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Fortinet FortiWLM 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 FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Insight Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.3%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.3%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points1.6%
Other95.1%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

LuayHlaleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Team Lead at IT Solutions AE
Offers robust network management with cost considerations for large deployments
Large enterprises typically invest in FortiAnalyzer, though our company and SMB clients don't require this analysis tool. We use Ekahau for floor planning and Wi-Fi coverage analysis rather than Fortinet FortiWLM's built-in features. Ekahau helps us perform site surveys and plan access point placement. Fortinet FortiWLM is a flexible and common solution in Dubai. It's one of the best-selling products, with Etisalat, the largest ISP, installing Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 70-80% of their clients. The solution offers different series to accommodate various needs. The triple radio model costs around $1,000 (3,500 dirham) and supports 40-50 connected devices. The 231F model suits smaller deployments of 20-25 devices. I rate Fortinet FortiWLM a seven out of ten. While it's an excellent solution, Cisco remains the market leader.
DG
Owner at ERIM S.A.
Centralized management has simplified our home Wi‑Fi setup and supports multiple users reliably
Given my experience with NETGEAR Insight Access Points, my piece of advice for other organizations considering it is that they have to look at the rest of their system because NETGEAR Insight Access Points is quite useless with anything but the Wi-Fi system. I rate this product an 8 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When compared with Sonic Wall and Palo Alto, Fortinet is more straightforward, whereas with the other solutions the procedure to implement the proper IT connections for end users was somewhat more complicated."
"Overall, it's a very good product."
"The most valuable features are the roaming profile, the mesh, and the performance."
"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 security is a valuable feature."
"I use Fortinet FortiWLM for wireless communication and the internet."
"I have not faced any issues with stability or downtime."
"The price performance is unmatched."
"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."
"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 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."
"My advice would be to go ahead and switch to this one, because this is the best-performing device I have seen so far."
"The biggest lesson that I've learned from using the Insight access points is that there is no need for expertise."
"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 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."
"[Being] able to configure the WiFi devices and to see utilization remotely, or from the cloud."
 

Cons

"One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting."
"They need to do more with their marketing."
"Licensing is the only area that I think they are below average. They need enterprise licensing, an all-encompassing license to cover all products for a company."
"The solution should improve user capacity."
"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."
"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."
"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."
"Because of this, our experience with FortiWLM hasn't been very good, and we have not implemented any further FortiWLM solutions for other customers to date."
"The registration is annoying. I have to go back to NETGEAR and log tickets."
"Software-wise, they need to provide the ability to kick users out."
"Due to certain shortcomings in the solution's stability, I feel that the solution's stability requires improvement."
"The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward."
"While the data throughput does provide us with full insight into data being used, we find that it's not very accurate."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"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."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"The pricing seems to be reasonable."
"It is an expensive solution."
"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."
"I can source the stuff pretty quickly wherever I go through the distributor. There is pricing available at NETGEAR if you can spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on a solution. So, there is special pricing that they can help with. The vendor's reps are very responsive. They have a good channel system."
"For what you get, the price of Insight access points is very reasonable."
"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."
"We have some basic models they give without a license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Retailer
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I do not have knowledge about the pricing or the cost of Fortinet FortiWLM because the license is for the package of the firewall, FortiGate.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed. For the moment, I don't have anything else in Fortinet FortiWLM that I would l...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I use this solution for the enterprise to segment the department.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
My impression of the pricing aspect of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is that it is not exactly cheap. I find the pricing reasonable, but it is at the upper end of the reasonable bracket.
What needs improvement with NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
Managing users could be improved as it is quite difficult to block someone, and it is impossible to block someone on one specific access point. Regarding specific features that I would like to see ...
What is your primary use case for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?
We are using NETGEAR Insight Access Points in a domestic environment with four or five users.
 

Also Known As

FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWLM vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,153 professionals have used our research since 2012.