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Fortinet FortiAP vs NETGEAR Insight 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 FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Insight Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 4.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.2%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Piyush Jain - PeerSpot reviewer
A product with load-balancing features that offers scalability to its users
My major problem is right now, the area which I need to cover is around 7,000 to 10,000 square feet, where even the mesh routers don't work out for me because it is a huge area to be covered. To cover huge areas, I will have to put extenders. I will have to use mesh routers with extenders to cover a whole huge area with Wi-Fi. I would like NETGEAR Insight Access Points to extend the area coverage they provide. One of the major problems I see is that when you try to use NETGEAR Insight Access Points, the huge amount of options that are there can only be handled by a person who is experienced or knows the process. So there should be a guide that walks anyone through different options and different things about how to go work with the UI.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability of the solution is very high."
"We really don't need to call technical support. Any time we have had to call, they've been great."
"I like FortiAP's performance and stability. The reporting is also quite good."
"The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall."
"The setup was straightforward."
"The most valuable aspect of Fortinet FortiAP is the support."
"The solution supports recent security components like encryption or hashing algorithms. We can control the APs from FortiGate Firewalls and integrate those APs into FortiGate. You don't have to purchase a separate controller for it."
"The pricing is reasonable for what it offers."
"I am all about simplicity. With the Insight management solution, I don’t need an additional cloud controller, appliance, network manager, or PC/server to configure and manage my access points. You have to look at cost, and everything has a cost. There is a cost to using Insight. But if the cost is reasonable, I don't want another layer. The ability to deploy a network and then have that software built-in, without having to go to a third-party, is big. Also, the less pieces that I have to call in on, the better. So, when I'm calling NETGEAR, it's not like I'm using some third-party piece of software to manage their product. It doesn't add that layer of complexity, which is key."
"The internet connectivity is good."
"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 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."
"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."
"The product's deployment is straightforward."
"From the WiFi aspect, it's very intuitive and easy to use. The solution enables me to manage my entire WiFi from anywhere in the world..."
"[Being] able to configure the WiFi devices and to see utilization remotely, or from the cloud."
 

Cons

"There is nothing that particularly comes to mind for improvement."
"There is room for improvement in the product by expanding the number of SSIDs that can be broadcast."
"The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"Technical support is a pain. Fortinet has to get its act together. If you don't pay for premium service, you will have issues."
"I would like to have automation capabilities that would help us reduce the configuration steps."
"The wireless functionality is not the best."
"FortiAP could be a little cheaper."
"The product fails to offer default access points to deal with the areas revolving around configurations."
"My major problem is right now, the area which I need to cover is around 7,000 to 10,000 square feet...I would like NETGEAR Insight Access Points to extend the area coverage they provide."
"There is always room for improvement."
"A con is the backend system which is very, very slow."
"The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward."
"Ubiquiti is a very good company. NETGEAR should look at that model and expand on its remote capabilities. Ubiquiti seems to have a better product."
"The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved."
"Due to certain shortcomings in the solution's stability, I feel that the solution's stability requires improvement."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiAP is more expensive than some other options."
"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six."
"Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point."
"We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet."
"The devices under Fortinet are not expensive. The solution's licensing part is expensive."
"If I compare it with the other enterprise products, the price is good."
"The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet."
"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."
"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."
"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."
"We have some basic models they give without a license."
"It is an expensive solution."
"For what you get, the price of Insight access points is very reasonable."
"The pricing seems to be reasonable."
"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Fortinet solutions are more cost-effective compared to Cisco. The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
I cannot pinpoint the exact improvements needed at the moment. However, security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily. There should be alerts to in...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAP vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.