, there's no annual cost to keep the software upgraded, whereas with Ruckus, you have to pay an annual fee or three-year fee. That makes it a little more pricey."
"Ruckus is more expensive than Meraki, but the performance moves in parallel with the cost."
"The price is high and I give the price a four out of ten."
"It depends on the client. You have an initial license cost that you need to buy to bind the access point with the controller. This is a one-time fee. You also have to pay the support fee that, if I remember correctly, is about $25 per access point. Its pricing and licensing can be improved."
"Ruckus Wireless pricing is reasonable. On a scale from one to five, I would give Ruckus Wireless pricing a four."
"We found it a little more expensive than the other competitors on the market."
"Ruckus Wireless is a cheaper solution than Cisco."
"The only complaint I have about Ruckus is the price, but considering other enterprise WiFi products are similarly priced, I feel Ruckus is a superior product."
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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…
 

Answers from the Community

NC
Oct 27, 2021
Oct 27, 2021
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and manage. There are no tricks involved when rolling it out for use. This straightforwardness is not limited to the initial point of setup. It continues on and applies to all of the time thereafter when i...
2 out of 3 answers
DG
Oct 18, 2021
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and manage. There are no tricks involved when rolling it out for use. This straightforwardness is not limited to the initial point of setup. It continues on and applies to all of the time thereafter when it is being put to use. The user interface seems to have been designed with the ease of the user in mind. Everything about it is straightforward, which makes this product ever more valuable to those for whom time is money. Additionally, the Wi-Fi coverage that Ruckus Wireless provides is of excellent quality, is long-lasting, and is supported by a team that provides great technical support. Their Wi-Fi service is the kind that is mostly employed in industries like resorts, which have to cater to large volumes of people over extended periods of time. These systems hold their integrity and allow for people to enjoy powerful coverage that at least appears to be constant. The industrial quality and strength of Ruckus Wireless makes it the sort of service that immediately deserves consideration. The teams that are tasked with supporting those who use Ruckus Wireless are professionals of the highest level. They are possible to reach without difficulty and are highly responsive to problems and work quickly to find solutions. Cisco Wireless provides a very robust service that will continue to run over long periods of time and under heavy usage. Furthermore, the teams that are responsible for assisting users and resolving any potential issues that may arise are highly professional. Setting up this service is not intuitive, though, and can be difficult. Conclusion The prices of these services are unlikely to be the deciding factor as to which of these services is better. They are both expensive. They both do a good job and have excellent tech support but the user-friendly setup and easy-to-use interface give Ruckus Wireless the clear advantage over Cisco Wireless.
NM
Oct 20, 2021
They both do a great job. But it depends on the application scenario.  For corporate environments probably Cisco will perform better not only because of Cisco Wi-Fi features but especially because you can be integrated with all Cisco infrastructure and manage it all. In heavy-duty environments, like public hot-spot, stadiums, exhibition centers, etc, Ruckus should be considered. In this type of applications, pure Wi-Fi performance is more important than management features or security, and therefore, it could be the better choice.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
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 friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
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...
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 Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
What do you like most about Ruckus Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless is an easy to manage solution.
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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)
American University of Sharjah, Baruch College, Centro Escolar Liceo Santo Tomšs, Chevalier College, Chico Unified School District, Colegio de Fomento El Prado, Columbia Public Schools, Delta School District, Dordt College, Douglas County School District, Drew University, Armonea, Central Utah Clinic, Grove Hill Medical Center, Inner South Community Health Service, Midwest Surgical, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Lyndoch Living, Polonus, Roaring Fork School District, Sonora State, Vivid, Sydney, Players Club, Sandals, Scandic Hotels, Sheraton LAX, Sunbird
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Ruckus Wireless and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.