Meraki Dashboard vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer comparison

The compared Cisco and SolarWinds solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #19 in NMS , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 1.3% mindshare in the category. SolarWinds is ranked #3 in NTA , with an average rating of 7.8, and holds a 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Meraki Dashboard

Read 56 Meraki Dashboard reviews

2,338 Views
1,109 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Read 42 SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer reviews

842 Views
147 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Meraki Dashboard

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

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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 857,028 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 (19th)

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (3rd)

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 6.9% 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

Raja Xabi

Technical Manager at APRAL

Improved bandwidth management and network visibility have resulted in financial benefits and streamlined operations

There is always room for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, such as implementing instant reporting based on business intelligence reports and more granular filters in their dashboard to improve the GUI view and reporting. The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model is quite costly compared to other brands. If users are comfortable with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, they have to make the hard decision to invest, and it's suggested from a user's perspective that SolarWinds should improve their financial model and licensing to become competitive, especially for small to medium businesses.

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

"We like how Meraki Dashboard lets you manage all the devices in a single pane of glass. The dashboard is intuitive and easy to use. They are constantly updating the functionality. Switches from other vendors have the same features for the life of the device, but Meraki is always improving."

"It's a simple, functional solution."

"I would say the ease of use is the most valuable feature. It's very easy to set up and get up and running."

"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."

"I find it pretty straightforward and easy to use, especially compared to old, traditional methods."

"The most valuable features are that it's easy to use and technically very complete. I can configure, do advanced troubleshooting in the dashboard, and reboot access points remotely."

"It's really user-friendly."

"The most valuable feature is ease of use."

More Meraki Dashboard pros

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"It is great at telling you if your devices are working and it keeps an eye on your network's overall performance."

"The most helpful feature of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is bandwidth analysis, which lets you see who's hogging your network."

"With SolarWinds, we are now able to accurately gauge bandwidth consumption."

"For managing the traffic, it provides you a response about whether the traffic is down, up, or heavy, which is a very powerful feature. It has a good response time. We have been using this solution for many years, and we don't have any problem with this solution."

"It doesn't cost too much."

"The monitoring is perfect, showing you the details for the utilization of resources and network bandwidth."

"It allows us to pinpoint which protocol is overloading the link."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pros

Cons

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

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

"It would be helpful to have the ability to create a floor plan based on an existing PDF or JPEG, which is automatically converted into a usable network map."

"The coverage has been an issue for us."

"Lacks an alert notification when there are IP or DNS issues."

"More integration would be an improvement."

"The one issue that we have had is that the VPN tunnel would go down unless you worked out with the ISP that you would be using a static IP address on the WAN interface."

"For my purposes, I don't need to see any other features added to the Meraki Dashboard. I have no criticisms and I do like the tool. If I had a criticism for it, it would be about the pricing because it could be a little less, but again, for the service that you get, I won't complain about that too much."

More Meraki Dashboard cons

"I would like to see better customization capabilities."

"There is room for improvement when it comes to the traffic generated by the analyzer and the analysis of that traffic."

"Deployment needs improvement. The process is complicated, requiring attention to infrastructure settings and installation of components like the origin application server, platform, close storage, and policy agents."

"It does not flow. It cannot do our metric performance monitoring. So it is very limited. They can do it but in a very limited fashion. It is only good for SNMP-based alerts."

"The tool itself is very complicated, so training is required to handle it effectively."

"This solution would benefit from having more security-based communications between the actual devices and the software itself."

"Technical support needs improvement."

"Customer Support is quite complex."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is currently the most expensive on the market."

"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 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."

"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."

"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."

"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

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

More Meraki Dashboard pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is reasonable."

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

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

"Licensing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is paid yearly, and there are no additional costs that you need to pay apart from the standard licensing fees because you don't need to purchase another solution to make SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer work. Pricing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is more expensive than other solutions."

"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."

"We have licenses for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer. In terms of pricing, its license is not that expensive versus other tools such as HP."

"The price of this solution is exceptional."

"NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is reasonably priced."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Educational Organization

52%

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?

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...

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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?

The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model i...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco DNA Center vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 19% of the time

Zabbix vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 13% of the time

ThousandEyes vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 12% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 5% of the time

Mist AI and Cloud vs Meraki Dashboard

Compared 5% of the time

More Meraki Dashboard Competitors

Zabbix vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 14% of the time

Darktrace vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 7% 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

May 2025

Download Meraki Dashboard product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

May 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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