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Cisco Meraki MX vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

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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 Meraki MX
Ranking in Firewalls
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (5th)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 3.7%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router is 0.3%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Meraki MX3.7%
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router0.3%
Other96.0%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Md Rafique - PeerSpot reviewer
it support at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized security management has simplified daily monitoring and remote troubleshooting
One area that could be improved is providing more advanced reporting and analytics within the dashboard, especially more detailed historical data and customizable reports. It would also be useful to have greater flexibility for advanced firewall and security configuration without making the interface more complex. Better customization and more detailed troubleshooting information would also help administrators. Another improvement would be more granular control over alerts and notifications, so administrators can prioritize critical security and network events without being overwhelmed by less important alerts. More detailed historical analysis and easier integration with third-party security and monitoring tools would also be valuable. Overall, I would keep the simplicity of the Meraki dashboard while adding more advanced options for administrators who need deeper control and visibility. One additional improvement would be better support for integration with third-party security and monitoring platforms. More flexible APIs, deeper SIEM integration, and more detailed security analytics would make Cisco Meraki MX even more useful for organizations with a broader security stack, while the simplicity and centralized management are already strong points.
Jim Voige - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day
One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal. The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features that I have found most valuable in Cisco Meraki MX include the dashboard and ease of access."
"The application visibility, performance visibility, and the failover capability for VPN are excellent."
"Cloud IT Management is the technology of the future, which is most valuable because users can manage and troubleshoot from anywhere, it's easy to set up, configure, and manage, it provides superior security, interconnected management unlocks new possibilities, and it offers lower total cost of ownership."
"It has the most advanced security features, for example, layer 3 and layer 7 firewall capabilities and the end team and IPS protection. It also has IPS, and it has very good functioning of cloning services. You don't actually have to touch the device. If you have multiple companies in different countries, you don't really require this device to be touched. You can get it delivered directly to any office of a country, and then you can simply put your configuration over the cloud. It's very simplified and easy to manage. It gives a very good granular visibility about your network. Earlier, a lot of things were lacking in the network. We were unable to identify where the problem was, but after implementing Meraki MX, we are able to dig down and identify where is the problem. We can easily and quickly identify the sources and the root causes of the issues."
"I believe it is one of the best networking solutions available."
"It's a good solution; if they're looking for something that is easy to use, easy to deploy, and easy to support, maybe they should consider Meraki, given the product is very stable."
"I would describe my experience with deploying Cisco Meraki MX as seamless."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the Meraki dashboard, which is a single pane of glass."
"It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment; it's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use."
"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."
"Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective."
"I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job."
 

Cons

"The product is quite complex to set up."
"What I would like to see in the next version is to have more interfaces for WAN links."
"For our use case, there is not anything specific that needs to change."
"Meraki is a good solution, but it's not the best solution out there."
"It would be nice to get detailed logging information without third-party software."
"For this solution, Meraki is still more expensive than FortiGate. The FortiGate license is still less than the Meraki license."
"Management can be improved in Meraki MX."
"I have faced some issues with Cisco Meraki MX, especially maybe it is an upgrade or out of date or out of support issue."
"I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router."
"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."
"The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Meraki UTM is excellent when you buy the Advanced Security license. If you buy a different license you lost all the valuable functions."
"The product is a little expensive."
"It is more expensive than other solutions, but it is a cloud-managed network solution and support is given at the moment you call. That give a very big plus."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing for Meraki MX is all right, but as the hardware needs to be licensed, the cost depends on the complexity of the device and the term. Pricing could be $100 to $10,000 yearly or even more for a more complex device."
"It is an expensive solution. There is a five-year licensing requirement. We already renewed licenses for all our devices."
"Meraki MX is an expensive solution."
"The product's price depends on use cases."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Construction Company
34%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise20
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 Inspection, Granular Firewall rules (Block only, no allow setting), client vpn re...
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 network security and firewall options. We researched both Meraki and ASA. We liked t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MX?
I find the pricing for Cisco Meraki MX reasonable and competitive given the features provided and the target market. I believe it is acceptable.
What needs improvement with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router regularly provides updates. One aspect they can improve is that most people ask whether an antivirus scanning system is available in pfSense. Other companie...
What is your primary use case for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
We work with Netgate products. We are a reseller and consultant. We have been working with Netgate and Fortinet for around two years.
What advice do you have for others considering Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
For metrics to measure its impact, we do not measure in a formal way. We use bandwidth monitoring to check how effective the solution is. I have not encountered customers asking for additional feat...
 

Also Known As

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hyatt, ONS
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MX vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,938 professionals have used our research since 2012.