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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
Meraki SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
Premnath Jaganathan - PeerSpot reviewer
Manage enterprise network traffic seamlessly but security features need enhancement
The security integration in Meraki SD-WAN is not as good as the competition, such as Fortinet. Customers are moving away due to this reason, as Meraki lacks in offering advanced security features, which is crucial for many enterprise clients. Cisco's AI capabilities and Meraki are about seventy percent caught up with competitors like Juniper Mist in terms of AI integration.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is straightforward and easy to deploy."
"It's a complete solution with many security features."
"I have found the solution's main features are its ability to be customized, network traffic classification, and has a wide range of features that can be set."
"The technical support is very responsive."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a highly stable solution."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a stable solution."
"Cisco SD-WAN has separate OMP routing."
"It is very stable with very good firmware."
"We have found the scalability to be good."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The solution is stable."
"Zero touch configuration onsite based on the manager system's pre-configuration and the VPN automation set."
"The solution is very stable."
"The solution has many features available."
"Meraki Solutions setups make it one of the best products I have ever worked with."
"The solution is stable."
 

Cons

"Cisco needs to improve the technical support for this solution."
"The solution is expensive and could be cheaper."
"The tool is very expensive."
"This solution is expensive so pricing is a concern."
"Since Cisco acquired Viptela, the stability of this solution has given problems since it is quite new."
"There should be more security features in the hybrid and on-premise deployments of Cisco SD-WAN. The cloud has most of the security features."
"Cisco SD-WAN could improve on the ease of integration, the configuration should be easier. At the moment the process is more command line based and it would be better if it was able to be done through an interface."
"The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases."
"In Meraki SD-WAN, we have some limitations with the traffic shaping capabilities."
"The only problem occurs when users are not paying attention and turn on the wrong switches, like power switches, in places they should not."
"The product could be improved by being made more simple to use. We had some issues integrating our MPLS with Meraki SD-WAN."
"Technical support could be more knowledgeable and responsive."
"If Meraki obtains the technology to provide network assistance, then it can implement it manually in Meraki SD-WAN."
"The solution needs to enact more advanced protections."
"Meraki offers the client basic security, it is not the same as what FortiGate is offering."
"The adoption of endpoint services or endpoint security should be developed in future releases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of this solution is very expensive."
"It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
"When purchasing, there are so many features available that it's quite confusing deciding which to choose. And some of the devices force you to buy licenses you don't want."
"The cost of Cisco SD-WAN is high and has room for improvement compared to competitors such as Fortinet which has similar functionality."
"I give the price a seven out of ten."
"The product's license is expensive."
"On a scale of one to five, I would rate Cisco's pricing as a three."
"The license consists of an annual fee."
"The price of Meraki SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive when compared to other solutions on the market, such as Aruba."
"Regarding pricing, Meraki SD-WAN is quite competitive, especially compared to solutions like Fortinet. However, it's essential to consider that Meraki requires cloud orchestration, which adds to the overall cost. Overall, it's one of the most competitive solutions from Cisco for SD-WAN."
"Meraki solutions come with a choice of several different subscription options including one year, three years, five years, seven years, and ten years."
"Meraki's pricing is on the higher side, which may limit who can afford to use them."
"The solution is a bit expensive when compared to other products."
"I am not aware of the licensing fees."
"The tool offers term licenses. You have the same term licensing model available for all of your equipment, which is good for management."
"The licenses cost a fortune."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
36%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
There's nothing I could put my finger on right away for improvements in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN. There is definitely nothing that Juniper does that Cisco doesn't do. Cisco will do everything Juniper ...
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
The price is a little bit higher than local vendors, for example, Huawei ZTE or H3C. However, some customers require the best quality and performance, thus needing solutions and products from Cisco.
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
They have to ask us many questions about configurations. It could be improved with some automation to trigger, for example, telemetry data, so we can determine the state of the deployment as of day...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: May 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.