Meraki MX Reviews

Name: Meraki MX
Brand: Cisco
Rating: 4.1 (64 reviews)

Vendor: Cisco

4.1 out of 5

64 reviews
93% willing to recommend

3,136 followers

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What is Meraki MX?

Cisco Meraki MX appliances are next-generation firewalls with all the advanced security services needed for today’s IT security. The appliances are ideal for organizations considering a unified threat management (UTM) solution for branch offices, data centers, distributed sites, or campuses. Since Meraki MX is 100% cloud-managed, installation and remote management are simple and zero-touch.

Get the Meraki MX Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Meraki MX, Check Point NGFW, WatchGuard Firebox and more!

Meraki MX is the #2 ranked solution in top Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions. PeerSpot users give Meraki MX an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. Meraki MX is most commonly compared to Check Point NGFW: Meraki MX vs Check Point NGFW. Meraki MX is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 36% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 24% of all views.

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Featured Meraki MX reviews

David Fartouk

CTO at Trust-IT Solutions

We are still using other solutions. We had solutions from HP Aruba and Juniper as well. Eventually, we plan to remove the Aruba and deploy something else, which is basically the Meraki and the Juniper Mist. We are migrating from Aruba to Meraki. We think the Aruba solution was complex despite being stable. Managing it is cumbersome. There were questions about the company's stability.

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Mike Cote

Managing Partner/Founder at Netverta, LLC

The solution's most valuable feature is the Meraki dashboard, which is a single pane of glass. The dashboard allows us to see and manage all our Meraki customers. Since it's cloud-based management, we can remotely support Meraki, which makes it easy for us. We like to sell and deploy Meraki MX because of the ease of management.

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Bhagat Singh

Head of IT Department at B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd.

The product is quite secure, easy to manage, and well-connected with other devices. If anything goes wrong in one of the switches, MX detects and notifies us about the port that's facing issues. So we can fix it immediately. It is quite easy to access. We can access it from our mobile phones or laptops on the go. We can also detect the issues and monitor the network while traveling. It is the easiest part about Meraki MX.

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Meraki MX mindshare

As of May 2025, the mindshare of Meraki MX in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category stands at 13.6%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

PeerResearch reports based on Meraki MX reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Unified Threat Management (UTM)	May 1, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	May 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	Meraki MX vs Check Point NGFW	May 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	Meraki MX vs WatchGuard Firebox	May 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	Meraki MX vs Sophos UTM	May 1, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Check Point NGFW	4.4	11.6%	96%	310 interviews Add to research
WatchGuard Firebox	4.2	14.0%	95%	86 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Meraki MX features include easy deployment with cloud-based management, enabling remote access and automated configuration. Its VPN capabilities, such as AutoVPN, offer seamless secure connections. Advanced security features include firewall and intrusion detection. Users benefit from simple traffic shaping and bandwidth control. The dashboard offers real-time monitoring and alerts, providing comprehensive network visibility. Meraki MX's intuitive interface ensures user-friendly operation, efficient scalability, and compatibility with various environments.

"The solution is very well-rated."
"This solution provides a better capability where I can create a virtual network."
"It is a very straightforward solution to manage."

Room for Improvement

Meraki MX requires enhancements in load balancing and logging features. Event logging and exporting logs are cumbersome, high-level enterprise security features are limited, and SSL inspection is insufficient. It needs more WAN ports, cheaper licensing options, and better VPN configuration. Many find integration with Active Directory problematic, desire improved reporting, and want more control over network objects. User complaints also focus on its high-priced model and slow support response.

"Data is the only path, so optimization is essential."
"For our use case, there is not anything specific that needs to change."
"Improvements are required more on the side of troubleshooting."

ROI

Organizations experience significant ROI with Meraki MX through time savings in setup and management. Reduced travel and deployment costs are noted across multiple locations. Admins find value in the easy learning curve and intuitive dashboard. Cost savings are highlighted when switching from other systems like AT&T. Meraki MX offers quick VPN setup and reliable performance over five years. Licensing ensures replacements, contributing to reduced downtime. High initial costs are offset by long-term value and efficient features.

Pricing

Meraki MX pricing can vary widely, with costs depending on hardware platform, license type, and additional features like security. Many users find it more expensive initially compared to other solutions, but appreciate the cloud management, support, and flexibility. Compared to standalone Cisco products, it might appear cheaper, yet licensing fees remain significant, often linked to device count. Despite the higher price, users acknowledge the value and functionality provided by Meraki MX in a competitive market.

"The tool's prices are okay compared to the traditional solutions. We find Meraki MX platform to be cheaper compared to the regular tools, like SD-Access."
"I rate the tool's price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"The product is a little expensive."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use Meraki MX for managing internet connectivity through VPN and SD-WAN in various locations. It acts as a firewall with advanced security features like intrusion detection, geographical blocking, and content filtering. Meraki MX integrates with other network components and provides cloud-based management, suitable for both small and large enterprises. Users appreciate its simplicity, scalability, and ability to seamlessly connect multiple sites, including remote and international offices.

