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AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ekahau AI Pro comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

Network Modeling and Simulation
Wireless LAN
Network Modeling and Simulation
 

Featured Reviews

Mark Witherspoon - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution for site verifications and enhanced with adapters that provide more realistic readings, but needs to support Wi-Fi 6E
Ekahau and AirMagnet Survey have their own pros and cons, in my opinion. For example, the APs are not visible in Ekahau but AirMagnet Survey allows us to see what APs and channels are being used in a live view, which Ekahau lacks. In Ekahau, the signal from the AP it's capturing at that time is visible which is a bit of an inconvenience. The predictive planner of AirMagnet's is better. However, Ekahau has advantages over AirMagnet because it groups all the SSIDs into one AP, whereas with AirMagnet, one needs to group them manually. Ekahau also supports Wi-Fi 6E, but its licensing is restrictive and more costly.
RezaPradipta - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamline network management with a unified dashboard for seamless device integration
The primary use case for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is mostly for enterprise wireless, including guest Wi-Fi and enterprise Wi-Fi. I use it across various industries with a focus on retail Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers a single pane of glass management. It only comes with a controller on the…
Lakshmi  Narayan - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient mobile surveys with a simple setup but room for cloud improvements
As of now, almost everything is there and suitable for site requirements. However, the cloud takes a lot of time to upload the site survey, and we regularly face issues with syncing to the optimizer. There needs to be improvement in this area. Additionally, the product can be very expensive.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is reliable and easy to use (user-friendly). The heat mapping, passive network surveying, and doing the heat mapping of a building's wireless network allows me to see what level of coverage an area has."
"It allows us to prepare more real designs. Later, we validate them with actual surveys."
"Using the products to ensure the safety of our equipment that we have a lot invested in."
"Clear and easy to use maps."
"I would like to rate the product as eight of ten."
"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."
"The predictive survey is the most valuable feature. I use it quite often."
"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."
"The solution is easy to use."
"I think the IoT integration is the most valuable. I started applying IoT solutions 12 years ago on location-based services. Aruba had implemented this at the time. So I think the integration, particularly into the applications and stuff, is pretty interesting in Meraki."
"The single dashboard of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is the most valuable feature for me."
"Its flexibility, ease of management via the portal, and the variety of access points are the most valuable features."
"The monitoring device enables you to see the network health."
"I like the record that is being kept and multiple SSDs."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The most valuable features are the management tools, including monitoring and reporting."
"Ekahau Site Survey is user-friendly."
"We reviewed the maps as a team and determined if any changes needed to be made or if we could just replace APs as they are. We got into this by upgrading our access points to Meraki, and we wanted to make sure that we weren't leaving trouble behind us as we were doing it."
"The most valuable when it comes to this solution for me is the fact that I don't have to go out and do a site survey. With this solution, I can do it all predictably with the usual 90% accuracy."
"Ekahau Site Survey is an easy and accurate solution."
"I don't handle the software that much. I'll do some of the testing with our CTO. It is primarily him and I. He has commented before that he likes the fact that with two licenses, we can set it up so that when we're on a large facility, he can see where I am and I can see where he is. That's for sure is very handy in large venues."
"It is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of Ekahau Site Survey is the predictive survey."
"The solution is user-friendly and it provides a good output that can be measured, and I can describe and pinpoint any inaccuracy shortfalls."
 

Cons

"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."
"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."
"Printouts are JPEG printouts. The AirMagnet software is proprietary. I can't send my customers a file, because it is AirMagnet file, even for building projects. I can only send JPEGs or screenshots of heat maps."
"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."
"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."
"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."
"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."
"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."
"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
"I would like to see Cisco Meraki improve the accessibility by region level here in Latin America."
"Currently, only a limited number of clients can connect to these devices."
"The initial setup was simple. However, the full deployment could be easier."
"The initial setup of the solution can be improved and made easier."
"The commercial version of the solution could be cheaper."
"It is super expensive for what you get. I just wish it was less expensive."
"Our only concern at this stage is how it's licensed."
"The support is an area in need of improvement."
"The new Sidekick is going to support Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E."
"I find the power button hard to access with just one hand."
"Its migration and visualization features need improvement."
"The only issue is the price. The overall price is a bit high, especially compared to our other vendor. Ekahau is considered expensive."
"The information regarding the clients and signal strengths is missing in the Ekahau console."
"It would be better if it provided clear visibility. It would be better if it accommodated large physical sites like a warehouse with a ceiling height of more than twelve to fifteen feet. In such situations, we were unable to provide better coverage."
"Ekahau could be improved by adding three-dimensional modeling, as we currently cannot view APIs in a three-dimensional perspective."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is medium."
"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."
"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."
"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"This product is very expensive."
"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."
"Its price is higher than other products. It is above the expectation of customers. So, every time we need to fight for a good price."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's pricing is high."
"We are on a SmartNet contract. All of our Cisco products are licensed under one contract. I do not think there are any additional costs."
"There are multiple licensing options including three months, six months, and one year."
"The price of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could be improved, it is too expensive. We pay for the solution on an annual basis."
"The platform is highly priced."
"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."
"We pay licensing fees."
"I believe that it is approximately $2,000 per year for us. I know we pay for it on an annual basis."
"The pricing could be lower because the Huawei radial planning is free for the partner. When I asked my boss about buying Ekahau and the USB key, it was complicated because of the high cost, which is €5,000."
"That's a tricky thing. When it started off, we had one three-year license and one one-year license because we have two devices. Now, from my understanding, we can only renew every year or get a one-year license, and that cost varies. Being a government organization, we get a different cost than commercial. We have deployed it on Surface Pro tablets. So, the only other cost would be the hardware cost."
"The solution is less costly than one of its competitors."
"This solution is not cheap. If you only need an occasional site survey, you are better off contracting a wireless engineering professional that has one."
"Since we are an academic institute, we get better prices and discounts from Cisco, but not Ekahau."
"The licenses are a little pricey compared to iBwave, etc."
"9,000 Euro per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Educational Organization
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?
We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.
What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?
AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better...
What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?
We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post...
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they h...
Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are...
What do you like most about Ekahau Site Survey?
We reviewed the maps as a team and determined if any changes needed to be made or if we could just replace APs as the...
What needs improvement with Ekahau Site Survey?
Ekahau could be improved by adding three-dimensional modeling, as we currently cannot view APIs in a three-dimensiona...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
Ekahau Site Survey
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops
Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Presidio, Planet Earth, Ruckus
Find out what your peers are saying about Ekahau, NetAlly, iBwave and others in Network Modeling and Simulation. Updated: June 2025.
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