Cisco Meraki MX vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway comparison

Cisco and Zyxel are both solutions in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category. Cisco is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.0, while Zyxel is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.0. Cisco holds a 10.5% mindshare in UTMU, compared to Zyxel’s 4.2% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Zyxel users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 20, 2025

Cisco Meraki MX and Zyxel Unified Security Gateway operate in the network security management domain. Cisco Meraki MX tends to have an advantage due to its advanced features and ease of management despite higher costs.

Features: Cisco Meraki MX includes easy deployment, AutoVPN, content filtering, bandwidth monitoring, and advanced security features such as IDS/IPS. It offers centralized cloud management for seamless configuration and troubleshooting. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway, while effective and stable, lacks such an extensive feature set and user-friendly management interface.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki MX needs enhancement in load balancing, event logging, and reporting. The solution has limitations with SSL inspection and could improve pricing flexibility and integration with non-Cisco products. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway could improve its user interface, scalability, and data management features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki MX provides multiple deployment options, including on-premises, public, and private cloud, praised for its cloud-based management and high-quality customer support. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is limited to on-premises deployment and, although easy to install, lacks the comprehensive support offered by Cisco.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki MX, despite its higher price, is considered a worthwhile investment due to its advanced cloud management features and strong technical support, offering significant ROI through management efficiency. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is more affordable but may not offer the same depth of features and support, potentially affecting its ROI for complex enterprise needs.

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

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 Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is 4.2%, up from 2.4% 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%
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway	4.2%
Other	50.199999999999996%

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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Alexander Azikov

It Manager at Diamond Braces

A robust appliance that is reasonably priced and straightforward to set up

Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. There are two user interface options available, namely the basic and the advanced. The basic UI is not very good and doesn't have a lot of features, although it is fast. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists. At one of our sites, the CPU utilization was very high, and for no reason. Technical support needs to be more responsive to requests.

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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's comprehensive and time-saving. It covers several areas regarding security."

"The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."

"This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."

"When I survey FortiGate products, I see that they have a good performance, especially in terms of next generation firewalls."

"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."

"The security on offer is very good."

"This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."

"The email protection and VPN features are the most valuable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The cloud management system is really valuable."

"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."

"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."

"WAN optimization is the best feature of the solution."

"Real Auto VPN with load balancer without needing a public IP. It is simple and functional."

"It is a robust SD-WAN solution."

"What I like best about Meraki MX is that it's easy to deploy remotely. The product works. It has automatic updates. I also like that Meraki MX is a brilliant device. You turn it on, stick the key in there, activate it, and then you're done. Meraki MX does what my customers need at the end of the day, so I also like that."

"I think cloud management is key. The cloud management and support are the two things that make the product great."

More Cisco Meraki MX pros

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."

"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."

"The solution can scale well."

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having a frequent ask questions(FAQ) area for people to receive quick answers to popular questions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have an SMS notification feature. For example, if you cannot access your email you could receive an SMS message."

"The solution could improve the configuration, there are times the configuration is missing."

"The solution is expensive."

"I would like to see improvements in Fortinet FortiGate regarding the active-active scenario. The active-active scenario is supported but not recommended, whereas other vendors are implementing active-active without issues. Perhaps in the future, we could effectively use both firewalls to increase the throughput. If there are two boxes, they both should be able to work."

"The issue lies with features available in GUI versus CLI during configuration. When using GUI, I want to accomplish everything there, but sometimes it requires using CLI to ensure proper configuration."

"They should improve high CPU and memory usage that occurs."

"We sometimes have issues with FortiGate's routing table in the latest firmware update. We had to downgrade the device because our customers complained about bugs."

"Their technical support could be improved a little bit in terms of responsiveness."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Pricing is an area where the solution lacks since it is an expensive tool."

"We had minor issues with Meraki MX. We had a couple of RMAs, so that could be an area for improvement, but in terms of how the RMAs went, the turnaround time and getting those back into redeployment were quick. Another area for improvement in Meraki MX is that when you're scaling for multiple locations, you need to use the same model, but the model you'd need is only available for a short time. The specific model you require could be out of stock, or Meraki isn't making that model anymore, so Meraki should improve that."

"The current lead time is longer for Meraki MX, and it needs to be improved."

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

"Sometimes you want a little bit more control, and you don't have that control with Meraki MX."

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

"More detail needed for configuration of the VPN."

"It is very expensive."

More Cisco Meraki MX cons

"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."

"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."

"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

"The price for the device and software is high. However, the solution is of good quality and has a lot of features."

"The licensing costs are very low."

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."

"It is around $50,000 per month."

"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."

"It is more affordable than Check Point and Palo Alto. Another thing is that all the features and the OS remain the same irrespective of the size of the device. Pricing-wise, Fortinet typically provides one-year support with the firewall appliance. There is also an option for three years which is how their licensing works."

"We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The product’s pricing depends on the discount Cisco gives to different people."

"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 larger MX products are on the expensive side."

"The product is a little expensive."

"The product’s price is reasonable."

"The license cost depends on the box. We acquired a different product line. We are dealing with MX appliance now, that is, MX6, MX54, MX100, MX250, MX450. Every box has got an identity, and it has got its own specification. Every box has got a different license fee. We deployed Meraki MX in UAE when it was not a mature product. We took a risk, but we were successful. We saved a huge amount of money after implementing and removing all the MPLS and leased lines. We got a broadband connection because Meraki MX could work on a broadband connection. We have drastically saved a very good amount of money, which was one of the successful things apart from the successful solution."

"Other content filtering solutions that I have used had more bells and whistles, but given the cost, complexity, and management overhead, I am very pleased with Meraki’s solution."

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

More Cisco Meraki MX pricing and cost advice

"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."

"This gateway is pretty cheap."

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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

Comms Service Provider

21%

Computer Software Company

15%

Outsourcing Company

Retailer

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

No data available

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 ...

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...

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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 do you like most about Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

I cannot definitively comment on whether Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is an affordable product as I haven't done co...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden. I'm lo...

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

More Cisco Meraki MX Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 13% of the time

OPNsense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos XG vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 5% of the time

KerioControl vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 3% of the time

More Zyxel Unified Security Gateway 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

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

September 2025

Download Zyxel Unified Security Gateway product report

Also Known As

No data available

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600

No data available

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

ZyWALL USG Series delivers high-access quality to help businesses satisfy the demand for always-online communications. For internal deployments, the ZyWALL USG Series provides active-passive High-Availability (HA) service to support device or connection failover.

With Device HA Pro service, the ZyWALL USG Series also supports instant failover, so connections are always maintained when a failover event occurs. For external deployments, the ZyWALL USG Series features multi- WAN load balancing/failover and a comprehensive mobile broadband USB modem support list for WAN backup operations. The ZyWALL USG Series also supports IPSec load balancing and failover, providing additional resilience for mission-critical VPN failover with VTI Interface deployments.

ZyWALL USG110/210/310 thoroughly protects networks with industry-leading firewall, Anti-Malware/ Virus, Anti-Spam, Content Filtering, IDP, and Application Patrol functionality. Regulate unauthorized use of Web applications over your network, such as Facebook, Google apps, and Netflix, among others. Zyxel security measures are enhanced with SSL Inspection, blocking threats hidden in SSL-encrypted connections while facilitating deeper policy enforcement. Furthermore, newly improved Content Filtering 2.0 enhances HTTPS Domain Filter, Browser SafeSearch, and Geo IP Blocking for an array of security enhancements to ensure clean Web connections.

Zyxel

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki MX vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

September 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki MX vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MX vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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