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Aruba Remote Access Points vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

Aruba Remote Access Points
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Remote Access Points1.1%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.2%
Other95.7%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

AmrIssa - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Officer at Mobica Advanced
Remote access has provided secure site connectivity and supports centralized on‑prem operations
We have a solution that is completely Aruba, including the controller, access point, and switch. We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues. Aruba Remote Access Points are critical for our construction company because we have many sites…
VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is experienced by those working at home since they get a secure Wi-Fi connection."
"This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages."
"We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues."
"I can use the solution from my home or any remote office to access printers, servers, etc."
"Aruba Remote Access Points provide a level of protection for our IPs."
"We have many government colleges here and provide a wireless network to all students, faculty, and teachers, so we have deployed their security access network and firewall security."
"There are no bad features in Aruba Remote Access Points. Every feature is customized to meet customer requirements according to their limitations, and we can make use of all features to benefit us as needed."
"It’s very light."
"The solution is very reliable, and Cisco as an OEM and a service provider is very trustworthy."
"Cisco VPN is easy to connect."
"The solution is very stable."
"The solution's environment is stable and doesn't get disconnected every now and then."
"Usability is the most important feature for me."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA."
"It is a product that is very robust and durable."
"The platform provides value and benefits to our organization through efficient and effective communication."
 

Cons

"The solution's technical support has some shortcomings that need improvement."
"One thing that would be beneficial is for the Aruba Central mobile app to work more effectively. Currently, it does not function as expected when I really need it."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting."
"The solution is costly for medium-sized companies."
"It would help if the remote APs had some kind of SoHo environment with built-in firewall features. That way it could connect directly in a client-to-site type of environment, or a site-to-site VPN environment. That way users could have a complete office setup without coming to the private cloud."
"It could have better monitoring features. Not all features are available on the monitoring dashboard."
"Our difficulty with Aruba is that the product and the license are two different items. So, if we are adding an access point, we have to pay for two items. We have to pay to add the access point in the controller and we have to pay for the license."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price."
"The pricing needs to be better because you need a license for every device."
"The solution's graphical user interface is not very user-friendly."
"The solution's configuration could be made easier."
"The pricing is a stumbling block to scaling our utilization of Cisco products and we would prefer to use more of them."
"It would be helpful if Cisco IOS SSL VPN could help us set up devices on our iPads and phones."
"The graphical interface is old and needs to improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"It is an expensive product."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is more expensive than the Aruba VPN, but it is worth the money."
"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"The tool is expensive."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
report
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917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Construction Company
15%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We do not use Zero Touch Provisioning with Aruba Remote Access Points because the Aruba device being expensive compared to cheaper Cisco options holds us back.
What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?
The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting. This is a significant area for improvement, especially when the dev...
What is your primary use case for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We have a solution that is completely Aruba, including the controller, access point, and switch. We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without iss...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
 

Also Known As

Aruba RAP
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.