Ruckus Wireless WAN vs Ubiquiti Wireless comparison

Ruckus and Ubiquiti Networks are both solutions in the Wireless WAN category. Ruckus is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.1, while Ubiquiti Networks is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.6. Ruckus holds a 37.8% mindshare in Wireless WAN, compared to Ubiquiti Networks’s 39.8% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Ruckus users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Ubiquiti Networks users who would recommend it.

Ruckus Wireless WAN

Read 52 Ruckus Wireless WAN reviews

4,836 Views
4,142 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Ubiquiti Wireless

Read 73 Ubiquiti Wireless reviews

8,962 Views
4,468 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Ruckus Wireless WAN

Ubiquiti Wireless

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Ruckus Wireless WAN and Ubiquiti Wireless both compete in the wireless network landscape. Ruckus Wireless WAN appears to have the upper hand with its robust support and pricing structure, while Ubiquiti Wireless stands out for its comprehensive features.

Features: Ruckus Wireless WAN is known for reliable connectivity, scalability, and network stability, making it ideal for enterprises. Ubiquiti Wireless offers advanced management capabilities, a broad product range, and versatile customization options.

Room for Improvement: Ruckus Wireless WAN could improve its software update process, broaden its feature set, and streamline ease-of-use. Ubiquiti Wireless should enhance setup documentation, address occasional reliability issues, and improve user interface integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Ruckus Wireless WAN is praised for straightforward deployment and effective customer support. Ubiquiti Wireless offers deployment flexibility but faces challenges with customer service responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Ruckus Wireless WAN is known for competitive setup costs and promising ROI, appealing to budget-conscious organizations. Ubiquiti Wireless balances pricing with satisfactory ROI, especially valued by user groups prioritizing feature depth.

To learn more, read our detailed Ruckus Wireless WAN vs. Ubiquiti Wireless Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Ruckus Wireless WAN vs. Ubiquiti Wireless

October 2024

Download the complete report

Helped 816,636 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Ruckus Wireless WAN

Ranking in Wireless WAN

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Ubiquiti Wireless

Ranking in Wireless WAN

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Ruckus Wireless WAN is 37.8%, up from 37.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubiquiti Wireless is 39.8%, down from 40.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless WAN

Q&A Highlights

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)

Nov 10, 2021

Is Ubiquiti Wireless better than Ruckus Wireless WAN?

Ubiquiti Wireless is extremely easy to set up and is an excellent option for small businesses, offering enterprise features for a one-time fee and no ongoing licensing fees. Ubiquiti Wireless is very stable and scales easily. It can be challenging to set up other products with Ubiquiti Wireless - not impossible, but not easy either. It would make Ubiquiti Wireless more competitive if they offered more cloud support. We would like to see automatic channel assignments. Many other solutions offer this, but Ubiquiti Wireless does not. It offers no dynamic channel or power management. We like that Ruckus Wireless WAN is reliable, easy to deploy, and offers amazing coverage. It also makes it very easy to add access points. The access points are very powerful, and the outdoor access points can be very easily disguised. We felt Ruckus Wireless WAN gave us improved coverage and faster WiFi. The Beamflex technology really optimizes coverage and improves overall signal quality. It would be beneficial if Ruckus Wireless WAN had better integration with other products and if it offered a firewall. This solution can also be more costly than some other solutions. Conclusion: If you are looking strictly from a cost perspective or dealing with budgetary constraints, Ubiquiti Wireless is a very good choice - a quality product offering great performance at a very low price. We felt Ruckus Wireless WAN offered better consistent coverage and was a more durable, rugged product. Many of our clients were primarily focused on broad outdoor use and Ruckus Wireless WAN consistently offered better access points and a stronger, faster Wifi.

See all answers

Featured Reviews

Udit Narayan

Senior Engineer IT Networking at JSW

Offers robust outdoor connectivity, but signal strength and support need improvement

In Cisco, there is a configuration where it automatically switches from the 2.4 GHz to 5.2 GHz frequency. But with Ruckus, usually, we need to manually define whether we want to use the 2.4 GHz or 5.2 GHz. Another point is that its penetration power is low when we are using it in any location with more walls, as the signal strength diminishes. So, the signal strength and the penetration power of the signal should be improved. It is not like Cisco. We are using Cisco APs also, but Cisco APs perform better when we compare them with Ruckus. In future releases, I would like to see automatic switching between 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz frequencies. We should not have to set it manually. It should automatically change its frequency based on the load. For example, if the number of users increases, then its frequency should change automatically, switching to the less congested band.

