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Aruba Access Points vs Cisco Meraki MR Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

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 Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
17th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

HJ
Telecommunication Engineer at Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia
Wireless connectivity has remained reliable and supports flexible, cloud‑independent management
As I already mentioned, the ability to stay with self-hosting solutions for central management is what I think could be improved about Aruba Access Points. If this becomes available in the future, I think it should change the game. However, I don't currently see this because I see nothing about AirWave anymore on your roadmap. I don't understand what happens next. There are some problems in assessing the performance of Aruba Access Points in environments with high user density. If there is a dense environment, a mobility controller would be the one you should go with because this needs more telemetry to calculate. I suspect this will be easier to do with local administration or local management because if everything goes over the internet through Aruba Central, it takes time. Every decision the central management makes takes extra latency to send over to the local area network. I think this is not a good approach to move to central management that is hosted somewhere far away. It should still retain the functionality to use Instant AP functionality that is available until 500 and maybe 600 as well. If you go to software version 10 and future versions, then you lose this functionality and you can't go back anymore. It would be good to assist with local location management and BLE-based functionalities as additional features I expect from future Aruba Access Points. There were some attempts to support third-party integrations through cooperation between Aruba and Meridian. However, I don't understand what happened there, and nothing is clear in this area. IoT will also be very important for people. You should add functionality to the platform that will support third-party IoT devices.
SG
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cloud-based management transforms branch network operations efficiently
The most useful feature of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is its cloud-based management. Configuring Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is easy because it's a cloud-based solution. Once you connect it, it gets registered on the cloud. You can configure it through there itself, and you don't need to be at the site while configuring. Layer 7 traffic shaping helps with bandwidth management, and now you have the five gigabit port on the AP itself, so the bandwidth increases. No other wireless OEM provides a bandwidth of five gigabits. I have worked with the Network Analytics feature in Cisco Meraki MR Wireless, and it's used on the cloud. The Meraki controller, which is a cloud-based controller, allows us to manage multiple Cisco Meraki MR Wireless APs and monitor their performance, user connectivity, signal, and the AP performance itself. Regarding security features such as Air Marshal and WIPS, the Meraki 1700 series has the WIPS feature. We have used the WIPS feature to prevent rogue APs and to enable the security features in the wireless itself. You don't need to buy any other separate security devices, making it a very effective and useful feature.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most valued aspects of Aruba access points is their price competitiveness; they are available at half the price of Juniper access points."
"I find AI Insights valuable."
"It offers remarkable client-handling capacity."
"The controller software, which can control multiple access points remotely, is very convenient."
"The solution gives good visibility into access points."
"Aruba Access Points are reliable and easy to implement."
"The product’s most valuable feature is its ability to offer wireless connectivity to any service provider."
"The technical support is perfect."
"Some of the best features with the wireless solution are that you have a cloud console, so you don't have to create or manage your own instance of a controller."
"We benefit from using Cisco Meraki cloud as it makes manageability easier—two people can manage 200 locations efficiently."
"As a user of the product, the biggest advantage for me is that it works seamlessly; users can switch between access points, and it works great."
"The most useful feature of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is its cloud-based management."
"Cloud management is something I appreciate; it's an easy product to manage in comparison to many others."
"Some of the best features with the wireless solution are that you have a cloud console, so you don't have to create or manage your own instance of a controller."
"Some of the best features with the wireless solution are that you have a cloud console, so you don't have to create or manage your own instance of a controller."
"Some of the best features with the wireless solution are that you have a cloud console, so you don't have to create or manage your own instance of a controller."
 

Cons

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
"Aruba sometimes redesigns Aruba Central and the web interface, which is sometimes an annoyance."
"The product's stability and technical support services needs improvement."
"I would appreciate for the higher-end models to offer the same signal strength as the older, smaller models, even while maintaining the latest standards, as this would enhance the overall network performance and coverage."
"Some customers comment that the shape and size of the access point is a little big, especially the one installed in the guest room."
"I am not able to integrate Aruba Access Points in Azure AD. It is also quite expensive."
"While scaling up to five hundred users, it may cause some performance issues."
"The integration capabilities of the product with the tools from other vendors is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The challenge with Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is that for any Meraki device, you require internet connectivity to get it registered on the cloud."
"To do that effectively, I really need accurate floor plans, which I don't yet have. Without having the full picture, I'm operating somewhat blind and have to be careful."
"My main concern is that Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is overpriced, has limited functionality, and the hardware is not prepared for any further improvements in terms of features."
"Regarding service support, Cisco Meraki does not provide direct support. When raising incidents or support tickets, the support is not always effective."
"To do that effectively, I really need accurate floor plans, which I don't yet have. Without having the full picture, I'm operating somewhat blind and have to be careful."
"Overall, Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is a bit pricey; that's the main and probably only disadvantage."
"To do that effectively, I really need accurate floor plans, which I don't yet have. Without having the full picture, I'm operating somewhat blind and have to be careful."
"The challenge with Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is that for any Meraki device, you require internet connectivity to get it registered on the cloud."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a need to pay the licensing charges for the product...I feel that it is a moderately priced tool that is available at a price higher than Cisco and Huawei."
"The product is costly and comes with a lifetime license. There is neither renewal nor subscription. It is a one-time solution."
"My company needs to pay yearly for the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional payments towards the solution apart from its licensing costs."
"I rate the pricing a six out of ten because it's not cheap or expensive."
"The tool is priced the same as its competitors."
"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"The tool is available in the market at a reasonable price"
"The pricing is reasonable."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise11
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Access Points?
When comparing pricing between Aruba Access Points and Forti, I find Aruba to be on the higher side.
What needs improvement with Aruba Access Points?
As I already mentioned, the ability to stay with self-hosting solutions for central management is what I think could be improved about Aruba Access Points. If this becomes available in the future, ...
What advice do you have for others considering Aruba Access Points?
I'm very pleased with Aruba Access Points. I'm even using Aruba's 500 series at my home, so I'm very pleased with it. To be honest, I must consider dealing with Ubiquiti because we have some tender...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Meraki MR Wireless?
The cost of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is high; the price of one AP to the end customer is approximately 50,000 INR.
What needs improvement with Cisco Meraki MR Wireless?
I have utilized Meraki's RF Optimization to some extent. To do that effectively, I really need accurate floor plans, which I don't yet have. Without having the full picture, I'm operating somewhat ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Meraki MR Wireless?
My use case for Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is in automotive retail. I work with a dealership ownership group that currently operates 95 locations.
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Access Points vs. Cisco Meraki MR Wireless and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.