Aruba Instant vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.3, while Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 2.0% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Cisco’s 12.6% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Aruba Instant

Read 51 Aruba Instant reviews

2,404 Views
1,839 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 119 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

13,735 Views
11,204 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Aruba Instant

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Aruba Instant compete in the wireless networking category. Cisco Meraki stands out for its cloud management and analytics, while Aruba Instant is notable for flexibility and cost-effective deployment.

Features: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is recognized for its centralized cloud management, user-friendly platform, and robust security features. It integrates well with other Meraki products and supports remote management with advanced analytics. Aruba Instant offers a cloud-managed solution with strengths in mobility, flexibility, and easy network configuration without additional licenses. It also includes a virtual controller for simplified management and deployment.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki users have noted the need for detailed error logs, enhanced features to match non-cloud offerings, and improvements in technical support and GDPR compliance. There is also a demand for better radio management and enterprise-level features. Aruba Instant requires improved documentation, strengthened roaming capabilities, and enhanced technical support. Users also suggest advancements in cloud management features and smart device integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN provides flexible deployment options with public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions, complemented by good customer service, though some issues may require persistence. Aruba Instant offers strong on-premises and cloud deployments with generally satisfactory customer service, though technical support promptness can vary.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is seen as expensive, mainly due to licensing and subscription fees, yet offers high value through feature richness and ease of use. The pricing structure, however, could be more competitive. Aruba Instant is more cost-effective, requiring no licenses and having affordable hardware, which makes it attractive to SMBs seeking flexible pricing models.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Instant vs. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Instant vs. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

June 2025

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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 Instant

Ranking in Wireless LAN

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Ranking in Wireless LAN

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

119

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant is 2.0%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.6%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

Alessandro Salvadori

Sales Engineer at SGE

Comes at a good price and has a good cloud console

We usually sell Aruba Instant where there is no need for more than four or five switches. It is generally recommended for very small companies where we don't need more than three or four switches We are using it only for very small companies. We have had a reduction in time, but it is not that…

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RezaPradipta

Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk

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…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I've worked with other products, but I prefer Aruba because of its cost and simplicity."

"You don't have to deal with licenses."

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Instant is its cloud capability, which allows us to manage it through the cloud."

"The features I have found most valuable is that the solution creates a guest portal for guest networks, and setting up SSID authentication to the regular server."

"It's a good solution for small businesses because it's easy to figure out. It's simple to set Aruba up in any configuration, like link aggregation or static loads. It's suitable for less complicated configurations, whereas Cisco devices are bigger and more difficult to implement."

"The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas like routing and VLAN."

"It is easy to use, manage, and implement."

"The access it grants to wifi is the solution's most valuable feature."

More Aruba Instant pros

"Multiple access ID capabilities, meshing, and the quality of the product itself are all valuable features."

"The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage."

"It improved the installation time."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...The solution's initial setup process was straightforward."

"The tool's most valuable feature is report generation. Its dashboard helps me a lot with user analytics."

"It is cloud-based. You can manage it remotely from anywhere in the world, and you don't have to be on-site, which is a very big advantage."

"Meraki WLAN is easy to deploy, includes a cloud controller, and updates continuously. It also offers high visibility."

"The visibility of the site is most useful."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

Cons

"I think that the next release should offer IP phone security/firewall."

"The wireless coverage should be increased"

"It is a software characteristic, and it is during the reboot. During the startup of the AP, the AP tells you that you are using the wrong password. However, I have realized that this is not true."

"An important missing feature is the console port, which allows direct management without the cloud."

"Embedding a heatmap tool within the product would make it easier to conduct a wireless survey."

"Although built-in troubleshooting tools are available, they are not at all intuitive to use. Aruba Instant lacks decent documentation to use for troubleshooting wireless issues (fortunately there aren’t many)."

"There is an issue with flooding to the Aruba access point on the ports."

"Aruba Instant can improve by increasing the gigabit range of the switch or by adding additional management features and tools. It can be helpful."

More Aruba Instant cons

"The licensing could be a bit better."

