Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiAP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

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
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
15
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 Fortinet FortiAP is 5.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Brian M. - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise-level control simplifies wireless management and increases reliability
FortiAPs are an enterprise-level device capable of handling a large number of users and connections, ensuring quality. A benefit is their controllability by local firewalls, which simplifies management and eliminates the need to buy separate hardware or virtual appliances. The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall. Firmware updates are also pushed to Fortinet access points. The lack of maintenance needs and their reliability means I almost never experience wireless problems in the campuses where they are deployed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I really love their cloud-based dashboard which allows me to see all my locations from one location."
"I can control any number of sites globally with a lean IT team."
"It's a stable product."
"If you're trying to identify one of the switches or pinpoint a computer or pinpoint something, you could find it just like that and change the IP address. It's easiest to do it that way."
"The most valuable thing to me is the stability of the product."
"This product has allowed us to easily create custom SSIDs for clients and carve out the necessary bandwidth for clients needs."
"With Cisco products and third-party products, integration of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is good."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the application visibility, which is one of the main features."
"If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it."
"I would give FortiAP a rating of ten out of ten so far."
"The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall."
"We really don't need to call technical support. Any time we have had to call, they've been great."
"Fortinet FortiAPs are useful for small to medium-scale companies where there are budget concerns."
"I like FortiAP's performance and stability. The reporting is also quite good."
"The stability of the solution is very high."
"The setup was straightforward."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement would be that Meraki doesn't work well in a warehouse environment. The device is too sensitive to other wireless devices, which provokes noise and can require a reboot to erase this."
"There is only one particular thing that needs improvement. Sometimes, for example, when you need to open a ticket, although it's under the umbrella of Cisco, you still need to go to the Meraki support."
"We have used technical support for some issues but not many times."
"Integration with the corporate LAN where Catalyst products are installed is a major challenge."
"The solution's pricing could be improved."
"Concern when there are a number of concurrent users."
"Cisco offers pretty expensive devices."
"The licensing model is a terrible idea."
"FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment."
"The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"Technical support is a pain. Fortinet has to get its act together. If you don't pay for premium service, you will have issues."
"The wireless functionality is not the best."
"The product fails to offer default access points to deal with the areas revolving around configurations."
"I would like to have automation capabilities that would help us reduce the configuration steps."
"There is room for improvement in the product by expanding the number of SSIDs that can be broadcast."
"The security integration between the network and firewall has room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."
"I don't deal with pricing directly, however, it's my understanding that it is around $40 per unit."
"Negotiate the deal put in front of you!"
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is not a reasonably priced product for home use. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a reasonably priced product for enterprise-sized businesses."
"The platform is expensive."
"It is expensive, but it is a good product."
"This solution is reasonably priced."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"FortiAP is more expensive than some other options."
"If I compare it with the other enterprise products, the price is good."
"The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet."
"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six."
"The devices under Fortinet are not expensive. The solution's licensing part is expensive."
"We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet."
"Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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...
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...
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...
What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiAP?
Fortinet solutions are more cost-effective compared to Cisco. The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
I cannot pinpoint the exact improvements needed at the moment. However, security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily. There should be alerts to in...
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.