Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Juniper WLC Series comparison

Cisco and Juniper are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while Juniper is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.6. Cisco holds a 11.5% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Juniper’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Juniper users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 120 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

11,730 Views
10,440 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Juniper WLC Series

Read 14 Juniper WLC Series reviews

799 Views
791 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Juniper WLC Series

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Juniper WLC Series are strong contenders in the wireless network market. Cisco Meraki has the upper hand in ease of use due to its centralized cloud management, while Juniper WLC Series excels in performance and security for more technical enterprises.

Features: Cisco Meraki offers centralized cloud management, easy network segmentation, and user-friendly tracking and reporting tools, making it ideal for both small organizations and larger enterprises seeking intuitive solutions. Juniper WLC Series provides high-speed connectivity, strong security, and templates that ensure network consistency, appealing to technically inclined enterprises.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki could improve its error logs, support process consistency, and connectivity to European privacy laws. Pricing and limited customization options are also concerns. Juniper WLC Series needs enhancements in traffic monitoring, ease of use, and security, along with assurance of future development for reliability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki's deployment is straightforward across different cloud environments, with generally reliable technical support. However, some users mention delays. Juniper WLC Series provides on-premises solutions with efficient support, directly connecting users to technical staff, though integration with other products could be improved.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki's pricing is seen as high, with concerns about the subscription model impacting budgets. Despite this, its robust features deliver a positive ROI. Juniper WLC Series, also considered pricey, provides reliability and performance that justify the investment, with upfront and ongoing costs catering to varied business needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series

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

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Ranking in Wireless LAN

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

120

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Juniper WLC Series

Ranking in Wireless LAN

17th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 11.5%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper WLC Series is 1.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN	11.5%
Juniper WLC Series	1.1%
Other	87.4%

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…

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Matilda Elwell

Technical Team Leader - Network &Security at STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Offers visibility and cost benefits

The tool has given us more visibility, but I'm not very technical, so I can't comment on specific features. However, the diagnostic tools for identifying system issues have greatly improved, which we appreciate. We still use Cisco ICE for authentication on the Juniper network, as we did before. We've seen cost benefits with the Juniper WLC Series, which was a key factor in our decision-making during the proof of concept. Besides cost improvements, we've also noticed better resolution of issues and faults in our help desk, thanks to the enhanced features.

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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

"With Cisco products and third-party products, integration of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is good."

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

"I like the record that is being kept and multiple SSDs."

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

"Cisco provides 24/7 support"

"The most valuable features of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN are the ease of use and the ability to manage it from the cloud."

"The most valuable aspect of this solution is the single pane of glass management and reliability."

"It is easy to manage and configure. The dashboard of Meraki is easy to use."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"The tool has given us more visibility, but I'm not very technical, so I can't comment on specific features. However, the diagnostic tools for identifying system issues have greatly improved, which we appreciate. We still use Cisco ICE for authentication on the Juniper network, as we did before. We've seen cost benefits with the Juniper WLC Series, which was a key factor in our decision-making during the proof of concept. Besides cost improvements, we've also noticed better resolution of issues and faults in our help desk, thanks to the enhanced features."

"The installation process is nice and easy."

"It is a very stable solution."

"The Artificial Intelligence on offer is very useful."

"The AI integration with Marvis is very valuable."

"Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment."

"It's easy to set up, and I feel it's very secure. I also prefer its reporting feature. The devices are quite good."

"The installation process is very easy."

More Juniper WLC Series pros

Cons

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

"Updating the equipment and the scheme they use to bill for the license could be improved."

"In the next release, I would like to see a third-party high tech center to connect multiple users to a particular network."

"The way Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN groups certain things, as far as the devices for either monitoring and or configuring them should be done better. They should be grouped a little bit differently because if I want to configure something, a different setting on an SSID, I have to go to their specific area where I would have thought it should be clumped as a dropdown menu in another area."

"The biggest pain point is that they limit you through firewall throughput. I understand why they do it, but that really grates me. For instance, for 450 Mbps throughput, you're looking at £800 for a router, whereas if you look at the one gig connection, for some of us are lucky enough to have a gig connection, you could almost be spending £3,000 for the option to have one gig connectivity. That's one of the pain points I've got. I don't mind paying for throughput, but I should at least have the option to be able to update that throughput, maybe through extra licensing or something else. It is crazy expensive to jump through to the next one."

"When it comes to switching, Meraki lacks categories of features."

"It lags a bit in providing reports for Wi-Fi performance."

"The product's pricing needs improvement."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"In my region, access to the product is very difficult and presents a logistical nightmare."

"We would prefer it if the solution could be less expensive."

"The solution should create configuration documentation."

"Juniper WLC Series has certain shortcomings in traffic monitoring."

"The solution could offer more integration with other products."

"The network coverage of Juniper WLC Series and Cisco is different. We need to add additional access points."

"The biggest issue was that Juniper stopped developing, so we had to look for another solution."

"There could be more information from the controller, and it could be easier to work with the controller lights. It's not easy to bring up the upgrades."

More Juniper WLC Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is reasonably priced."

"Since it's been acquired by Cisco, it's an even higher cost."

"The cost is not so much for Wireless LAN, but when you have to get the security license, it costs a lot."

"Users have to pay a yearly license fee for the solution."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is expensive."

"The platform is more expensive than other solutions."

"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."

"The solution is pretty expensive."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"There is a certain amount that needs to be paid towards the licensing charges associated with the product, but though I am not sure, I feel the licenses that we have in our company are for three years."

"Juniper WLC Series is a bit pricey but worth its cost."

"The product is relatively affordable for enterprise companies."

"The licensing cost is quite high, but considering it's an enterprise solution, the complexity justifies the price."

"The solution's pricing is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	68
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	31

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	4

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 Juniper WLC Series?

Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper WLC Series?

Juniper lacks a network access control agent similar to solutions like Alubakya Path and Cisco ISE. There should be a network access control engine. Some customers find it challenging as they do no...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Juniper WLC Series?

I work with Juniper service provider solutions. I have a service provider customer and some enterprise customers in retail.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 31% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 12% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 12% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 6% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Cisco Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 37% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 30% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 27% of the time

More Juniper WLC Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

September 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Wireless LAN

August 2025

Download Juniper WLC Series product report

Also Known As

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

Juniper WLAN

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

WLC Series Wireless LAN Controllers deliver and manage wireless local area networks with the highest level of reliability, performance, security, and management in the industry. They integrate secure, wireless LANs with any size wired infrastructures, from small branch offices to the largest enterprise or university campus.

Juniper

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

Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BAS Group, Borealis, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Jan Yperman Hospital, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, MercaSID, S.A., NHTV Breda University, Parklands College and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary, San Antonio Community Hospital, Sandia National Laboratories, Springfield Public Schools (SPS), St. Catherine University, TalkTalk, The Education Village, University of Copenhagen, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Valdosta State University, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), zulily

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series

September 2025

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