Cisco Meraki MX vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Cisco and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Cisco is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.0, while SonicWall is ranked #39 with an average rating of 7.8. Cisco holds a 3.5% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Meraki MX and SonicWall NSv based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki MX vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. SonicWall NSv

September 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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.4%, up from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 3.5%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.4%
Cisco Meraki MX	3.5%
SonicWall NSv	0.2%
Other	75.9%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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MURALI NIDAMANURI

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

Experience improved network management with flexible and secure connections

I recommend that Meraki MX should improve to be a better solution for the next release by being more competent so that we can offer it as a primary solution among all other brands, although I don't have any specific feedback, while the competitors are also ahead of these solutions. Enhancing user experience is always required. Enhancing the seamless connectivity is crucial and user experience enhancement is needed daily, otherwise people find it outdated. New features should look and be dynamically connected, and users should not be bothered frequently when connectivity issues occur. It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.

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Sileesh Sivadasan

Director at Infosec Infra

Helps small businesses expand branches more easily

The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I want to talk to a customer executive, they ask many trivial questions. Even if I explain that I am asking for a Dell partner, they still ask specific questions, and they will explain many unnecessary questions.

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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

"It is complemented by other equipment, such as the Fortinet switch, and it is integrated with other tools that help to prevent cyberattacks, including a web filter, IPS, and application control."

"Centralized monitoring, policy management, and virtualized appliances allow us to take control over our public and private infrastructure."

"It's very similar to a Cisco firewall, yet less expensive."

"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."

"Fortinet FortiGate protects against internet-based threats, both internal and external. It is scalable, stable, easy to use, and easy to install."

"The most useful feature of FortiGate IPS for me is Application Control."

"The management console is pretty simple, so anyone who understands networking can initially deploy the solution."

"The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Traffic Shaping: The device lets you decide how you want to use your internet services. Due to the fact that Meraki can accept dual WAN, you can decide the way you balance the data traffic."

"I am happy with the technical support for the solution. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten."

"The cloud management system is really valuable."

"We switched to Meraki because it lets you see what's happening in your LAN and WAN in a graphic and web environment."

"It's flexible, easy to configure, and easy to manage."

"I use Meraki in my POCs and with my customers as well."

"In terms of WAN optimization, it's completely cloud-controlled. Anyone can manage their network environment from a mobile phone."

"This solution provides a better capability where I can create a virtual network."

More Cisco Meraki MX pros

"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."

"The product helps improve our security."

"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

"The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way that they desire. When it is used for internal access, with a VPN in place for remote workers, the firewalling services provided by Azure, such as the default services that can be turned on, are applied. However, the use of a software-based virtual firewall gives us greater flexibility in introducing security controls for customers who are publishing applications that are publicly accessible from the public cloud. This virtual firewall provides an additional layer of security and more extensive security control options to ensure the protection of our customers' valuable information and assets."

"The security of this system is fantastic, including the IPS and IDS."

"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."

"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."

"I would rate the overall product a nine out of ten."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"We called them for a geolocation issue and we didn't get any proper assistance."

"The product’s price is high."

"The logging details need to be improved."

"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."

"I cannot say definitively about the return on investment with Fortinet FortiGate because I have always been in the technical field, but most of our clients are very happy since threats were stopped, generating confidence in the Fortinet brand among our clients."

"During a recent upgrade from old devices to the latest ones, corporate IT faced challenges as there was no straightforward migration process, requiring many manual steps."

"A lack of integration between our data centers."

"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate could be improved by making the appliance smaller than what we have here, as it is pretty big."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The client-side VPN is weak. The product could be improved with deployment templates."

"The security is not as strong as it could be"

"The IPS, the Intrusion Prevention System, can be improved."

"An area for improvement in Meraki MX is that it needs some provision, as supplying the unit through Cisco can be tedious at times, but as far as the product itself and its offerings, Meraki MX is five-star all the way."

"You cannot use switching behaviors as you see on the Meraki switch."

"For our use case, there is not anything specific that needs to change."

"The product doesn't support route summarization and BGP dynamic routing protocol."

"From the improvement perspective, we need more monitoring capabilities. We want to have full-based access visibility, such as, what is happening when something is trying to reach and it is denying. We cannot see some parts of it. The integration of active directory with this product is not very fruitful. It has some bugs or lacks in the functionality of active directory integration. We are unable to identify where exactly and whether it has really applied our policy."

More Cisco Meraki MX cons

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."

"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."

"Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not provide detailed reports compared to other products."

"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."

"The price is a significant factor."

"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."

"The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"Fortinet FortiGate as a less expensive solution than Palo Alto."

"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."

"It has a competitive price."

"The licensing costs are very competitive."

"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. The additional cost depends on the extra feature requirements."

"In my opinion, the pricing of the product is reasonable."

"The setup cost was good. The Egyptian pound is declining, and upgrading Fortinet FortiGate yearly costs about $2000 USD, which equals one hundred Egyptian pounds. I maintain a business relationship with the vendor and receive support from them."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The product's price depends on use cases."

"We just have to pay for the product and the license. We have a license for three years, and it is renewed every three years. It costs $1,200 for three years for one endpoint. Meraki had a good promotion for remote workers or remote workforce. The discount is very good. This promotion continues till the next fiscal year of Cisco."

"I rate the tool's price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive."

"It is a good global solution in terms of the price and features, but because we sell this solution in dollars, sometimes we don't get to sell this solution in Brazil because the dollar is very expensive. The price of every project is different. It varies depending upon the project, scenario, and client."

"Meraki is the best option — based on the price and the features available."

"Meraki is also expensive, but it's a little bit less expensive and it's easier to configure than Cisco ASA."

"It can always improve pricewise regarding throughput."

"I think the price is comparable with other solutions of the same kind. Depending on the use case it could be cheaper or more expensive, I think it offers good value."

More Cisco Meraki MX pricing and cost advice

"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."

"The tool is moderately priced."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."

"We are currently using the trial version."

"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

26%

Educational Organization

Performing Arts

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	42
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

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...

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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 ...

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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...

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What do you like most about Meraki MX?

I am happy with the technical support for the solution. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?

The product helps improve our security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

I am somewhat satisfied with the price for SonicWall NSv, rating it as eight because, compared to other products, the...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not prov...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos XG vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 7% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Cisco Meraki MX

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Meraki MX Competitors

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 25% of the time

Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 22% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 20% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 13% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX

October 2025

Download Cisco Meraki MX product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

No data available

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

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

SonicWall NSV is a software-based virtual firewall that provides additional security for customers with public-facing servers or services on Microsoft Azure. The AGSS Bundle is considered the most valuable feature, providing security services such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI.

Additionally, customization of firewall rules provides great value to customers, allowing them to lock things up in the way they desire. SonicWall NSV offers extensive security control options to protect customers' valuable information and assets.

SonicWall

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

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. SonicWall NSv

September 2025

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