No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Meraki Dashboard vs SolarWinds ipMonitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds ipMonitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
79th
Average Rating
6.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (63rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 0.7%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds ipMonitor is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki Dashboard0.7%
SolarWinds ipMonitor0.4%
Other98.9%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

MURALI NIDAMANURI - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Dashboard provides comprehensive network security and management capabilities
I don't have specific handy names. Meraki Dashboard uses multiple functions where we can configure SSIDs, firewall policies, DHCP, multiple VLANs and DHCP configurations, VLAN configurations, access control policies, MAC binding, client access based on MAC authentication and certificate-based authentication. We have configured SSO for Windows Active Directory by configuring the RADIUS services. We have implemented many customer requirements in Meraki Dashboard. With the detailed visibility feature of Meraki Dashboard, I get connected clients information, including how much data each client downloaded and what applications they accessed. I can obtain detailed data including ISP links level monitoring and speed. I can perform speed tests, generate analytics reports, convert to Excel based on each user for each department, create dashboards, monitor and limit bandwidths, and restrict specific URLs. The advanced security configuration in Meraki Dashboard is useful for network security. Substantial security can be achieved within Meraki Dashboard itself, eliminating the need for additional firewalls to protect your network. You can configure WAN monitoring, users' ACLs, URL filtering, web filtering, and department-wise access configuration for specific client applications. It's completely cloud-managed, and in a simplified way, you don't need to visit any physical infrastructure to monitor activities. Apart from access points, everything is in the cloud. We have monitored IoT solutions, CCTV monitoring, and can detect and control intrusions. When people connect IoT devices to your network, Meraki Dashboard can detect what device it is and control those access controls, even with different operating systems.
Masud Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at Optimum Origens Inc.
IP address management improves network efficiency but licensing cost could decrease
We are using SolarWinds for NPM and NCM, and we use IP address management for IP address monitoring. It helps us track which IP address is live and which is not. It also provides DHCP reservation and allows us to declare IP addresses for our integration. We have been using it for IP address…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that there is great visibility on the dashboard and you immediately see when something is going down."
"Meraki Dashboard is meant to be a one-stop-shop, allowing me to access my devices from anywhere around the world through a browser interface so that one person can do the job of a normal five to six-person IT team."
"The dashboard itself is very simplified and easy to navigate."
"What I found most valuable in Meraki Dashboard is that it's well-organized, easy to use, and practical."
"Everything is in a single pane and you can look at your network in one centralized place."
"We've been spending a lot less time on tickets and deployments, so we have more time to do other things."
"Meraki Dashboard offers an exceptional centralized management solution that allows easy updates and monitoring of various network features, including bandwidth usage and content filtering."
"We find that Meraki has all the features you need to be able to enable complex network protocols for AV equipment. We deal with a streaming product over IP, and Meraki is fantastic at that."
"IPAM is used for IP address reservation and tracking, helping us easily identify live IP addresses."
"The most valuable feature is the availability of end devices."
"The initial setup is very straightforward and it is easy to add nodes."
 

Cons

"Meraki Dashboard can be improved with bulk changes across all the networks to manage group networks. Functionality is a little limited, and that is probably the only thing that I would say is a negative."
"When users are trying to roam from one location to another location, geographical tracking would be helpful."
"I am concerned about the fact that once your licensing expires the devices stop working and become a brick."
"I appreciate the security that has been provided by Meraki, but they specifically require port 80 which is highly vulnerable towards Meraki domain itself, so I would like to remove it."
"Monitoring overload is an area that can be improved. I would like to see an alert event feature that monitors what users are downloading and how to block some applications."
"More integration would be an improvement."
"Meraki Dashboard's pricing could be improved."
"It is not appropriate for large, enterprise businesses."
"The licensing cost is high compared to open source tools."
"The solution does not include enough features and has some performance issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fees are $180 USD, per AP, for three years."
"It is said to be expensive."
"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."
"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."
"You don't have to pay for the dashboard."
"The solution is currently the most expensive on the market."
"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."
"The pricing for a small setup is only a few hundred dollars a year. The fee is subscription-based."
"The solution is a bit expensive because the annual license does not include new features that are priced as add-ons."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Construction Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Healthcare Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise29
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki Dashboard?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that it is what it is. It is pricey and sometimes surprising. Of course, with Cisco, you pay for the premium because it is a premium produc...
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
I think Meraki Dashboard can be improved with a couple of additional features, such as the ability to download analytics into a spreadsheet, which is not currently available, the ability to configu...
What is your primary use case for Meraki Dashboard?
The main use case for Meraki Dashboard is to manage the Meraki Dashboard ecosystem, and the main reason is the ease of use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds ipMonitor?
The licensing cost is high compared to other open-source tools. Being a corporate client, we require corporate licensing, which adds to the cost.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds ipMonitor?
The licensing cost is high compared to open source tools. The state monitoring tools could be improved with AI integration to track IP usage history. There is no local support; we must contact thei...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds ipMonitor?
We are using SolarWinds for NPM and NCM, and we use IP address management for IP address monitoring. It helps us track which IP address is live and which is not. It also provides DHCP reservation a...
 

Also Known As

No data available
ipMonitor
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds ipMonitor and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.