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Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points vs. Cisco Meraki MX

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ACisco's Meraki MR Series is a wireless LAN solution.N/A

    Cisco Meraki MX

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ACisco Meraki MX Firewalls is a combined UTM and Software-Defined WAN solution. Meraki is managed via the cloud, and provides core firewall services, including site-to-site VPN, plus network monitoring.

    $595

    per appliance

    Pricing
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    MX64
    $595
    per appliance
    MX67
    $695
    per appliance
    MX68
    $995
    per appliance
    MX84
    $1,995
    per appliance
    MX100
    $4,995
    per appliance
    MX250
    $9,995
    per appliance
    MX450
    $19,995
    per appliance
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    I believe others dashboards are more complex, not so simplified compared to Meraki. This user-friendly aspect of Meraki really sets it apart for many businesses looking for a straightforward and efficient way to manage their network. Compared to the price range Meraki has and …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    Cisco Aironet or Catalyst series require controllers. For certain networks, Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points is just easy and simple, and meets the requirements.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    The decision to move to Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points was primarily due to a reluctance to upgrade many Cisco WLC around the world. Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points was chosen due to its simplicity, flexibility and the ability to stage the rollout. Could do a …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    Aruba was far more difficult to manage and troubleshoot.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    good value for the money, reliable, lifetime warranty
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    I am definitely highlighting the same themes of reliability, ease of management, and scalability. Everything Cisco Meraki MR puts out is what I would consider to be industry standard. With a team that isn't as networking savvy as others, we have been able to grow comfortably …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    I really fall in love for Cisco Meraki MR.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    NA
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    We chose this Meraki firewall for the same reasons as our other equipment, for its ease of implementation, but also to have all our Meraki products visible on the same console. Its use is identical to that of switches or Wi-Fi kiosks; all you have to do is set it up via the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    I would personally always recommend Meraki over the above for ease of deployment and management. My only reservation is you feel like you never really own the equipment... its more like you're leasing it and that the end it all just stops working. Where with the above products, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    The Cradlepoints can also serve as wireless access point devices, but can have phone provider SIM cards added to them for internet connectivity, which is good as a backup route or for mobile vehicles. However, for office locations we use the Meraki access points, because of how …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    Meraki is in a different class, much more expensive and a better UI and large scale manageability
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    Good competition. Meraki has an easier dashboard
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    Meraki for the easier choice. Lately Meraki have climbed up the ladder with the new MS390 widening the offer. For me I see Meraki for the small/mid market customer and Cisco Classic more for the bigger customer with more specific needs. But security must follow along with the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    [Cisco] Meraki [MR] costs more but generally seems to work better for us. Our older Ubiquiti kit seemed to struggle with people roaming across the building, especially with Macbooks. We have had no such issues with [Cisco[ Meraki [MR].
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    The Meraki MX is more of a firewall than a wireless access point, though some models do provide wireless capabilities. Can be useful as a gateway for the MRs or in a location where a single device is needed but additional ports, VPN, or other firewall-like functionality is …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points are very easy to install, configure, and manage. Centralized management offers excellent features, and especially if you have multiple locations where the access points are installed, they're very easy to manage, saving you a lot of time. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    First benefit in Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points is the easiest manageability
    Incentivized
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Ease of use and deployment
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Fortinet was too complicated for our needs.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    No comparison, Cisco Meraki MX is better.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    The Meraki Dashboard has been a lot more intuitive than CradlePoint NetCloud. We switched from CradlePoint to Cisco Meraki MX because we were already familiar with the interface which allowed us to be familiar with a single dashboard.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Easy deployment
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Simplicity and costs
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Cisco Meraki MX is good and easy to setup. But only drawback we see is that it can take more than 2 active wan links.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    For a small remote office, Cisco Meraki MX was compared to the PaloAlto next gen firewall.

