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Fortinet FortiWLM vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi 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
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi
Ranking in Wireless LAN
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 2.0%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Zachary Wheeler - PeerSpot reviewer
Impressive manufacturing quality, highly durable, and very easy to deploy
They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with. It would be nice if they had some smaller switches or hubs. They should offer two-port, three-port, or four-port devices so that you don't have to buy an eight-port switch, and you don't have to use an unmanaged element, but their product line is very complete, and I can't say enough about it.
WarrenWilliams - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that offers excellent support and makes it easy to manage networks
To utilize the solution properly, you need some training and guidance on that. Getting it working is easy, but if you're going to use it with feature sets that make WatchGuard worthwhile to use, it's probably not the easiest to set up. I'd rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. The time taken to deploy the solution depends on the project scope you're doing. Do you need ten WiFi access points or one? You could deploy the solution in an hour. We need one person to deploy the solution. But the number of people required for deployment depends on where the access points are deployed. Like, if it's the ceiling or whatever. The way we do it, we usually have an on-site technician who sets up the backend. We usually have two people when deploying the solution, but you can do it with one person. We have a team that manages the solution. But if you have ten people on a site to manage the solution, 15 minutes daily is enough.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"I use Fortinet FortiWLM for wireless communication and the internet."
"Although there are a few steps, the initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Fortinet FortiWLM is good for tracking assets, monitoring, and overall management."
"For me, the ease of setup and the rugged nature in harsh environments are most valuable. So, durability and ease of use have been its best features."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks."
"At the moment, particularly with the COVID-19 situation, the most valuable feature is probably the IPsec VPN, which is easy to implement with Fortinet."
"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."
"The solution has been stable."
"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."
"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."
"They're very easy to set up and get running."
"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."
 

Cons

"They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with."
"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."
"Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration."
"The roaming of Fortinet FortiWLM could improve when comparing it to other solutions. We are missing some of the functionality in the controller. Additionally, they should offer more logs instead of using FortiAnalyzer because all the users will not be using the same thing."
"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."
"In the next release, they could improve by adding a controller-less server, or architecture that is provided in other solutions, such as Aruba. This would be a great benefit for customers."
"Cost is something that could be improved, but you have to pay for what you get."
"I cannot emphasize enough that I would always wish pricing would be a little better."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."
"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
"If a client device had issues with authentication due to out of date browser or similar difficulties, it would be nice to have the ability to migrate the client onto the portal via one click."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLM is reasonable compared to the other vendors. We are using a five-year license."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"In the last few years, due in part to the impact of COVID on the market, Fortinet has increased its prices by 35 percent."
"The solution is priced high compared to competitors. However, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."
"Your licensing and cost, as would be required for many other solutions, being considered for eighty to two hundred and eighty different physical locations, is just about the same amount per access point."
"WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Retailer
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use.
What needs improvement with WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level. For example, if you bought it with the Total Secure package, it's not easy to downgra...
 

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
Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWLM vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.