Meraki Dashboard vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer comparison

The compared Cisco and SolarWinds solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #20 in NMS , with an average rating of 8.5, and holds a 1.3% mindshare in the category. SolarWinds is ranked #5 in NTA , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Meraki Dashboard

Read 55 Meraki Dashboard reviews

2,529 Views
1,859 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Read 41 SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer reviews

1,060 Views
623 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

Meraki Dashboard

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Meraki Dashboard and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Monitoring Software solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer Report (Updated: September 2020).

Buyer's Guide

Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

September 2020

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Helped 849,963 peers since 2012

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

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (20th)

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Meraki Dashboard is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 1.3%, down 2.0% compared to last year.
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, on the other hand, focuses on Network Traffic Analysis (NTA), holds 5.6% mindshare, down 7.1% since last year.

Network Monitoring Software

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

Featured Reviews

Bilal-Ahmed

IT Manager at Fawaz

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.

Read full review

DeepakVyas

Global-Manager Network & communications at Secure Meters Limited

Utilization alerts enhance monitoring with good alerts

The tool itself is very complicated, so training is required to handle it effectively. Configuration and the streamlining process are very complex. In my view, it is a good product if properly configured and streamlined according to your IT infrastructure. For enterprise-level organizations, SolarWinds is more appropriate than for small and medium enterprises. I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability of the product to perform with simplicity of deployment make it a valuable solution."

"Meraki Dashboard centralizes control of all our equipment into one cloud-based console, so we can manage it from anywhere. We can resolve problems remotely outside of business hours because it is on the cloud. You can use the dashboard to change security settings or configure routers and switches."

"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."

"An excellent dashboard that is currently unique in covering both SD-WAN and SD-LAN with built-in security."

"Meraki Dashboard offers an exceptional centralized management solution that allows easy updates and monitoring of various network features, including bandwidth usage and content filtering."

"There are some whitelist blacklist capabilities in the MX dashboard, which is very helpful."

"The ease-of-use and the analytics are really effective tools."

"The most valuable feature for me is the cloud dashboard."

More Meraki Dashboard pros

"The solution's most valuable feature is its traffic analysis."

"The program is scalable enough for our usage."

"The software management tools are very useful for our customers."

"This solution gives us important information about the utilization of protocols, particularly in terms of how often they are used."

"The integration with other SolarWinds products is good."

"The solution helps manage networks."

"The support is excellent."

"I like that it is able to monitor multiple devices and it's vendor-agnostic."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pros

Cons

"I am concerned about the fact that once your licensing expires the devices stop working and become a brick."

"They could improve the product by providing enhanced utilization reports and more detailed independent access reports."

"When users are trying to roam from one location to another location, geographical tracking would be helpful."

"The pricing for this solution needs to be improved."

"You can't really clone or replicate a device, that sort of feature would be useful. You can clone the site but you cannot clone the device."

"The price could be lower because the license for access points is expensive."

"Third-party switches do not necessarily integrate easily with the system and this could be improved to allow for better adaptation."

"There are some issues with the NAT configuration, it is now impossible to some operations with the solution."

More Meraki Dashboard cons

"The solution needs better log management and log coordination with tools."

"There is a lack of documentation ......as well as a lack of dashboards."

"This solution does not do a very good job when I am trying to look deeper into my internal network, in particular with respect to individual ports."

"SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer could improve its flexibility and integration with AI to provide analytics beyond just showing up/down statuses and traffic volumes."

"The Atlas module that is used for building the network map is very bad."

"There are some areas for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer. There are some challenges with the solution when compared to other monitoring tools such as difficulty in operations and difficulty with backup installation. My team is currently trying out different solutions but would need to see how it goes."

"An area for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is the dashboarding. The user interface also has room for improvement because it's currently clunky."

"The analysis can utilize algorithms like K-means clustering or associative neural networks for predictions rather than relying on generative AI, which is more suited for text."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best."

"Typically, the license model is for one, three, and five years. They can just be a bit more flexible around it and look into providing an option for 24 months."

"Meraki Dashboard is a utility and portal that's part of the Meraki solution."

"The licensing fees are $180 USD, per AP, for three years."

"Licensing is around under 1000 pounds. The licensing is either one year, three years, five years or ten years and during the licensing, we can choose to renew it per year or per every three years. We've got a license for three years. It's about 160 or about 200 pounds each."

"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."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."

More Meraki Dashboard pricing and cost advice

"SolarWinds' pricing structure is the primary reason why some customers opt for another solution such as ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer. In NTA, you are charged per port, meaning that if you have a 24-port switch you will be charged for 24 individual nodes. ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer, on the other hand, charges per switch, such that if you add a switch, the entire switch will count as one single node."

"The solution's licensing is high-priced."

"The licensing for this solution is based on the number of nodes."

"Pricing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is very high. I have a customer that needs the solution but doesn't have the budget for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because the problem is that you can't use the solution only. You have to buy requirements such as the SolarWinds NPM first, and some companies don't have the budget for all the required components and modules. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer can cost up to $10,000, and some customers don't have that budget. Another product has all the modules that SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer has, with a very low price, that can be a replacement, which is ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer. PRTG is another solution that can replace SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer."

"For our environment, we pay approximately $25,000 USD yearly."

"The price of this solution is exceptional."

"NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is reasonably priced."

"I don't have information on the licensing cost for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because it's bundled with another SolarWinds solution. My organization has seven different models and pays for the license yearly. My organization also had to deploy additional pollers, but the cost wasn't very expensive, though I can't give the exact numbers."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

23%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

65%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

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...

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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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?

There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high. Additionally, it would be beneficial if Meraki Dashboard could integrate more Cisco devices such a...

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What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

Prices care comparable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

The plotting of the device on the map is not appropriate. It should be like a Meraki cloud, where if you are familiar with Meraki devices, you can locate any device directly on the world map.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 22% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

ThousandEyes vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 13% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 6% of the time

Mist AI and Cloud vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 6% of the time

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Zabbix vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 9% of the time

Darktrace vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 9% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 8% of the time

Plixer Scrutinizer vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 7% of the time

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Meraki Dashboard

April 2025

Download Meraki Dashboard product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

April 2025

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer report

Download SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer product report

Also Known As

No data available

Netflow Traffic Analyzer

Overview

Meraki Dashboard is a comprehensive cloud-based platform that offers centralized management and control for all Meraki networking and security products. It provides a user-friendly interface, allowing administrators to easily monitor and configure their network infrastructure from anywhere. With real-time visibility, troubleshooting becomes effortless, ensuring optimal performance and minimizing downtime.

The intuitive dashboard offers a holistic view of the network, enabling quick identification of potential issues and proactive measures. It simplifies network deployment and scaling, with zero-touch provisioning and automatic firmware updates. The robust security features include advanced threat protection, content filtering, and VPN connectivity.

Meraki Dashboard also offers powerful analytics and reporting capabilities, providing valuable insights into network usage, application performance, and user behavior. With its seamless integration and scalability,

Meraki Dashboard is the ideal solution for organizations of all sizes, ensuring efficient network management and enhanced productivity.

Cisco

SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer enables you to capture data from continuous streams of network traffic and convert those raw numbers into easy-to-interpret charts and tables that quantify exactly how the corporate network is being used, by whom, and for what purpose.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe

Oceaneering International, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, 335th Signal Command, Immofori

Buyer's Guide

Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

September 2020

Free Report: Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer and other solutions. Updated: September 2020.

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