Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiOS comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Cisco is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0, while Fortinet is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 3.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Fortinet’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Cisco Meraki MX and Fortinet FortiOS are competitors in network security solutions, with each offering strong features tailored to different needs. Cisco Meraki MX seems to have the upper hand in cloud management and ease of use, while Fortinet FortiOS excels in providing advanced security for demanding enterprise environments.

Features: Cisco Meraki MX shines with seamless connectivity options like AutoVPN and SD-WAN, centralized cloud management, and ease of deployment, making network integration straightforward. Fortinet FortiOS provides granular security controls and advanced threat protection, bolstered by machine learning capabilities, which cater to users requiring robust security measures.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki MX could advance in enterprise-level capabilities with detailed SSL inspection and configuration flexibility. Improving pricing, logging, and local configurations are beneficial. Fortinet FortiOS requires enhanced cloud management integration, simplified centralized logging, and better AI technology support. Its interface usability and support experience need refinement for comprehensive setups.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki MX offers simple deployment for cloud environments and effective remote management, though users may crave deeper network insights. Fortinet FortiOS caters to complex on-premises deployment with technical support but has a steeper learning curve, with Meraki's dashboards offering a more intuitive experience.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki MX demands a higher initial cost due to cloud-focused management, yet provides significant ROI through time savings. Fortinet FortiOS is cost-effective for securing complex environments, though costs can rise with additional modules. Both deliver substantial ROI, with choice guided by enterprise needs and budget.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki MX vs. Fortinet FortiOS Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. Fortinet FortiOS

June 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 900,838 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score

5.9

Fortinet FortiGate offers a high ROI through enhanced productivity, efficiency, security, cost savings, and simplified management.

Sentiment score

5.2

Cisco Meraki MX offers ROI by reducing costs, simplifying setups, and enhancing efficiency despite high initial expenses.

Sentiment score

6.3

Fortinet FortiOS offers cost-effective, scalable security, with competitive pricing and partnerships, enhancing ROI compared to top brands.

The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.

Bart Homblé

BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks

It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.

Bernard Samontanes

Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems

When investing in cybersecurity with Fortinet FortiGate 200, which costs more than $10,000, companies that are growing directly can expect ROI within 1.5 to 3 years.

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

I have seen a return on investment with Cisco Meraki MX because of the time saved through cloud management.

Nader Elmansi

Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc

You can eliminate some positions because it manages itself.

Lester Perrin

Enterprise Networking Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

It greatly helps out when I am moving away from the expensive MPLS circuits or MPLS hardware.

JasminPatel

Senior Manager Networking at David Yurman

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

Once it is deployed, I do not have to revisit or replace the hardware.

Brian M.

Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees

The pricing of FortiOS is competitive and reasonable compared to other leading products such as Palo Alto and Check Point.

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

Fortinet is strong in terms of cost and compatibility with other vendors.

Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at 1ware

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.5

Fortinet FortiGate's 24/7 support is generally well-rated but needs improvement in response speed for urgent issues.

Sentiment score

8.3

Cisco Meraki MX customer service is generally rated highly for accessibility and responsiveness, despite occasional initial contact challenges.

Sentiment score

8.2

Fortinet FortiOS support is responsive and helpful but sometimes slow with complex issues, lacking top-tier vendor standards.

The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.

Alexandre Menezes

IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

AnishKumar

NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

When we raise a ticket with Meraki MX, they instantly become available to support us for configurations or troubleshooting.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Cisco's TAC support for Cisco Meraki MX is excellent because no other OEM provides support at this level.

Sanjay Gaiswal

Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies

Cisco is one of the best vendors in the market.

Nader Elmansi

Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

I would rate them nine or ten out of ten.

Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at 1ware

Fortinet technical support is very responsive and helpful.

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

Support engineers sometimes lack eagerness to assist with issues such as the memory problem.

Mitku Bitew

Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Fortinet FortiGate is praised for scalability and adaptability across enterprises, though some users face cloud scaling and upgrade challenges.

Sentiment score

6.7

Cisco Meraki MX offers scalable solutions for varying organization sizes, with straightforward management and adaptable deployment for dynamic environments.

