We performed a comparison between Meraki MX and Palo Alto Networks VM-Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The security features that they have are quite good. On top of that, their licensing model is quite nice where they don't charge you anything for the SD-WAN functionality for the firewall."
"It's quite comfortable to handle the FortiGate firewall."
"The IPS is good. It protect my network from attackers."
"The features that prevent internet connections, the filtering are the most valuable because we did not have any internet protection before."
"I like Fortinet's cloud management. It allows me to manage all my devices in different branches for three cloud accounts. Even though I use on-prem devices, I can manage everything on the cloud."
"The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."
"Customers are more inclined towards FortiGate because of application control, web filtering, and anti-spam features. The support from the FortiGate team is good, and price-wise, it is affordable."
"The solution can scale well."
"Dual WAN connections are greatly simplified and point-to-point VPNs automatically connect regardless of what WAN connection is active."
"It is very easy to use and manage. It is also very easy to scale."
"I use Meraki in my POCs and with my customers as well."
"In general, Meraki MX is easy to work with."
"Intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS): The best feature. It can detect malware, even a virus, and warn you by email about the device that has it. When the Meraki detects that something is wrong, it automatically blocks the connection or the intrusion, delivering a graphic report with all the necessary content."
"Traffic Shaping: The device lets you decide how you want to use your internet services. Due to the fact that Meraki can accept dual WAN, you can decide the way you balance the data traffic."
"The solution is easy to set up."
"It is a robust SD-WAN solution."
"Palo Alto Networks VM-Series has everything centralized. You have the VPN solution, firewall, routing, UDR, flexibility, updates, and full visibility of your traffic."
"We now know a lot more detail about what our users are doing on the network."
"The VM series has an advantage over the physical version because we are able to change the sources that the machine has, such as the amount of available RAM."
"The Palo Alto VM-Series is nice because I can move the firewalls easily."
"I have not actually called their support line, because we have a direct contact to a senior engineer in the company for any issues that we handle with them. I will say they are very responsive, and they do give you the information you need when you need it."
"It scales linearly with load and no issues."
"The solution enables organizations to enforce policies."
"The VM-Series scalability is fast and easy to implement, improving our security posture as our Azure network grows."
"The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."
"At first glance, the interface for the device is very confusing."
"I would like Fortinet to add more automation to FortiGate."
"I feel that the reporting needs to be improved."
"The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."
"If they had better integration with security products, such as Cisco ISE or Rapid Threat Containment, then it would be an improvement."
"It does not have key authentication for admin access."
"The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly."
"In the next release, because the security is pretty basic, I think they could include additional security features."
"Management can be improved in Meraki MX."
"The configuration options for firewall and IPS have limitations."
"Meraki MX firewalls are great for small to medium-sized businesses, but other solutions are better for enterprise-sized companies."
"FortiGate is cheaper than Meraki. Even the license renewal is less than Meraki."
"We had minor issues with Meraki MX. We had a couple of RMAs, so that could be an area for improvement, but in terms of how the RMAs went, the turnaround time and getting those back into redeployment were quick. Another area for improvement in Meraki MX is that when you're scaling for multiple locations, you need to use the same model, but the model you'd need is only available for a short time. The specific model you require could be out of stock, or Meraki isn't making that model anymore, so Meraki should improve that."
"They need to improve the link between Meraki and Active Directory."
"They're very complacent and I find the rule set to be a little arcane."
"It would be helpful if we had a direct number for the support manager or the supporting engineer. That would be better than having to email every time because there would be less wait."
"From time to time, they have released some content updates that have some issues, maybe twice a year."
"The tool is very costly."
"AWS doesn't integrate well with third-party firewalls."
"Its web interface is a bit outdated, and it needs to be updated. They can also improve the NAT functionality. We have had issues with the NAT setup."
"The interface is all Java-based. I would prefer an HTML5 interface."
"I would like to have automatic daily reporting, such as how many users have connected via SSL VPN."
"On the cloud side, they need to come up with more HA solutions to support the multi-region."
Meraki MX is ranked 2nd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 57 reviews while Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is ranked 10th in Firewalls with 52 reviews. Meraki MX is rated 8.2, while Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Meraki MX writes "Cost-effective, simplified, easy to manage, and reliable with advanced security features and granular visibility". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series writes "Many features are optimized for troubleshooting real-time scenarios, saving a lot of time". Meraki MX is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG, SonicWall TZ and Netgate pfSense, whereas Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is most compared with Azure Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate-VM, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and KerioControl. See our Meraki MX vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series report.
See our list of best Firewalls vendors.
We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.