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

Cisco Meraki MX vs Sophos UTM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.2
Cisco Meraki MX provides significant ROI through intuitive management, reduced costs, and streamlined operations despite higher initial costs.
Sentiment score
5.4
Sophos UTM delivers positive ROI quickly through cost savings, centralized management, competitive pricing, and effective network management.
I have seen a return on investment with Cisco Meraki MX because of the time saved through cloud management.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
You can eliminate some positions because it manages itself.
Enterprise Networking Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It greatly helps out when I am moving away from the expensive MPLS circuits or MPLS hardware.
Senior Manager Networking at David Yurman
I have seen a return on investment with Sophos UTM, and I can share that the price is around thirty percent better, especially if you count in the employee time.
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.3
Cisco Meraki MX support is responsive and knowledgeable, highly rated for reliability, though some advanced users face visibility challenges.
Sentiment score
6.5
Sophos UTM is praised for customer service, yet AWS support delays and regional service quality discrepancies are noted.
When we raise a ticket with Meraki MX, they instantly become available to support us for configurations or troubleshooting.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Cisco's TAC support for Cisco Meraki MX is excellent because no other OEM provides support at this level.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cisco is one of the best vendors in the market.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
The technical support by Sophos is amazing, especially when I pay for the enhanced support.
Associate Director - Management Support Services at CIHP
I would rate the technical support by Sophos a 10.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
I would rate the technical support with Sophos a seven because sometimes the time of the first resolution is not ideal.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco Meraki MX is scalable, adapting from small to large deployments, with minimal management and straightforward setup.
Sentiment score
5.4
Sophos UTM offers scalability and adaptability, supporting seamless expansion with virtual and hardware options, despite limited physical upgrades.
When you have hundreds of thousands of people it is very difficult to scale in Meraki.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The scalability of Cisco Meraki MX is rated 10 out of 10; you can scale up and scale down with no effort.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
Cisco Meraki MX scales with my growing needs for my organization very well because they are easy to deploy.
Network Engineer at a non-profit with 1,001-5,000 employees
You can have high availability clusters, so very, very scalable in my opinion.
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.6
Cisco Meraki MX offers high reliability and compatibility, with praised stability despite occasional content filtering and hardware issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Sophos UTM is stable and reliable, with few bugs; proper sizing prevents occasional performance issues related to CPU usage.
There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
I have had zero downtime at all with Cisco Meraki MX.
Enterprise Networking Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
I assess the stability and the reliability of Cisco Meraki MX as good, and I have experienced no downtime, crashes, or performance issues.
Network Engineer at a non-profit with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Meraki MX faces challenges with port control, VPN connectivity, interface usability, pricing, and integration, prompting user concerns.
Sophos UTM requires enhancements in user management, scalability, and interface while improving security features, flexibility, and centralized management.
It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Data is the only path, so optimization is essential.
Chief Commercial Officer at InnovAge Home Care
An improvement would be to use Cisco Meraki MX as a software solution as well, which might reduce the cost.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
If you want to really implement some rules that are a little bit more difficult, Sophos always recommends getting the dedicated WAF, or web application firewall, but I would prefer to have more features on the web application firewall in the firewall itself because it would make more sense.
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
I would prefer to see additional features in the next release of Sophos UTM because cyber crime increases every day, so we also need to improve our game to prevent any chances for intrusion.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
In Sophos UTM, we could define IP hosts and use this IP host.
CEO at iSource GmbH
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Meraki MX offers flexible licensing and high value but can involve significant initial costs and annual fees.
Sophos UTM provides flexible, cost-effective licensing with some complexity, making it valuable for enterprises despite pricing concerns.
I get it for $25,000, a device that can connect up to 75-100 users, whereas in Meraki MX, it goes to 75,000-80,000 per access point.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The price could be reduced by around 30% to make it more comfortable.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
If Cisco can make the pricing less, customers can purchase more licenses.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
Pricing has become expensive recently due to the dollar hike and naira value changes in Nigeria.
Associate Director - Management Support Services at CIHP
The value between what I receive and what I pay is the best in the industry.
System Administrator at a training & coaching company with 11-50 employees
The pricing would be more economical if sold directly to the user compared to going through a partner, as they need to take their percentage.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Meraki MX provides cloud management, SD-WAN, advanced security, and ease of use, making it ideal for scalable networks.
Sophos UTM offers robust security, user-friendly interface, VPN integration, reporting, and scalability, ideal for small to large businesses.
Meraki MX is among those top solutions in their exceptional approach towards VPN-less, Zero Trust client access to office private networks.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Advanced security is the second tier of Cisco Meraki MX. It brings you the main next-generation firewalling features such as URL filtering, advanced malware protection, and threat protection.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
Cisco Meraki MX API makes it really easy for me to automate a lot of changes over several thousand devices.
Technology Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management.
Associate Director - Management Support Services at CIHP
It helps us quite a lot, especially because since we use Sophos UTM, malware intrusions are not rampant.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
Sophos UTM's valuable features include the cost, which is very competitive when compared with other vendors, balanced with the features that it delivers.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Meraki MX
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (10th)
Sophos UTM
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
120
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 8.2%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos UTM is 10.0%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Threat Management (UTM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Sophos UTM10.0%
Cisco Meraki MX8.2%
Other81.8%
Unified Threat Management (UTM)
 