    Whilst the company prefers the use of PaloAlto for internet destined traffic, the office features and simplicity of management meant the Cisco Meraki MX was an easy choice for a small …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Meraki camera is another great feature in the same portal
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Cisco Meraki MX is easy if you don't need multi-tenancy solutions and if the routing in the network is not so complex. But Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN solution is more powerful and has more features compared to Meraki.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Cisco Meraki has the smart switch and MX firewalls down. I think in order it would go Cisco Meraki, Netgear, Linksys than Sonic Wall. Cisco just stacks up against the other well because their UI is amazing and their knowledge base is vas. Also, Cisco's support lines are …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Compared to the regular Cisco devices, the greatest thing will always be the ease of configuration that the Cisco Meraki MX gives by having a dashboard to eliminate a command line that can be difficult for some beginners, it is easier to identify if you make mistakes and fix …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    It is easier to implement and affordable. If you like Cisco products and you believe in their ecosystem and future, you will not be wrong selecting Cisco Meraki MX or Viptela from their portfolio.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Flexibility, scalability
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Z4 Teleworker Gateway is a suitable alternative for very small offices or homework stations. It offers the possibility of SD-WAN, LAN and WLAN capabilities. Functionality is of course slightly limited compared to a full stack Meraki environment, but is still a very viable …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    To Fortinet very similar, I always sell the easy patching and secure development.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Capabilities, performance, and ease of management. Also, because of the efficiencies of being able to manage everything from a single portal.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Easy to deploy.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Overall, for a new network admin or a non-IT person, the Cisco Meraki MX is much easier to configure for a single site than the Cisco ASA Firewalls. ASA can be quicker for those with a background in Cisco command line OS.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    I have used OpenMesh which is no longer around. But stacked up against Cisco Meraki MX, there was no competition. Cisco Meraki MX overall had better features, deployment, Ease of use, and Hardware performance. One of the
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Meraki MX
    Ease of setup, portability, subscription cost, and flexibility.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    99%
    Would buy again
    126 Answers
    95%
    Would buy again
    124 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    116 Answers
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    118 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    125 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    122 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    112 Answers
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    108 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    120 Answers
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    119 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points and Cisco Meraki MX
    Feature
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
    -
    Ratings
    Cisco Meraki MX
    7.9
    109 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Identification Technologies00 Ratings8.3104 Ratings
    Visualization Tools00 Ratings8.7102 Ratings
    Content Inspection00 Ratings8.1101 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls00 Ratings7.5100 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP00 Ratings7.990 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console00 Ratings6.4103 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging00 Ratings7.6107 Ratings
    VPN00 Ratings8.8102 Ratings
    High Availability00 Ratings9.1103 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection00 Ratings7.397 Ratings
    Proxy Server00 Ratings6.857 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Small Businesses
    WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
    Score9.5 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (135 ratings)
    9.3
    (145 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.9
    (4 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    9.5
    (7 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (25 ratings)
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.0
    (73 ratings)
    9.2
    (112 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Meraki MX
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    It's ideal if the company frequently uses mobile devices that need to work on Wi-Fi. It's also ideal if a company has multiple locations. Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points can then be easily deployed and managed via a central Meraki Dashboard. It also offers a powerful content filtering feature within the Cisco Meraki environment. This can be particularly useful for guest networks and in locations where certain content cannot be downloaded, such as a school.It's less suitable if a company has a limited IT budget and the network needs to be continuously expanded. In those cases, the associated license costs can quickly add up. In factories or other robustly built environments, RF tuning isn't feasible. As a result, the signal quality can sometimes be somewhat reduced.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    The Meraki MX lineup is well suited for organizations that need centralized management of multiple locations, as it allows for both quick deployment and simple/easy remote administration all from a single pane of glass. It also works very well for providing VPN access for remote workers and helps monitor end-device uptime. It does, however, fall a bit short in its firewall's customization, compared to traditional appliances (like our WatchGuard Firebox), so perhaps less suited for organizations that need more customization, as the Meraki MX lineup is primarily designed for simplicity and straightforward cloud-based management.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • It's cloud based, so as long as we have an internet connection, we can access it. Whenever we push a change, it's one stop like a single pane of glass to manage all our equipment. And so that's what I liked about it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    • The Cisco Meraki MX series is phenomenal at allowing us to remotely manage networks. So the devices usually act as the brain behind our client's networks, which makes it really, really easy for our team to take a look at what's going on in those client network environments, resolve any issues, and make sure that our client's networks are staying secure.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • It can expand its radio range in terms of distance reach
    • It can improve it's design as it looks like a plain flat brick
    • I would like to see more integration with security
    • Better solution in segmenting and authentication like clearpass
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    • Layer seven firewall rules. Just making them more granular. We've been in meetings with Cisco SES where I've said feature requests many times and that's one of the big ones where it's just a little cumbersome to implement layer seven rules right now.
