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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Juniper Mist Edge comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd)
Juniper Mist Edge
Ranking in WAN Edge
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the WAN Edge category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is 14.5%, down from 18.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Mist Edge is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
WAN Edge Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN14.5%
Juniper Mist Edge1.5%
Other84.0%
WAN Edge
 

Featured Reviews

Henry Rosenstiehl - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive support and ease of implementation enhance operational efficiency
With Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I have centralized orchestration and management. The transport independence of MPLS or connectivity and internet connectivity is another excellent feature. End-to-end segmentation is also provided. I use the application-aware routing feature. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports dynamic police-based routing decisions based on application type or different performance metrics such as jitter or latency. The benefit of that feature is that it improves user experience. The principal benefit of application-aware routing is that critical applications are prioritized or routed over the best performing paths to reduce outages and service degradation. There is full visibility of applications. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation, and it supports integration with other Cisco products such as Umbrella or Snort. This feature is beneficial for the client because the information is secure. It is important that Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud. It reduces operational needs because I don't need to manage physical controller hardware, and updates and maintenance can be centralized and automated. The zero-touch provisioning feature is very important for the speed of deploying new branch locations. I can deliver the device to the branch, and it is important because simplified deployment makes the implementation start more easily since devices are auto-configured and authenticate without manual intervention.
Chinedu Onwurah - PeerSpot reviewer
Has simplified infrastructure management through on-site data and control plane termination
The most valuable features of Juniper Mist Edge include the ability to terminate the data plane and the control plane on-site for privacy purposes. For those that don't want the management of their either wireless or wired infrastructure to be done in the cloud, Juniper Mist Edge helps to solve that problem. AI-generated features in Juniper Mist Edge help to optimize network operations as AI is everything. It helps to simplify the management of infrastructure, assists in root cause analysis and identification of issues and resolution of those issues, and aids in what we call premium analytics to analyze what has gone wrong or the events on-site, providing feedback that would help to make some business-critical decisions. Anomaly detection in Juniper Mist Edge is beneficial, as when talking about AI, that's just it. Anomaly detection helps when things are not going the way they were designed or planned to work. Juniper Mist Edge also helps to detect that and assists in resolving the issue.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If one of your ISPs goes down or has latency in your environment, Cisco SD-WAN will detect the issue and explain why the ISP is down."
"The solution has great scalability."
"The most useful feature for our organization is the combination of on-prem and cloud-based deployments. We connect securely to our hybrid cloud using transit VPCs and cloud on-ramp for fast deployments."
"Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud."
"The solution provides good consolidation, centralization, and manageability for edge routers."
"The product's brand recognition is one of the most valuable aspects of the solution."
"Cisco is an industry leader, so customers have a high level of trust with the brand more-so than with some newcomers that might have some more revolutionary solutions, but no name recognition."
"The most valuable feature is the application-level routing."
"The visibility of the information that's available about APs through their cloud portal and some of the AI features are most valuable."
"Juniper Mist Edge is valuable for its ability to troubleshoot and configure more things compared to Meraki."
"Juniper Mist Edge provides better support for medium-sized businesses."
"AI-generated features in Juniper Mist Edge help to optimize network operations as AI is everything; it helps to simplify the management of infrastructure, assists in root cause analysis and identification of issues and resolution of those issues, and aids in what we call premium analytics to analyze what has gone wrong or the events on-site, providing feedback that would help to make some business-critical decisions."
"Juniper is a remote and AI-enhanced product."
"The most valuable aspect of Mist Edge lies in its ability to provide comprehensive visibility into all network packets."
"Juniper's technical support is highly responsive."
 

Cons

"Cisco needs to improve the technical support for this solution."
"It would be better if it provided more visibility. At present, we can't troubleshoot in real time."
"Compresson deduplication should be added."
"I would like them to add some more SD-WAN ports. We have seen one implementation where there were four ISPs. Currently, we have a maximum of two ports for ISP in this device. Therefore, we cannot connect directly, and we need other switches. There should be some option to have more than two ports for SD-WAN."
"The initial setup was not very straightforward, but it gets easier the more deployments you complete."
"The solution could have a better web interface to simplify changing configurations."
"Cisco SD-WAN is not as easy to deploy as the Meraki and FortiGate solutions. The zero-touch deployment could be a lot better. The deployment and initial setup are complicated and could be better."
"The initial setup could be a bit less complex."
"The one area that we're specifically looking into is their outdoor APs. The development of their outdoor APs is lagging as compared to their internal APs."
"I would like to see improvements in ensuring government compliance for Mist Edge."
"I experience a lot of stability issues, so the rating is eight out of ten."
"The product needs an update, particularly in price, as it deters many customers, including myself, from using it despite its convenience and effectiveness."
"Juniper Mist Edge can sometimes have a delay in information updating."
"I think there is a need to improve the virtual edition or the virtual platform of Juniper Mist Edge, as I know that it was discontinued."
"Juniper Mist Edge can sometimes have a delay in information updating, which could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is quite expensive so it is important to enhance its cost efficiency."
"The Cisco SD-WAN licensing model needs to be simplified. There are currently three types of licenses: enterprise agreements, individual licenses, and DNA subscriptions. This can confuse customers, requiring a dedicated person to determine which type of license is right for their organization."
"Cloud subscription management must be paid for, although this does not incur a perpetual fee."
"You can get subscriptions for three or five years."
"The license consists of an annual fee."
"It's expensive. If you compare Cisco with Fortinet and Juniper, you'll find that Cisco is more expensive than other vendors."
"It is expensive."
"It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
"I believe we're getting some good discounts. We're paying less than $500 per AP. I don't know the annual maintenance cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise42
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco can improve Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN by simplifying licensing and platform integration with other Cisco products such as Catalyst Center or solutions with Meraki. A license needs to be permanent...
What do you like most about Juniper Mist Edge?
The most valuable aspect of Mist Edge lies in its ability to provide comprehensive visibility into all network packets.
What needs improvement with Juniper Mist Edge?
I can't think of any weak points that should be improved in Juniper Mist Edge at this moment. At this point, there is nothing that I believe should be improved on, at least for now. However, I thin...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
One Energy, UST Global, i3D.net, Hyland
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Juniper Mist Edge and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.