Read full review

Brian Massey

Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees

It's cheap and easy to use but isn't suitable for large deployments or complex use cases

Ubiquiti isn't as good for larger networks as any of the other wireless solutions. It lacks performance, coverage, and some of the advanced capabilities other solutions have. Take, for example, integration with FortiNAC. Cisco, HP, and the other big names can move devices from one wireless subnet to another with FortiNAC on the fly, but Ubiquiti cannot. When we connect them to this special network, I have to turn them off and on, disconnect them from the wireless, and then reconnect. Then, it can be put into the correct location, but that's it. It's a small thing, but it's noticeable, It's hard to describe it in terms an end user would understand, but on the back end, it lacks some of those capabilities. It's not a true large enterprise solution. They're fantastic for small and medium-sized businesses, especially for the price, and they perform well when needed. For my part, I would actually like to move to something more appropriate for the size of our network, but again, Ubiquiti is so cheap.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Ruckus Wireless WAN's best feature is its virtual controller."

"Ruckus has multiple radios. Therefore, it supports high speed for users and clients. Other vendors have fluctuations in speed. The main thing about Ruckus is that you can trust it and rely on its speed. I am simply satisfied with it."

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the size of the outdoor access points. It's great and you can disguise them quite well."

"I made some comparisons with other competitors and I found that Ruckus was number one in regards to stability."

"Ruckus Wireless WAN is an easy-to-use solution."

"The deployment access in the local system is about 200 access points. External access points is more. The number is huge. There about 1,000 users in total."

"The connectivity is good. There's no lag at all in service."

"The tool is friendly to use."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN pros

"It's very easy to deploy."

"The most valuable features are ease of deployment, ease of use, and the interface."

"I would say that the user experience is pretty good in this solution as well as the roaming solution part of it."

"The indoor WiFi connection works well."

"The range is usually pretty good, which is the most important thing to use because more or less, all wireless access points are the same."

"It allows us to offer policy control."

"The setup is easy and user friendly."

"Ubiquiti is easier to install than Mikrotik."

More Ubiquiti Wireless pros

Cons

"Ruckus Wireless WAN we have a lot of component shortages in the world. This has impacted deliveries. We have large back orders of the solution."

"The solution needs to offer more analytics."

"I would like to see IoT device support available with WiFi six. IoT is used by all businesses. They are now using IoT devices. It is required."

"They could include a firewall feature in the next release but even there it's not really necessary"

"So far, I find Ruckus Wireless WAN okay in terms of the technology and existing business network, but licensing could be more flexible, especially the IoT license that was changed to adapt to the IoT Controller and sensor subscription. The previous licensing method for Ruckus Wireless WAN was better. In my opinion, it wasn't a good decision to change it because the customer prefers the previous licensing over the current licensing. It's not only about the money in terms of licensing, but also about flexibility. The latest license change isn't as flexible. I also found the cloud solution not partner-friendly, so that could also be improved. Another area for improvement in Ruckus Wireless WAN is answering partner requests because currently, it doesn't seem easy for them. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is the AP having its MQTT forwarder. Ruckus Wireless WAN AP supports IoT modules now and to use the IoT modules, you need all IoT data to pass through the IoT Controller. If I could forward that IoT data directly to my environment, similar to what you can do with other solutions, that would be great."

"I believe there is room for improvement in the price structure."

"The stability of the solution could improve in an upcoming release."

"The GUI interface of Ruckus Wireless WAN could be more usable, especially the drag-and-drop feature."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN cons

"Central monitoring is the main functionality that should be included in the product."

"The solution needs to improve its features and offer more to the customer."

"We'd like the solution to be more stable and have fewer firmware upgrades."

"The control system can be improved by making it easier."

"Ubiquiti is also slow to adopt new technologies. We are transitioning to Wi-Fi 6, and there aren't many products. They have mostly Wi-Fi 5 products, but there are only two Wi-Fi 6 products. It's okay for places we have already equipped, but it's a bit hard for new places."

"I would like local support from the parent company."

"The solution has very good product lines. However, it feels like some models overlap. For example, a new model is announced after three months, and another new model is announced shortly after. So, the release cycle feels too short, and some features overlap. Overall, the products are very good and reliable."

"The product's user interface could be more intuitive, and sometimes, the system can be slow during peak usage times."

More Ubiquiti Wireless cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

"Here in India, Ruckus is chosen often because it is priced low."

"The cost is quite high, and over the past year, there has been a substantial increase, nearly reaching around seventy percent."

"We have to pay annually for the cloud licenses, so I think it'll be about 5,000 pounds a year moving forwards."

"There is an annual license needed to use this solution. The pricing model is based on how many access points are used."

"This solution offers a yearly subscription. The price is not high, other solutions are much higher than Ruckus."

"The solution is very competitively priced."

"In general, it is a packaged solution with analytics, support, and a cloud license. The pricing is acceptable for licensing the cloud for a bundle."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN pricing and cost advice

"I rate the price of Ubiquiti Wireless a three out of five."