Sentiment score

8.2

Fortinet FortiOS is highly scalable, adapting to different organizations, supporting growth and global deployments, yet may need hardware upgrades.

They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.

Ian Manton

IT Manager at Daltons Limited

The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.

reviewer2667480

Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.

FatmaSamy

General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

When you have hundreds of thousands of people it is very difficult to scale in Meraki.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The scalability of Cisco Meraki MX is rated 10 out of 10; you can scale up and scale down with no effort.

Nader Elmansi

Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc

Cisco Meraki MX scales with my growing needs for my organization very well because they are easy to deploy.

reviewer2847897

Network Engineer at a non-profit with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

When customers' networks grow and needs expand, we can easily switch between models to trade up devices.

Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at 1ware

It allows for the expansion of users and devices without additional licensing costs.

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

We have been using Fortinet for bandwidth shaping and many other bandwidth-related functions.

Mitul-Shah

Associate Director IT Operations at Procento

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

Fortinet FortiGate offers reliable and consistent performance, with quick resolution for occasional bugs, ensuring minimal downtime and high availability.

Sentiment score

8.6

Cisco Meraki MX is highly stable and reliable, praised for performance and support despite minor VPN and load balancing issues.

Sentiment score

7.8

Fortinet FortiOS is praised for stability, with minor issues usually tied to configurations or external factors, not the system.

We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.

Ricardo Biggs

Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

AnishKumar

NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.

Juan Frias

CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits.

Sanjay Gaiswal

Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies

I have had zero downtime at all with Cisco Meraki MX.

Lester Perrin

Enterprise Networking Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

I assess the stability and the reliability of Cisco Meraki MX as good, and I have experienced no downtime, crashes, or performance issues.

reviewer2847897

Network Engineer at a non-profit with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

While the product is largely stable, it sometimes faces memory issues in specific versions like 11 OE, which can be disruptive.

Mitku Bitew

Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.

There were no lags, there were no issues, and no hanging of the firewall.

Mitul-Shah

Associate Director IT Operations at Procento

Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good.

Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at 1ware

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate users face high costs, integration and stability issues, sluggish support, and need improvements in usability and security features.

Cisco Meraki MX needs improvements in port control, VPN functions, integration, price, configuration, reporting tools, and monitoring.

Fortinet FortiOS requires improvements in VPN, pricing, compatibility, UI, security features, support, updates, deployment, and pricing consistency.

It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.

Pravin Mandlik

Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

It is how quickly each of these companies adapts to that and brings in more value to the customer.

GireeshRamamurthy

Principal Consultant at Epitome Infotech Solutions (P) Ltd

The main area for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, as we face uncertainties regarding upgrades and frequent bugs that require self-fixing of problems.

reviewer1929939

Senior Manager IT at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Data is the only path, so optimization is essential.

Mayur_Patel

Chief Commercial Officer at InnovAge Home Care

An improvement would be to use Cisco Meraki MX as a software solution as well, which might reduce the cost.

Sanjay Gaiswal

Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

Fortinet FortiOS faces memory issues, which can lead to unexpected downtimes.

Mitku Bitew

Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.

There should be more documentation on how to use the CLI or how to perform CLI versions of tasks that can be done through the GUI.

Brian M.

Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees

Compared to other market leaders like Palo Alto and Check Point, FortiOS has many bugs in its initial releases.

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate is cost-effective with a good feature set, ideal for mid to large enterprises, though complex licensing.

Cisco Meraki MX is costly but valued for features and cloud management, with subscription licensing and negotiable discounts.

Fortinet FortiOS is often pricey but justified by features, with agreements influencing costs, suitable for mid-size businesses.

It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.

NilsPaley

IT Infrastructure Architect at Apotek 1

It is about 20% cheaper.

MithatBulut

Network Security Engineer at TD SYNNEX

The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost.

Rizki Arya Indracahya

Information Technology Infrastructure Section Head at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

I get it for $25,000, a device that can connect up to 75-100 users, whereas in Meraki MX, it goes to 75,000-80,000 per access point.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The price could be reduced by around 30% to make it more comfortable.

Sanjay Gaiswal

Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies

If Cisco can make the pricing less, customers can purchase more licenses.

Nader Elmansi

Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

It is an affordable solution for us.

Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at 1ware

Fortinet products are somewhat pricey, similar to Cisco equivalents, however, they have justified their price point.

Brian M.

Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees

I am satisfied with the pricing, licensing, and setup costs of FortiOS, rating it nine out of ten compared to other familiar leading firewalls.

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate offers robust security, ease of use, and integration, with cost-effectiveness and reliable support, enhancing network efficiency.

Cisco Meraki MX offers cloud-based management, seamless VPN setup, and robust security, enhancing connectivity and performance with user-friendly features.

Fortinet FortiOS is praised for UTM, user-friendly interface, robust security, excellent performance, cost-effectiveness, and seamless management.

They put in a thing called the FortiCookbook, which is very easy to read with real-life scenarios that make networking tasks like joining networks very straightforward.

Ian Manton

IT Manager at Daltons Limited

The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks.

reviewer890418

Sales & Support at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

The most valuable feature is the deep inspection for traffic, which is capable of identifying zero-day attacks.

Martins Zipp

Consultant at SKYE AS

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Meraki MX is among those top solutions in their exceptional approach towards VPN-less, Zero Trust client access to office private networks.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Advanced security is the second tier of Cisco Meraki MX. It brings you the main next-generation firewalling features such as URL filtering, advanced malware protection, and threat protection.

Nader Elmansi

Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc

Cisco Meraki MX API makes it really easy for me to automate a lot of changes over several thousand devices.

reviewer2847915

Technology Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Meraki MX report

It is user-friendly when it comes to turning on features, and it has been reliable and effective.

Brian M.

Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees

The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs.

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

The solution offers good threat intelligence, which is crucial for our customers' security purposes.

Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at 1ware

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiOS report

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 15.1%, down from 21.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 3.4%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	15.1%
Cisco Meraki MX	3.4%
Fortinet FortiOS	1.1%
Other	80.4%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Joseph Koomson

IP Network Security Specialist at MTN Ghana

Process-Level CPU Visibility: Introduce detailed CPU-usage metrics per subsystem (e.g., IPS engine, logging) so administrators can quickly identify and address performance spikes.

Analytics with FortiAnalyzer. Being able to pull in logs not just from our FortiGates but from all our other firewalls and then get them in one view has been a game changer. Whether I’m building an executive dashboard or doing a deep dive forensics session, I get everything I need without navigating consoles.Straightforward Application Control. FortiGate spots and blocks unwanted apps (eq. like BitTorrent or streaming services) with accuracy. Segmentation with VDOMs. We’ve carved our data center into four logical ‘mini-firewalls’ enterprise, core, billing, and WAF—all on one box. Each has its own rules and logs, and any traffic between them still gets inspected. It’s like having multiple appliances without the extra hardware. Always-Up-to-Date Threat Feeds. Daily signature updates and AI-driven threat sensing mean we’re blocking the latest vulnerabilities almost as soon as they’re announced.

Read full review

Sanjay Gaiswal

Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies

Cloud-based solution simplifies network management with excellent support

There have been no issues with stability after deployment. There have been no complaints. For stability, I would suggest that Cisco Meraki MX is the most stable device from the security processor. Regarding content filtering features, we are using content filtering and malware access, along with all security features in Cisco Meraki MX9500. We have received good feedback from customers because since installing Cisco Meraki MX9500, we have not received any complaints. There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits. It is compatible with all different OEMs, and for VPN, site-to-site VPN has been configured with other firewalls as well. We are getting very good responses from customers as there have been no complaints where we have deployed Cisco Meraki MX9500.

Read full review

Mitul-Shah

Associate Director IT Operations at Procento

Single-pane management has simplified firewall control and has improved risk mitigation

I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire consultants who do the capacity planning and sizing to determine what kind of firewalls to put in place. At the same time, it is not only the number of users; it also depends on the number of WAN links coming in and everything, because we have been using Fortinet for bandwidth shaping and many other bandwidth-related functions. They should improve their machine learning AI capabilities of Fortinet FortiOS because there is too much competition. Other players are also improving and making a lot of changes in their UI and overall operating system.