Service and Support

Meraki MX customer service receives high marks, described as quick and knowledgeable. Users appreciate 24/7 accessibility and direct tech discussions. While mostly efficient, some note occasional unresponsiveness or knowledge gaps in initial support levels. Advanced users find dashboard limitations frustrating, though tech support is valuable for troubleshooting. Purchasing support requires a contract, yet most issues are resolved promptly. Opinions on responsiveness vary, with some highlighting slow response times. Cisco Meraki is generally viewed positively.

Deployment

Meraki MX's initial setup is generally straightforward and simple, with many users finding it intuitive and easy to configure, often completed within a few hours. Some find that a little expertise or additional learning is required for complex scenarios. Deployment can vary in time depending on project size, but basic configurations are done quickly. Its user-friendly interface and cloud-managed capabilities make the setup process efficient for organizations.

Scalability

Meraki MX is considered highly scalable by multiple users, with smooth transitions between models and seamless scale-ups for growing networks. Some report no issues with expanding capacity to handle increased devices and users. However, scalability may be limited by hardware, necessitating upgrades. Users need to size deployments appropriately to ensure optimal performance. Generally suitable for small to medium businesses, some customers note the need to switch to larger models to accommodate higher demands.

Stability

Users generally find Meraki MX stable, with few encountering issues. Most report dependable performance, strong in harsh environments. Some note minor concerns, such as load balancing and content filtering. Hardware replacement support is positively noted. Automatic systems like AutoVPN and Internet failover receive praise. A few users face configuration-related instability but rate stability as high. Despite isolated hardware failures, support promptly resolves these. Stability ratings often range from seven to nine out of ten.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Meraki MX Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

24%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

University

Real Estate/Law Firm

Non Profit

Wholesaler/Distributor

Media Company

Insurance Company

Outsourcing Company

Performing Arts

Hospitality Company

Legal Firm

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Consumer Goods Company

Transportation Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Compare Meraki MX with alternative products

Learn more about Meraki MX

Meraki MX’s hardware and virtual appliances are configurable in Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform, and private cloud support is offered through Cisco NFVIS and Alibaba Cloud.

Organizations of all sizes and across all industries rely on Meraki MX to deliver secure connectivity to hub locations or multi-cloud environments, as well as application quality of experience (QoE) through advanced analytics with machine learning.

Cisco Meraki’s advanced QoE analytics offers:

End-to-end health of web applications at a glance across the LAN, WAN, and application server.

Autonomous machine-learned smart application thresholds applied to identify true anomalies that are based on past behavioral patterns.

Ability to monitor the health of all MX WAN links across an entire organization.

Ability to detail hop-by-hop VoIP performance analysis across all uplinks.

Cisco Meraki’s SD-WAN offers:

The Meraki MX’s SD-WAN is unique in that it can be easily extended to deliver optimized access to resources in public and private cloud environments with virtual MX appliances. Its SD-WAN lowers operational costs and improves the performance of remotely-accessed resources. Users can ensure the availability of the apps and services their employees use most through dynamic path selection, policy-based routing, support for application-layer profiles, and VPN.

Meraki MX offers industry-leading cloud management that has template-based settings which can scale easily from small deployments to tens of thousands of devices. It features an intuitive web-based dashboard for managing mobile devices, united firewalls, switching, and wireless LAN. Users can also benefit from role-based administration, configurable email alerts for a variety of important events, and easily auditable change logs. Meraki MX is capable of producing summary reports with device, user, and application details archived in the cloud.

Meraki MX Key Features

MX has a robust suite of network services in an all-in-one device, which saves you money by eliminating the need for multiple appliances. These services include:

SD-WAN capabilities
SNORT®-based intrusion detection and prevention
Layer 7 fingerprinting
Web caching
Application-based firewalling
Anti-malware
Geo-based firewalling
Content filtering
Site-to-site auto VPN and client VPN
Web search filtering
Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)
4G cellular failover
Dynamic path selection
Web application health and VoIP health

Reviews from Real Users

Meraki MX stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its easy management and its ability to be accessed remotely. Below is some feedback from PeerSpot users who are currently using Meraki MX as their firewall security solution.

Craig B., a central services engineer at Liberty Technology, writes, “The web console for managing everything keeps everything on Meraki and keeps us from going somewhere else. It is why I think a lot of people like Meraki. Comparing it to SonicWall or even a different Cisco firewall, like traditional ASAs, managing Meraki is a thousand times easier because of fluidity. You don't have to rebuild a table just to change one rule. It's much more readable for a human.”

Edgardo C., an IT director, notes,”By using the VPN, we can connect remotely. We have two offices, and we could connect them through the VPN. We could establish a network between two sites, and that has improved and increased communication and productivity. Our remote site is able to access the server remotely.”

Meraki MX was previously known as MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600.