"The price of Ubiquiti Wireless is affordable, we pay approximately $100 and $150 per access point."

"From a pricing point of view, Ubiquiti is excellent."

"I think the price is okay for the product, but the price could always be cheaper."

"We don't buy directly. We have our finance department that buys things. My speculation on the price is that because we buy from private companies and because the product is imported, people tend to give us at higher prices. This is due to the fact that it is government procurement. So, sometimes, they are not paid directly, and they have to go through the whole administrative process before they are paid. So, they tend to compensate by increasing the price, but I won't be able to say what is the exact price."

"Ubiquiti Wireless is affordable."

"The product is neither expensive nor cheap. It is an averagely priced product."

"The price has been fair for what I have been using it for. There is no license for this solution."

More Ubiquiti Wireless pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless WAN solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

816,636 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Answers from the Community

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)

Nov 10, 2021

Is Ubiquiti Wireless better than Ruckus Wireless WAN?

2 out of 3 answers

Noureddine Chikhaoui

Key Account Manager at 3GCOM

Sep 3, 2021

yes

Read full answer

Claudiu Retisan

Principal CEO at SC MICROPOLIS DATA SRL

Sep 6, 2021

yes. aprox. same issues at the half price

Read full answer

See all 3 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Is Ubiquiti Wireless better than Ruckus Wireless WAN?

See all answers

What do you like most about Ruckus Wireless WAN?

Ruckus Wireless WAN is an easy-to-use solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ruckus Wireless WAN?

I would rate the pricing as a seven out of ten. It is on par with other enterprise solutions like Aruba or Arista. The pricing can be an obstacle for some businesses.

See all answers

Which is better - Cambium or Ubiquiti Wireless?

For me, Ubiquiti was easy to install, configure, set up, and maintain, while also providing solid coverage and better handoffs between APs. This is especially relevant if you are using Apple produc...

See all answers

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

Ubiquiti Wireless offers a wide range of WLAN products. We tested their devices before ultimately choosing Cisco Meraki. Ubiquiti devices have good outdoor performance and the connection is very st...

See all answers

What do you like most about Ubiquiti Wireless?

We had a client with a power plant. Different wireless devices from various brands caused problems. We fixed it using the Ubiquiti Wireless UDM controller and installed 75 access points and antenna...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cambium Networks Wireless WAN vs Ruckus Wireless WAN

Compared 12% of the time

More Ruckus Wireless WAN Competitors

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ubiquiti Wireless

Compared 21% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs Ubiquiti Wireless

Compared 16% of the time

Cambium Networks Wireless WAN vs Ubiquiti Wireless

Compared 8% of the time

ExtremeCloud IQ vs Ubiquiti Wireless

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiWLM vs Ubiquiti Wireless

Compared 2% of the time

More Ubiquiti Wireless Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Ruckus Wireless WAN

November 2024

Download Ruckus Wireless WAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Ubiquiti Wireless

November 2024

Download Ubiquiti Wireless product report

Learn More

Ruckus

Video not available

Ubiquiti Networks

Overview

Ruckus Wireless’s WAN (Wide Area Network) suite of switches and solutions provides companies and organizations with a wide variety of products that enable them to deploy and manage the kinds of WANs that best meet their needs. Ruckus Wireless is a leader in the field of WAN creation, deployment, and management. Their solutions are designed with the user in mind. They are sleek products and solutions that are easy for administrators to use and maintain. This makes it a valuable suite for any and every kind of industry. The level of ease that it provides makes it possible for companies and organizations to reap a high level of benefit from whichever product they choose to use.

Ruckus Wireless WAN Benefits

Some of the benefits of using the Ruckus Wireless WAN suite of switches and solutions include:

Simplified network deployment and management. Ruckus Wireless WAN uses Campus Fabric technology to create a streamlined network creation and management process. This technology takes many of the processes used to create and manage networks that usually require many different solutions and combines them so that a single solution can accomplish the same amount of work.

The ability to operate on a massive scale. The Ruckus Wireless SmartZone 100 solution gives administrators the power to handle 1,024 access points and 25,000 users from a single device. Companies can operate at a high level with fewer devices than their competitors require to accomplish a similar level of work.

Ease of use. Solutions like RuckusZoneDirector 1200 can be easily deployed and used by administrators who may not have a background in the use of wireless solutions. Companies that choose Ruckus Wireless WAN do not need to train administrators to deploy it. This makes it extremely valuable to companies looking to keep their budgets to a minimum.

Ruckus Wireless WAN Features

Organizations that choose to use the Ruckus Wireless WAN suite of switches and solutions have a large number of capabilities from which they can choose.

Centralized network management. Ruckus Wireless WAN’s RUCKUS Network Director feature enables administrators to manage their networks from a single location. All of the controls and data that users need to monitor and control the network can be managed from one interface.

