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Meraki Dashboard vs Nagios Core comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 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

Meraki Dashboard
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Nagios Core
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.3%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios Core is 2.9%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Bilal-Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless connectivity and comprehensive control over network devices
All of the features we are looking for are already in control. I think those features, which we are not currently utilizing, are already there. For example, the control for the cameras and everything else. The cameras are not connected through Meraki, but all other devices are on Meraki networks.
Nishith-Vyas - PeerSpot reviewer
Valuable reporting and alert system with room for PDF export improvements
The NetEase reporting structure needs improvement, especially the availability report, which is weak. It should be generated automatically with minimal human intervention and should be exportable as a PDF. Besides that, an integrated PDF export feature for reports is necessary. Also, the alert mechanism and graphing mechanism need to be integrated properly into Nagios Core. Currently, integrating these requires advanced Linux knowledge. Integration of more visualization tools like Grafana and Prometheus for better graphing and visualization is also recommended.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Everything is in a single pane and you can look at your network in one centralized place."
"I find it pretty straightforward and easy to use, especially compared to old, traditional methods."
"Meraki Dashboard does not require a lot of maintenance. Cisco tells communicates through the Meraki Dashboard web client, it will automatically send updates to the equipment. They will send you an email on what day the updates will take place. If you want to proceed, you can click on accept, or you can decline them and schedule the updates at another time."
"It's really user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature is the single pane of glass that gives you multisite visibility."
"An excellent dashboard that is currently unique in covering both SD-WAN and SD-LAN with built-in security."
"It is a reliable product. It provides a lot of information that is easy to read."
"We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it allows for easy suite configuration. We can handle everything on there when there's a policy or any other requirement."
"Provides timely notifications."
"Other products are good but from the configuration point of view Nagios is really very lightweight. The price is really good in my opinion. Another important thing is that my Nagios engine still works with Dual core 8GB ram for the last 10 years."
"It is fairly easy to set up, and we can monitor pretty much everything we want to."
"Nagios Core is stable."
"The most valuable features are the reports and the way it generates the report in a graphical manner."
"What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services."
"Dashboard provides monitor of total assets."
"The application performance monitoring feature is valuable."
 

Cons

"Lacks an alert notification when there are IP or DNS issues."
"There needs to be more improvement on the device-connected interface."
"I would like to receive decent notification alerts regarding the license's expiry. Or any help on correcting or optimizing licenses, because in certain circumstances you can add a license but it's the wrong licensing. However, the Dashboard adds the license in some way, and you do not utilize it. You can simply extend the license's expiration date."
"They could offer API functionality for Meraki Dashboard. It will help us develop software immediately using available solutions."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve integration with non-Cisco platforms."
"There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high."
"What needs improvement in Meraki Dashboard is its configuration. It'll also be better if the tool has more functionality, and that is what I'd like to see in its next release."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve the user interface by making it more user-friendly. The configuring can at times be difficult."
"The interface could be improved."
"It would be nice if the company offered a sales or contract manager that was dedicated to our company so that we would have some sort of link to Nagios, and if we had issues or questions, we'd be able to contact them directly."
"Would benefit from aggregations if a particular server goes down."
"The user interface could be more interactive because it is pretty basic."
"The UI is a little outdated and graphics could be displayed in a better way."
"The tool needs to improve the integrations."
"It's not that easy to install the product itself. Also, the UI is a bit hard for regular users to navigate through."
"I would like to see more training videos."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."
"From a pricing perspective, they are still expensive."
"Licensing for Meraki Dashboard is paid every year, and it's on a per-device model that costs roughly $300 to $400 per device, but that comes with full support and troubleshooting, etc. Compared to similar products, Meraki Dashboard is quite high-end, but the costs you pay are all-in."
"The pricing of the tool is relatively high compared to other solutions. It comes with a premium that exceeds that of its competitors by approximately 25 percent."
"I’m not sure of the exact cost, however, it’s my understanding the Meraki WiFi is around $800. That’s for a three-year license. It’s about $150 a year."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."
"Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The product is cheaply priced."
"The Nagios Core (PNP4Nagios + Core) is free and can be setup by Netadmin within a few hours. The only additional cost is the cloud server."
"We are using the open-source, unpaid version."
"We have saved a lot of time, money, and effort in reducing disaster times, which is owed to Nagios quick alerting."
"Nagios Core is an open source solution, and there are no licensing fees."
"We are using the free version."
"Nagios Core is free to use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Meraki Dashboard?
We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it al...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki Dashboard?
The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
The aspect I find challenging about this solution is that it is too extensive and complex. For example, when comparing Meraki Dashboard to Juniper Mist, the latter is quite simple. Mist is a very a...
What do you like most about Nagios Core?
What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios Core?
Nagios Core is a free and open-source product. We don't charge for the product itself, but we charge for the man-hour costs related to installation, configuration, ongoing operation, and maintenance.
What needs improvement with Nagios Core?
The dashboard should be improved. It's very simple. I don't have a very clear or specific suggestion. You can change the skin of the dashboard, however, it's good for me.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, FanDuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. Nagios Core and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,579 professionals have used our research since 2012.