Read full review

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

12%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	369
Midsize Enterprise	139
Large Enterprise	195

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	43
Midsize Enterprise	22
Large Enterprise	19

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	43
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

See all answers

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

See all answers

What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

See all answers

Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department

We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL I...

See all answers

Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MX?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that we went through a third party who negotiated all the pr...

See all answers

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?

I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiOS?

I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 16% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 25% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Meraki MX Competitors

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 7% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 5% of the time

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 5% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiOS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX

June 2026

Download Cisco Meraki MX product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS

June 2026

Download Fortinet FortiOS product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Cisco Meraki MX offers cloud-managed security with user-friendly setup and efficient management, enhancing VPN and firewall functionalities for businesses.

Cisco Meraki MX is known for its robust cloud-based network management, featuring AutoVPN, SD-WAN, and advanced security. Its centralized control over firewall, traffic shaping, and monitoring ensures excellent connectivity and security. The interface allows easy management by non-technical staff, offering remote access and seamless network performance through real-time alerts and troubleshooting. It supports global connectivity with minimal effort, addressing needs across small to enterprise environments. Despite its strengths, users point out areas needing improvement like load balancing, VPN features, more flexible logging, and session capabilities. Pricing, integration limits, and licensing need enhancement.

What are the key features of Cisco Meraki MX?

AutoVPN: Enables automatic VPN configuration for secure, site-to-site connections.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routes for increased performance and reliability.
Advanced Security: Offers unified threat management, intrusion prevention, and content filtering.
Centralized Management: Simplifies operations with remote monitoring and configuration.
Traffic Shaping: Prioritizes critical business applications to maximize performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Ease of Deployment: Simplified installation reduces setup time and cost.
Real-Time Alerts: Ensures proactive issue identification and resolution.
Scalability: Supports growth with seamless integration and management of multiple sites.
Global Connectivity: Maintains efficient connections across geographic locations with minimal effort.

In industries like retail, finance, and education, Cisco Meraki MX provides enhanced security and connectivity. Retail chains benefit from easy VPN setups for secure multi-site networking, while educational institutions find value in its ability to manage large campuses efficiently. Financial services leverage its robust security features to protect sensitive data, ensuring compliance and trust.

Cisco

Fortinet FortiOS is recognized for its intuitive interface, ease of use, and comprehensive security features, making it a valuable tool for network security and management. Its integration capabilities and affordability prove beneficial for small to mid-sized businesses.

Fortinet FortiOS stands out as a firewall operating system, offering solutions in network security with a user-friendly design. It provides strong management tools like Unified Threat Management, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and antivirus functionalities. Its scalability and robust support make it ideal for diverse business environments. Users can benefit from high availability, seamless integration with other networks, and SD-WAN capabilities. Though there is room for improvement in monitoring and logging features, as well as VPN complexity and browser compatibility, its comprehensive range of features supports secure operations.

What are some key features of Fortinet FortiOS?

Unified Threat Management: Consolidates multiple security features into one platform for streamlined protection.
Web Filtering: Blocks access to harmful websites to enhance browsing safety.
Intrusion Prevention: Identifies and mitigates network threats in real time.
Antivirus Capabilities: Detects and neutralizes malicious software before it infiltrates systems.
Advanced Threat Detection: Uses analytics to uncover sophisticated threats.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiOS?

Scalability: Easily adapts to an organization's growing security needs.
Stability: Provides consistent and reliable performance for network infrastructures.
Robust Support: Access to extensive resources and customer support for issue resolution.
Integration: Harmonizes efficiently with existing networks and third-party solutions.
Pricing: Offers a competitive and reasonable cost structure.

Fortinet FortiOS is leveraged across multiple industries for its strong security capabilities. Companies utilize it for secure connections, VPN setups, and traffic management. It is essential for organizations seeking to protect data centers, ensure secure branch connectivity, and deploy SD-WAN. Its design supports implementation in cloud environments and enhances virtual infrastructure protection, making it particularly suitable for small to mid-tier businesses looking for comprehensive security measures.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Hyatt, ONS

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. Fortinet FortiOS

June 2026

Free Report: Cisco Meraki MX vs. Fortinet FortiOS

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MX vs. Fortinet FortiOS and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cisco Meraki MX vs. Fortinet FortiOS report.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors and best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.