"I would like to see more cybersecurity. I would like the ability to go in and enhance security. Because WPA2 is becoming obsolete, many devices are now WPA3, but the challenge is that a lot of devices are not yet there. I would like to be able to go in and do monitoring, similar to ASPM. ASPM has the ability to monitor who's joining and who's active. It supports two-step monitoring. The stability of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN can also be improved."

"If there are advanced features that you can have enabled, they should allow users access to that in an easier manner."

"Integration with the corporate LAN where Catalyst products are installed is a major challenge."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could improve by having more granularity in terms of the data displayed. However, I understand that with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, you need to have a compromise point to what are the functions that you're going to provide to the users versus ease of use. More granularity in terms of the data and the things that you can do to the devices would be helpful. For example, when we wanted to make a change, restriction, or segregation within Palo Alto, we can go to the level of detail that we want. The amount of detail provided is amazing, it is very granular. However, it comes with much more difficulty, it requires a technical understanding of the environment compared to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN."

"I would like to see them improve their support where an assigned engineer can take the case all the way to closure. Usually, you get a different engineer calling regarding the same ticket."

"Meraki should share their viability roadmap. It is really hard to know which functionality will appear or when they will be available. It is also hard to know which features are available now but are not visible on the dashboard."

"Its price could be improved."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Two years ago, I paid INR 12,000 for access points, but now, I will have to pay double the amount, which comes up to INR 24,000, making it a costly product."

"In terms of costs, Aruba Instant is cheap because it doesn't require a license, but you'll incur charges for the access points. Access point charges could be more affordable."

"I rate the product’s pricing a two out of ten."

"The customers do not have to pay for licensing."

"The product has increased its pricing by at least 30 percent."

"There’s no licensing required to use the tool."

"The cost was affordable."

"Some aspect of the price of Aruba Instant is very economical because if the customer is requiring more features the customer needs to pay a higher amount."

More Aruba Instant pricing and cost advice

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is expensive."

"Its price is high and should be reduced."

"It is expensive."

"The price is on the high side when compared to Aruba."

"Having a good price is important when we are providing quotations for projects."

"The cost of both the hardware and licensing is high, and it is more than what I would prefer to spend currently."

"Higher subscription fee may be necessary if extra features are required."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is not a reasonably priced product for home use. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a reasonably priced product for enterprise-sized businesses."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Ubiquiti WLAN or Aruba Instant?

We researched Ubiquiti and Aruba when looking for a WLAN solution. Ubiquiti offers good WLAN access both indoors and outdoors. It provides an enterprise-level WIFI while remaining cost-effective. U...

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What do you like most about Aruba Instant?

I find network management features related to monitoring Wi-Fi usage and visited sites particularly valuable. Content filtering is also important to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate web...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant?

In my experience, Aruba Instant's price is reasonable compared to premium products like Ruckus, Cisco, or Juniper. However, when compared to entry-level market segments, the price is higher. Overal...

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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 have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...

See all answers

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 be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...

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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 a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...

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Comparisons

Omada Access Points vs Aruba Instant

Compared 40% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Aruba Instant

Compared 12% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs Aruba Instant

Compared 10% of the time

ExtremeCloud IQ vs Aruba Instant

Compared 6% of the time

Aruba Instant On Access Points vs Aruba Instant

Compared 6% of the time

More Aruba Instant Competitors

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 32% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 14% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiWLM vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Instant

June 2025

Download Aruba Instant product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

June 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Also Known As

No data available

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN

Overview

Aruba Instant delivers the only controllerless Wi-Fi solution that is easy to set-up, and loaded with security and smarts needed to accelerate your business without breaking your budget.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Cisco Meraki access points are built from the highest grade components and carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls. The Cisco Meraki dashboard gives visibility into the network users, their devices, and their applications. Armed with rich analytics, administrators can quickly create access control and application usage policies, optimizing both the end-user experience and network security.

Cisco

Sample Customers

Purdue University, Orlando Magic, Brussels Airport Company, Molecaten Holiday Parks

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

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Instant vs. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

June 2025

Free Report: Aruba Instant vs. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

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