Advanced security features. Ruckus Wireless WAN has the capability to encrypt and demand that traffic that is trying to pass through the network be authenticated before it is allowed access. This protects the data that leaves the network and the network itself.
Seamless interoperability. The various solutions and products that make up Ruckus Wireless’s WAN solution suite have the ability to integrate and operate together seamlessly. Users can mix and match solution pieces to best fit their needs.

Reviews from Real Users

Ruckus Wireless’s WAN suite is a truly versatile selection of solutions that offer users a complete package of capabilities and features. This suite makes it possible for users to meet all of their networking needs. Their wireless access points are the kind that is mostly employed in industries like resorts, which have to cater to large volumes of people over extended periods of time. They provide companies with the highest possible level of coverage. Users working in any number of fields would find Ruckus Wireless to be up to the task of handling their networking needs. This suite is appropriate for large corporations and small businesses alikes.

An information technology project manager at a university writes, “The actual wireless access points themselves are very powerful. We get very good coverage from just one access point. The throughput is very good and the centralized management is excellent. Also, the ease of deployment is very good.”

A video conferencing administrator at a technology services company states, “The solution is suitable for many types of environments, such as small businesses.”

Ubiquiti Wireless refers to the wireless networking solutions provided by Ubiquiti Networks, a leading technology company specializing in networking and wireless communication products. Ubiquiti Wireless offers a range of innovative and cost-effective wireless networking solutions designed for various applications, including enterprise networks, service providers, small and medium-sized businesses, and home users.

Ubiquiti Wireless products are known for their reliability, performance, and ease of use. They encompass a wide range of devices and technologies, including wireless access points, wireless routers, antennas, bridges, mesh networks, and point-to-point or point-to-multipoint wireless links.

Ubiquiti Wireless Features:

Scalability: Ubiquiti Wireless products are designed to scale easily, allowing organizations to expand their wireless networks as needed without significant infrastructure changes.
Flexibility: Ubiquiti Wireless offers a range of products suitable for various deployment scenarios, including indoor and outdoor environments, long-range connectivity, and mesh networks.
Centralized Management: Ubiquiti provides a centralized management platform called the UniFi Controller, which allows administrators to configure, monitor, and manage their entire wireless network from a single interface.
Seamless Roaming: Ubiquiti Wireless solutions support seamless roaming, allowing wireless devices to maintain connectivity while moving across different access points within a network.
Advanced Security: Ubiquiti incorporates security features such as encryption, authentication, and firewall capabilities to protect wireless networks and data transmissions.
Cost-Effective: Ubiquiti Wireless products are known for their affordability without compromising performance, making them an attractive option for organizations with budget constraints.
Community Support: Ubiquiti has a vibrant community of users and enthusiasts who actively contribute to knowledge sharing, troubleshooting, and expanding the capabilities of Ubiquiti Wireless products.

Ubiquiti Wireless Components:

Ubiquiti Wireless encompasses a range of components that work together to provide reliable and scalable wireless networking solutions. Here are some key components commonly found in Ubiquiti Wireless deployments:

Wireless Access Points (APs) for providing wireless connectivity.
Wireless Routers as central network hubs for managing traffic.
Wireless Bridges for creating wireless connections between networks.
Antennas to enhance wireless range and coverage.
Mesh Networking Devices for seamless coverage across large areas.
Network Switches for wired connectivity within the network.
Management Software like the UniFi Controller for centralized management and monitoring.

Reviews from Real Users

George Ferns, Solution Architect - Networking and IoT at a wholesaler & distributor, states that Ubiquiti Wireless has "Attractive pricing and good for home use and small businesses, but it is not easily scalable and lacks security features".

Walter Shelver, Owner at CableWeb, writes that "The most valuable aspect of Ubiquiti is the ease of setup. It's easy to set up, secure, and use. It works on an adoption basis. I can pull the system up, design a network, and pull 20 different Ubiquiti units into it".

ThomasWilke, CEO at CITOM, says that “You can almost do everything with Cisco products for a much better price with a significantly lower learning curve”.

Sample Customers

American University of Sharjah, Dordt College, Drew University, Lamar University, Raroa School

NASCAR Grand-AM, Maritime Parc, Outdoor Music Festival, British Armed Forces, Arcadia School District, Moscow - Enforta

Buyer's Guide

Ruckus Wireless WAN vs. Ubiquiti Wireless

October 2024

Free Report: Ruckus Wireless WAN vs. Ubiquiti Wireless

Find out what your peers are saying about Ruckus Wireless WAN vs. Ubiquiti Wireless and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

DOWNLOAD NOW

816,636 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Ruckus Wireless WAN vs. Ubiquiti Wireless report.

See our list of best Wireless WAN vendors.

We monitor all Wireless WAN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.