Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs ExtremeWireless comparison

Cisco and Extreme are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while Extreme is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.2. Cisco holds a 12.6% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Extreme’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Extreme users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 119 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

13,735 Views
11,204 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

ExtremeWireless

Read 30 ExtremeWireless reviews

1,612 Views
1,383 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

ExtremeWireless

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

ExtremeWireless and Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN compete in the wireless LAN market. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN stands out due to its advanced features like integrated security and cloud management, while ExtremeWireless is favored for its competitive pricing and strong customer support.

Features: ExtremeWireless offers robust connectivity, customizable configurations, and flexibility, making it appealing for enterprises seeking adaptive solutions. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN features integrated network security, centralized cloud-based management, and high in-depth visibility of network activities, providing a comprehensive solution.

Room for Improvement: ExtremeWireless could benefit from faster deployment options, enhanced integration with cloud-based systems, and broader support for diverse environments. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN might improve by reducing the initial cost, offering more personalization in support services, and expanding customization capabilities for advanced users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers streamlined deployment with centralized cloud management, simplifying oversight. ExtremeWireless needs manual configuration, which can extend setup time, but compensates with more personalized and responsive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: ExtremeWireless is known for competitive pricing and a favorable return on investment, appealing to budget-conscious enterprises. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN has higher initial costs, but robust features and efficient management tools provide significant long-term value, justifying the investment despite a larger upfront cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 856,873 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:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Ranking in Wireless LAN

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

119

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ExtremeWireless

Ranking in Wireless LAN

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.6%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta

Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk

Streamline network management with a unified dashboard for seamless device integration

The primary use case for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is mostly for enterprise wireless, including guest Wi-Fi and enterprise Wi-Fi. I use it across various industries with a focus on retail Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers a single pane of glass management. It only comes with a controller on the…

Read full review

Seungho Yang

Network Engineer at KOREAN AIR

Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming

Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are the management tools, including monitoring and reporting."

"I can control any number of sites globally with a lean IT team."

"Cisco Meraki is HIPAA compliant."

"It makes the process much easier by providing visibility and centralized control over the network."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the application visibility, which is one of the main features."

"The most valuable features in Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN are that we were able to see all the registered users for each particular WAP, which is a big help. The roaming allows us to have continuous wireless throughout the building. The signal can carry over from one WAP to another. Which is probably the most important feature."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a user-friendly solution that has good performance and stability."

"What I liked about these is that they worked. I didn't touch them or do anything with them. They were up and running when I came here. Once they are set up and running, you don't have to worry about them."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"In terms of the most valuable features, I like the integration with the fabric. The network fabric completely integrates with wireless as well."

"The most useful feature is how the product integrates with the Microsoft directory in the cloud."

"I like Cloud IQ, ExtremeWireless' cloud controller and analytics platform. It's full of information, easy to use, and provides excellent visibility into my network."

"The most valuable feature is the cloud-managed aspect."

"ExtremeWireless is a flexible solution."

"The initial setup process is simple."

"ExtremeWireless is a powerful solution with good integration. It works perfectly for us."

"Based on my experience, I would recommend ExtremeWireless to others."

More ExtremeWireless pros

Cons

"The initial setup was simple. However, the full deployment could be easier."

"This solution could benefit from a heat mapping ability so that you can tell where the hotspots are, and where the good signals are."

"Quality of technical support varies."

"It could be slightly cheaper but it's fine."

"Our only concern at this stage is how it's licensed."

"They could also add some more controls for guest access. For example, when you have a captive portal, it would be nice to limit the amount of time users can stay connected per day. Right now, you can only configure the splash frequency. And you can set the connection for one hour, but you have to use the billing feature."

"Overall the solution needs to have more time to mature."

"The price could be slightly better, but then again, we negotiate deals every time so the market price isn't really relevant."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management."

"It is a subscription model, so it is maybe a bit pricey."

"The performance of the access points could be improved."

"I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability."

"They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management. Additional troubleshooting tools should be created by the engineers."

"Wireless products, in general, have room for improvement compared to wired ones, which are more stable."

"The solution must include integrated IoT solutions on their wireless APs."

"The ExtremeWireless WiNG Access Point on-premise is not as good as the cloud and many of my customers are switching. It is easier for my clients to manage everything from the cloud. I currently use a model of the controller that does not support any cloud functionality."

More ExtremeWireless cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It can be for three, five, or ten years. I'm happy with the pricing. You basically pay for what you get. It is that simple. When you look at Ubiquiti or Aruba, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN far outweighs what you get. If you're in the UK, Ubiquiti gives a three-year or five-year warranty, whereas here in the UAE, they only give a one-year warranty, which is no good to me. Who buys a piece of equipment with only one year warranty on it? It doesn't make sense."

"We pay a yearly license fee for the solution."

"This solution is quite costly and there are costs in addition to the licensing fees."

"The solution is pretty expensive."

"Its price is high and should be reduced."

"Pricing could be better."

"My client has made comments on the price, indicating it is expensive, however you do receive a lot for the money that you did spend on the solution. The price of the annual renewal of the licensing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a little high. We wish the price would drop."

"The solution's pricing is a little higher."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product's pricing a three or four out of ten."

"We pay approximately $30,000 per year."

"The solution is priced well and we currently are only paying for a license for maintenance."

"There are both paid and free licenses of the cloud environment, with only basic functionality in the free version."

"ExtremeWireless is subscription-based for both cloud and on-prem solutions, and it's quite expensive."

"ExtremeWireless isn't budget-friendly. The hardware costs around 20,000 Indian rupees. We're still using an older controller, so it doesn't require a license, unlike the newest versions of the ExtremeWireless controller."

"The purchase of 350 access points cost approximately $250,000 USD."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More ExtremeWireless pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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

See recommendations

856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?

Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...

See all answers

Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?

Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...

See all answers

How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?

Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...

See all answers

What do you like most about ExtremeWireless?

The initial setup process is simple.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?

There are concerns regarding the stability of ExtremeWireless. It could be an area of improvement, especially when compared to previous solutions such as Motorola before their acquisition. Another ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?

We mainly use ExtremeWireless ( /products/extremewireless-reviews ) for the warehouse, specifically for the Zebra handheld devices and printers.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 32% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 14% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 6% of the time

Ekahau AI Pro vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Ruckus Wireless vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 38% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 20% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 5% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 3% of the time

More ExtremeWireless Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

June 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeWireless

June 2025

Download ExtremeWireless product report

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN

No data available

Overview

Cisco Meraki access points are built from the highest grade components and carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls. The Cisco Meraki dashboard gives visibility into the network users, their devices, and their applications. Armed with rich analytics, administrators can quickly create access control and application usage policies, optimizing both the end-user experience and network security.

Cisco

Extreme ExtremeWireless Access Points deliver wired-like performance, at scale for high-density in every environment. Smart Access Points are equally adept for both distributed and centralized deployment models. ExtremeWireless Controllers provide advanced functionality to allow organizations to define how wireless voice/video/data traffic is processed without architectural constraints and in accordance with business needs.

Extreme

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins

St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless

June 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless report.

See our list of best Wireless LAN vendors.

We monitor all Wireless LAN 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.