Cisco Meraki MX vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

Cisco and Stormshield are both solutions in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category. Cisco is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.0, while Stormshield is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 10.5% mindshare in UTMU, compared to Stormshield’s 3.7% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 20, 2025

Stormshield Network Security and Cisco Meraki MX are competing network security solutions in the cybersecurity domain. Stormshield Network Security has an edge in flexible pricing and support satisfaction, whereas Cisco Meraki MX stands out with its comprehensive feature set, justifying its higher cost according to data insights.

Features: Stormshield Network Security is valued for advanced threat protection, sandboxing capabilities, and robust intrusion prevention system, ensuring solid defense against cyber threats. Cisco Meraki MX offers seamless cloud management, scalability, and application visibility, making it attractive for organizations looking for extensive monitoring and flexibility.

Room for Improvement: Stormshield Network Security could enhance its user interface for easier navigation, improve integration capabilities with third-party solutions, and expand on its cloud-based offerings. Cisco Meraki MX could benefit from providing more pricing tiers for smaller enterprises, enhance offline management capabilities, and offer more in-depth customization in its features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Stormshield Network Security offers straightforward deployment with multiple configuration options tailored for different environments, and its customer service is recognized for attentive support. Cisco Meraki MX, known for its cloud-based deployment, simplifies network management with quick configuration and ongoing updates, particularly efficient for large-scale implementations.

Pricing and ROI: Stormshield Network Security provides competitive pricing with an attractive ROI, highlighting cost-effective solutions for small to medium enterprises. Cisco Meraki MX, while presenting higher initial costs, offers substantial value through its all-inclusive licensing model, covering hardware and software maintenance. Despite its premium pricing, the investment is often deemed worthwhile for the extensive feature set offered, resulting in a compelling ROI for organizations requiring integrated and adaptable network security solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki MX vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. Stormshield Network Security

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 Unified Threat Management (UTM) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 35.1%, down from 39.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 10.5%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Stormshield Network Security is 3.7%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Unified Threat Management (UTM) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	35.1%
Cisco Meraki MX	10.5%
Stormshield Network Security	3.7%
Other	50.699999999999996%

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

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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Benjamin

Network Engineer at ACS2I

The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats

The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed.

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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

"You have access to CLI in case you have no web access."

"The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful."

"There is a tool called FSSO, which is a single sign-on user ID agent that works perfectly."

"The primary feature I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is the ease of setup."

"The dashboard I have found the most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate."

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

"Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information."

"The product is easy to configure."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS): The best feature. It can detect malware, even a virus, and warn you by email about the device that has it. When the Meraki detects that something is wrong, it automatically blocks the connection or the intrusion, delivering a graphic report with all the necessary content."

"It is very easy to configure."

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

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

"The security level of our organization has changed by using Meraki MX Firewalls. We didn't have the UTM before, but now we have sandboxing, tray scanning, attack preventions and monitorization. Our security level has improved."

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

"Meraki makes it easy to be secure and know where the holes are to fix them. We have been fixing anything that we have ever found for 20 years. We keep up-to-date with firmware upgrades. We just try to stay on top of everything for security, like maintaining updates and getting rid of old systems. I feel like we're on top of it."

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

More Cisco Meraki MX pros

"This solution is quick and easy to configure."

"I like that it works fine. Stormshield is a very good solution."

"I can see what traffic is going on. I can easily block any programs from attacks."

"Ease of use is the best feature of the product."

"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."

"Our organization's main concern is stability, and this is a stable solution."

"The scalability of the solution is good."

"The most valuable features are the IPS, the firewall function, and the price."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"They need faster serviceability and more security features."

"There are problems with the custom reporting of the unique traffic. The data is there, but it is too difficult for us to extract."

"I haven't had a single issue since using Fortinet."

"Fortinet should improve its software, as we are seeing lots of firmware versions generated for each vulnerability issue. It becomes difficult for us to keep updating the firmware frequently due to bugs."

"They should provide us with a CSV number for patch updates. It will help us block specific signatures as well."

"Security level could be increased."

"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."

"With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The product could incorporate tools like ThousandEyes into the system so we can see things directly."

"Could possibly use deeper configurations."

"With Meraki MX's integration capabilities, users may face challenges since it does not integrate well with other systems."

"Expensive licensing and firewall stops immediately working if the license is not renewed at expiration date."

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

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

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

"In the next release, because the security is pretty basic, I think they could include additional security features."

More Cisco Meraki MX cons

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."

"The SD card could be more secure."

"This is not a next-generation firewall."

"Improvement is needed in terms of the technical support of the manufacturer."

"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."

"Not all the fields are activated yet and we were informed that it will take at least one month."

"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension. It's not that easy. It's not that straightforward. In the next release, I would like to see a reporting system. Stormshield doesn't have any tutorials on how to do the configuration and things like that. They just have documentation on the website. If you want to configure, for example, Cisco or Fortinet, you can find tutorials on YouTube. They show you how to configure the features, and so on. In Stormshield, there is nothing on social media or the internet on how to configure different things. The lack of documentation or the lack of material makes it difficult for others to adopt this solution."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Some of our customers are using Sophos and SonicWall due to price concerns, as they can't manage the pricing of Fortinet FortiGate."

"It is very cost-effective. You get features similar to other firewalls, such as Palo Alto, but at a lower price."

"The solution is cheap."

"Its price is affordable and lesser than Cisco. Cisco is expensive. In terms of licensing, there is only one issue. If a customer's license has expired a month ago and they do the renewal after one month, Fortinet renews the license from the start of the previous month. The activation of the product is done from the previous month, not from the date of renewal. The customers usually shout and complain that because they are paying today, the renewal should start from today. The support contract renewals or licensing should be renewed from the date of renewal, but Fortinet starts from the day it had expired. It is a loss for customers. They might have had some problems because of which they did not take the license one month before. Fortinet should work on this. Cisco doesn't do this. Cisco always starts from the day they apply for the license."

"We pay $500 per year for the license."

"FortiGate SWG is a cost-effective solution well-suited for organisations of all sizes."

"The pricing for this solution is good."

"The pricing is based on a licensing model for each IPS in your environment."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Its licensing cost could be better."

"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."

"The solution is expensive compared to other vendors but you can get good discounts if you know the account manager. The product is less expensive than a normal Cisco subscription. The tool's hardware warranty is a lifetime but you need to purchase support which comes in three, five, and seven years subscriptions."

"The price of Meraki MX is between $8 and $1,200. Additionally, we typically purchase a three-year enterprise license, and we pay approximately $899 and mark it up a bit."

"The product’s price is reasonable."

"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."

"Pricing varies as per the type of license."

"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 pricing could be better."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

"I think the price is good."

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

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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

19%

Comms Service Provider

18%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

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	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

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...

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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...

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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 advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?

The tool is like a firewall and works well. I don't have any issue with it. I rate it an eight out of ten.

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

Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 13% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 9% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security 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

Stormshield Network Security

September 2025

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

No data available

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600

NETASQ Firewalls

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

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. Stormshield Network Security

September 2025

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