Q&A Highlights

MD
Sr Solutions Architect - Growth and E&U Vertical, Global Network Solutions, Digital Solutions at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Dec 13, 2019
 

Featured Reviews

SG
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cloud-based solution simplifies network management with excellent support
There have been no issues with stability after deployment. There have been no complaints. For stability, I would suggest that Cisco Meraki MX is the most stable device from the security processor. Regarding content filtering features, we are using content filtering and malware access, along with all security features in Cisco Meraki MX9500. We have received good feedback from customers because since installing Cisco Meraki MX9500, we have not received any complaints. There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits. It is compatible with all different OEMs, and for VPN, site-to-site VPN has been configured with other firewalls as well. We are getting very good responses from customers as there have been no complaints where we have deployed Cisco Meraki MX9500.
HR
CEO at iSource GmbH
Integrated security tools have supported critical infrastructure and improved network performance
Regarding Secureworks Taegis VDR Vulnerability Management, I do not have all these shortcuts in my head. Perhaps I have to ask my technicians, but we are in full stress because we have to change this entire firewall equipment, also the entire access points, because of the end of life. We also have the full product in for XDR and extensions. We are also part of the webinars from Sophos. It would be better if there were also some important webinars in German. Everything needs improvement, because also the wireless, also RED box and so on. The handling was much easier on the old equipment than on the new XGS. I think there should also be a little more automatic for SD-WAN routing and so on. Because we have to learn some things from the basic completely new because it is different than Sophos UTM, the XGS. The features that could be improved about Sophos UTM include the new features we have in XGS with a simpler interface. For example, in Sophos UTM, we could define IP hosts and use this IP host. We did not have to insert on every, for example, for wide area networks, we had to put the IP addresses from the other side by hand. In Sophos UTM, we could define it under definitions and then use this IP host where we needed it. In the new XGS, if there is a change in the IP address, we have to do it on all, for example, site-to-site VPN tunnels and so on. We have much more work and it is not so easy because we have to check all the definitions. It is also, for example, some of the male technicians like me, we have a biology handicap. For example, male technicians in Europe also have a red-green problem. So we use these light colors on the interface. In some cases, it is not easy to see the, for example, letters or numbers because of the contrast.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Answers from the Community

MD
Sr Solutions Architect - Growth and E&U Vertical, Global Network Solutions, Digital Solutions at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Dec 13, 2019
Dec 13, 2019
I presume the topic is UTM appliances (as Meraki and Sophos have many products). Any physical site connected to the Internet needs some kind of a firewall, yes? That firewall should be at the site (if it is "in the cloud" you lose performance/time/bandwidth, and you still might get a man-in-the-middle issue). For 30-80 users, for devices with prices under $5000 with taxes and shipment (for ap...
2 out of 5 answers
it_user1208223 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President - IT at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 12, 2019
When it comes to Security, I have very good experiences with Sophos, I can say the security solution is absolutely great in Sophos. Whereas I have never used Meraki, so I can't comment anything on it. SD-WAN; no experience on any of the requested products, so better not to make any false comment/advice.
it_user1150056 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at Onesecure
Dec 12, 2019
To be honest, if you are still buying firewall appliances and UTM licenses you are already behind a very obvious requirement to move to Cloud security. Buying UTM does not solve the growing risk of mobility and cloud application delivery. It would be worthwhile reading Gartner's SASE paper on security transformation. Or research Zscaler, who has been delivering this model for 10 years. If a user is in your network behind your UTM, what stops him from connecting to his mobile phone Hotspot and bypassing all UTM, DLP, etc. Security has to move from the network to the endpoint. Protection regardless of location, device or network. Anything less is a massive compromise and a false sense of actual security.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business75
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL Inspection, Granular Firewall rules (Block only, no allow setting), client vpn re...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports network security and firewall options. We researched both Meraki and ASA. We liked t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MX?
I don't even look at the cost of Cisco Meraki MX; I let the accountants deal with that.
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?
The pricing for Sophos UTM is reasonable; I do not have an issue with it, though I was considering RED because I have different sites I wanted to connect, and instead of doing site-to-site, the RED...
What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?
I would like to improve Sophos UTM in that there is software I use that goes deeper in the reporting on usage. There is software called Fastvue that breaks down everything in the firewall and whate...
 

Also Known As

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
Astaro
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hyatt, ONS
One Housing Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MX vs. Sophos UTM and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.