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Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) vs Ekahau AI Pro comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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 Modeling Labs (CML)
Ranking in Network Modeling and Simulation
2nd
Average Rating
6.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ekahau AI Pro
Ranking in Network Modeling and Simulation
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Modeling and Simulation category, the mindshare of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is 7.2%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ekahau AI Pro is 7.2%, down from 19.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Modeling and Simulation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Ekahau AI Pro7.2%
Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)7.2%
Other85.6%
Network Modeling and Simulation
 

Featured Reviews

OB
CEO at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Limited support and costly setup detract from potential benefits
The stability of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is not very good. The iOSs consume so much memory that most typical machines do not have sufficient memory to utilize. For example, the Cisco 9200 iOSs require 24 gigabytes of memory to run in that tool, and that is only one image.
Lakshmi  Narayan - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Development Manager at PCa Lumens
Efficient mobile surveys with a simple setup but room for cloud improvements
As of now, almost everything is there and suitable for site requirements. However, the cloud takes a lot of time to upload the site survey, and we regularly face issues with syncing to the optimizer. There needs to be improvement in this area. Additionally, the product can be very expensive.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is straightforward, but the images are complex and expensive to set up because they do not provide those for free."
"The ease of use of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is very valuable to me because it is straightforward."
"Ekahau Site Survey is user-friendly."
"I like Ekahau's interface and the reports it can generate."
"It's easy to plot APs and generate reports."
"It is a stable solution."
"The ability to perform dual-band spectrum analysis while conducting the standard WiFi site survey is a tremendous time saver."
"Channel planning, access points' auto position, and the size of the spectrum are valuable to me."
"Ekahau lets you create heat maps without doing the initial survey. It makes the task easier."
"I don't handle the software that much. I'll do some of the testing with our CTO. It is primarily him and I. He has commented before that he likes the fact that with two licenses, we can set it up so that when we're on a large facility, he can see where I am and I can see where he is. That's for sure is very handy in large venues."
 

Cons

"Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) could improve by providing more in-depth switch options. For example, I cannot lab stacking at all."
"The stability of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is not very good. The iOSs consume so much memory that most typical machines do not have sufficient memory to utilize."
"We were actually able to recover some access points in some areas that were over saturated. So I I can leave at least two areas where we probably had twice as many access points as we needed to. So we actually redesigned it and pulled some of those access points where I don't know that there was any proper planning done when they were initially deployed. It was before my time, but it just seemed way over saturated, and they were all beaten on each other. So Site wasn't helping. It was probably hurting, and we saved equipment that we could then deploy somewhere else. This can be improved."
"This tool needs too many of the resources (RAM) of your PC."
"Today, ESS doesn't support mixed outdoor-indoor environments."
"The solution provides good reporting and is easy to use but the pricing is a sore point even though you get what you pay for."
"The GPS feature inside Ekahau could be improved."
"I wish we could have an "offline" version of Ekahau in order to give the customer some kind of interactive report where he could find all the measured values."
"It is somewhat expensive to renew the licenses every year. Obviously, most places can't maintain that."
"One area would be to allow several files to be opened and the ability to close only one of the files."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing could be lower because the Huawei radial planning is free for the partner. When I asked my boss about buying Ekahau and the USB key, it was complicated because of the high cost, which is €5,000."
"The solution is less costly than one of its competitors."
"The pricing is quite expensive. Not all companies can afford it"
"The solution is priced fairly for the features that you receive."
"The licenses are a little pricey compared to iBwave, etc."
"This solution is not cheap. If you only need an occasional site survey, you are better off contracting a wireless engineering professional that has one."
"That's a tricky thing. When it started off, we had one three-year license and one one-year license because we have two devices. Now, from my understanding, we can only renew every year or get a one-year license, and that cost varies. Being a government organization, we get a different cost than commercial. We have deployed it on Surface Pro tablets. So, the only other cost would be the hardware cost."
"I believe that it is approximately $2,000 per year for us. I know we pay for it on an annual basis."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)?
On a scale of 1 to 10, Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is about eight or nine in terms of expense.
What needs improvement with Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)?
There are other areas where they could improve the product in my opinion.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)?
I have always used Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) in lieu of building practical labs and buying products for the labs so I can simulate configurations and test interoperability and things of that nature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ekahau Site Survey?
Things to consider when choosing Ekahau Sidekick2: you need to add another 10% to the purchase price to buy Apple ipads as the Android version of the Ekahau survey app does NOT support APOS surveys...
What needs improvement with Ekahau Site Survey?
Ekahau could be improved by adding three-dimensional modeling, as we currently cannot view APIs in a three-dimensional perspective. They need to include backhaul features and improve the ease of in...
What is your primary use case for Ekahau Site Survey?
I use Ekahau for Wi-Fi designs and other services. It is used for troubleshooting and for analyzing the network. Additionally, we analyze each and every API, FSID, power transmission, bitrates, and...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Ekahau Site Survey
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Presidio, Planet Earth, Ruckus
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) vs. Ekahau AI Pro and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.