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Cradlepoint NetCloud vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 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

Cradlepoint NetCloud
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
6th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (14th), WAN Edge (16th)
Meraki SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Cradlepoint NetCloud is 4.7%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki SD-WAN is 22.8%, down from 25.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Robert-Gardner - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy to setup solution, but it is missing useful configuration options
I use this solution to manage Cradlepoint wireless routers It lets us know whether it is online or not, and lets us do a speed test to see how quick the speed is. These are valuable features. They should change some of the configuration settings to enable it to act more as an SD-WAN box to view…
Premnath Jaganathan - PeerSpot reviewer
Manage enterprise network traffic seamlessly but security features need enhancement
The security integration in Meraki SD-WAN is not as good as the competition, such as Fortinet. Customers are moving away due to this reason, as Meraki lacks in offering advanced security features, which is crucial for many enterprise clients. Cisco's AI capabilities and Meraki are about seventy percent caught up with competitors like Juniper Mist in terms of AI integration.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easy to set up and requires a single administrator to maintain it."
"I rate the overall solution as ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the automatic failover."
"Cradlepoint NetCloud is very stable."
"Cradlepoint provides real value in its focus on wireless WAN connectivity."
"The solution is very stable."
"We have found the product to be quite scalable."
"What I found most valuable in Meraki SD-WAN is its simplicity. I also like its manageability."
"The centralized console manageable from the cloud is one of the advantages."
"The management system is one of the best available."
"If there are multiple network connectivities in an organization, Meraki creates an AutoVPN. It creates a channel automatically."
"Meraki SD-WAN is a very stable and scalable solution with good technical support."
"The most valuable feature of Meraki SD-WAN is its user-friendly interface."
 

Cons

"In our situation, the initial setup was complex."
"It is missing important settings options."
"There are areas for improvement, particularly at the lower end of the medium enterprise market."
"Cradlepoint's portfolio is lacking budget-friendly options."
"The performance of group-based clouds should be enhanced."
"I think they should enhance the security."
"Meraki SD-WAN had trouble prioritizing traffic for VoIP calls."
"The granularity could be improved."
"The security and upgrading could improve in this solution."
"The default classes should be expanded."
"I would like to see more flexibility in our choices of customization for our needs."
"The configuration from the firewall side could be improved a little bit more."
"Some of the on-premise security features of Meraki SD-WAN are on the cloud and some of my customers do not want to use the cloud. They should have on-premise security features for those that do not want to use the cloud."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The annual cost is less than $200,000 yet more than $150,000.00."
"Cradlepoint's prices are on par with similar solutions."
"Yearly licenses are available."
"The licensing model is a fair one, although having the hardware means nothing without the license. You need to continue to pay licensing fees."
"The price of Meraki SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive when compared to other solutions on the market, such as Aruba."
"The price can vary depending on the challenges that you need to address. When you look at the stability and reliability against the price, you absolutely get the value for the price."
"The price of this solution is good, it is not expensive."
"The product's price falls under the mid-range category, especially if we consider the new licensing model. The tool is not cheap anymore."
"Meraki solutions come with a choice of several different subscription options including one year, three years, five years, seven years, and ten years."
"From the perspective of the customer, the price is not terribly cost-effective."
"The product is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
9%
Construction Company
8%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cradlepoint NetCloud?
It is easy to set up and requires a single administrator to maintain it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cradlepoint NetCloud?
Cradlepoint's pricing is viewed as market competitive, offering good value for the money invested. While some customers are price sensitive, others recognize the efficiency and smooth operation as ...
What needs improvement with Cradlepoint NetCloud?
There are areas for improvement, particularly at the lower end of the medium enterprise market. Cradlepoint's portfolio is lacking budget-friendly options. The company realizes that there's a need ...
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
The price is a little bit higher than local vendors, for example, Huawei ZTE or H3C. However, some customers require the best quality and performance, thus needing solutions and products from Cisco.
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
They have to ask us many questions about configurations. It could be improved with some automation to trigger, for example, telemetry data, so we can determine the state of the deployment as of day...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of San Antonio, Statue Cruises, Tour Dubai, St. David's Foundation, JBT, DSC Dredge
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cradlepoint NetCloud vs. Meraki SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.