    • Just making them more granular. We've been in meetings with Cisco SES where I've said feature requests many times and that's one of the big ones where it's just a little cumbersome to implement layer seven rules right now.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    It is a solution that works very well. It is almost like setup and forget, since the solution works. When issues occur, documentation is available with detailed steps on how to solve this problems you are facing, of course Technical Support is always ready to help. We have had instances where an Access Point fails and within 2 days we have the replacement
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    The simplicity and ease of use for the Meraki Dashboard make it an easy choice for our organization to renew our Meraki Enterprise Agreement. We will likely continue using the Meraki MC67-C, MX450, and other MX models in their catalog until we shift away from Meraki completely
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    To get basic functionality doesn't take long. Set up a new Meraki Dashboard activate the licenses and get internet connection for the APs and you are more or less done. The Dashboard will find your items and you're good to go.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    Some features simply aren't there, but the ones that are there are pretty easy to use. Sometimes it is easy to get lost when trying to find the specific device you want to work on, but that's mostly due to how rarely we have to go into the interface.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    We have been deploying Meraki since last 8 years and even the first one deployed seems to be working fine till now!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    Meraki MX devices support high availability (HA) configurations, which ensures minimal downtime if one device goes offline. This feature has helped us maintain a stable and reliable network, even in cases of hardware failures. ince Meraki is cloud-managed, we've noticed that the cloud infrastructure is generally highly reliable, with minimal service interruptions or downtime. This makes it easier to manage the network remotely without significant availability concerns. Meraki automatically pushes firmware updates and patches, which helps maintain system stability without requiring manual intervention. These updates are rolled out in a manner that ensures minimal disruption to service.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    The interface is pretty responsive. The lower end devices are easy to overwhelm if you have a lot of throughput. Be sure the model you get is rated for the amount of traffic you will have. Overbuild if possible, otherwise you won't be fully leveraging the connection from your ISP.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    We have not had any issues with the Meraki WiFi Access Point hardware but we did encounter a problem with a Meraki LAN switch that failed to power up. Upon a email into the Meraki Support, they promptly called back and we went over some quick tests to determine a power supply problem. A replacement LAN switch was sent to me the next day.
    Read full review
    Cisco
    I haven't ever had a bad experience with Meraki support. On the few occasions where I wasn't understanding the UI or needed some clarification about what a setting actually would do, I contacted them and they were very quickly able to provide help. Returns are simple and fast, too. We had to return a defective device one time and they shipped the replacement before we had even un-racked the one that was faulty. Unlike many other vendors, they didn't ask use to a do long list of scripted diagnostics, they just took my word for it that the device was broken and sent out a replacement immediately
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    great when they offered it, really tested your knowledge with hands on and see what your peers from other orgs know. glad to see that we were ahead of the curve of what our peers knew
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    it was okay as it was moderated but still better than nothing and done via semi self paced webex meeting
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    There were documents that detailed how the WiFi Access Point was to be installed and mounted. The only issue was to cable the device, we use a third party for this type of work and typically has to be performed after normal business hours. Other than that, the installation was easy.
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    Cisco
    Implementing Meraki MX devices in phases—starting with a pilot group or select branch offices—was invaluable. This allowed us to identify potential configuration issues, troubleshoot problems, and refine our setup before rolling it out company-wide. It also helped to get feedback from early users and adjust the deployment strategy accordingly. The SD-WAN capabilities in Meraki MX were essential for optimizing our WAN traffic and ensuring better application performance across various locations.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    We were more on a Cisco Wireless Controller set up, which takes a lot longer to control and that's why we've actually gone through a cloud-based product, which is very easy compared with the old traditional way that we used to have. It's more ease of software. They've got very similar features, but it's easy to set up and maintain into the future.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    Cisco Meraki MX provides simplicity and scalability while cutting costs. With Meraki MX, you get a Security appliance, router, and Firewall in one appliance and managed with one GUI. These features enable the network engineers to maintain large-scale enterprises with a single dashboard from a remote site or anywhere with internet, all thanks to the Meraki cloud dashboard
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cisco
    As far as I know, it's 10. I mean, because like I said, I manage stuff in the south. I have coworkers that manage it in the north. And so the scalability of it to be able to be go in and see the configurations of the ones in the north as well as they can see in the south. So across the board, it works really well for how widespread out it is.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    When I first started with my company we had various infrastructure and a mix of tech. Since going to Cisco Meraki MX we have noticed better network performance and our new sites are much easier to bring online. Users have noticed an improvement in VPN connection and getting into all our systems.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Uptime has improved significantly. The dashboard automatically keeps devices up to date by scheduling upgrades at remote times (say 2am on a Sunday)
    • Swapping to Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points has reduced the management overhead. No more long controller software hardware upgrades and obviously no more need for beefy central controllers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    • From a positive impact? Basically it allows us to set up shop very quickly. It allowed us to add sites to our network very quickly. From a negative perspective, I think the only thing is that I can see from a negative perspective is I have a preference to working with ACLI in terms of how I engage with the youth tool At the moment, the only way to actually engage with a tool is on a gui and sometimes what I'd actually like is more detailed information in terms of actual configuration that you'll actually get out of ACLI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points Screenshots

    Screenshot of MR57 Cisco Meraki Access Point