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Cisco Meraki

Features
Ease of use
Ease of management
Quality of support
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Pricing from
$150.00 per device per year
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
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User industry
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What is Cisco Meraki

Cisco Meraki is a cloud-managed networking platform that combines wireless LAN, switching, SD-WAN, and security appliances under a single dashboard. It is used by IT and network teams to deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot distributed networks such as branch offices, retail locations, schools, and small-to-mid enterprise environments. The product differentiates through centralized cloud management, templated configuration, and integrated telemetry across network and security components.

pros

Unified cloud management console

Meraki provides a single cloud dashboard to manage access points, switches, SD-WAN, and security appliances. This reduces operational overhead for organizations with many sites and limited on-site IT staff. Centralized policy and configuration templates help standardize deployments across locations.

Integrated SD-WAN and security

The MX security and SD-WAN appliances combine routing, VPN, traffic shaping, and security controls in one platform. This supports common branch connectivity patterns such as hub-and-spoke and site-to-site VPN with centralized visibility. The integrated approach can simplify procurement and operations compared with stitching together separate tools.

Built-in analytics and telemetry

Meraki collects device and client telemetry that supports troubleshooting and capacity planning. Wireless features can support location and presence analytics when paired with compatible deployments and licensing, which is relevant for venue and retail use cases. The platform’s event logs and health views provide a consistent operational view across network layers.

cons

Licensing required for operation

Meraki hardware requires an active license to continue full management and operation, which can create renewal risk and ongoing cost. Organizations must plan for license lifecycle management across all sites. This model can be less flexible for environments that prefer perpetual operation without subscriptions.

Limited deep customization

The dashboard prioritizes standardized workflows over highly granular configuration. Advanced routing, security tuning, or niche feature requirements may require workarounds or may not be available compared with more configurable enterprise platforms. This can be a constraint for complex networks with specialized policies.

Visitor analytics not primary focus

While Meraki can support location/presence-style insights via wireless telemetry, it is not purpose-built as a dedicated visitor behavior intelligence platform. Organizations seeking advanced footfall attribution, audience segmentation, or marketing analytics may need additional specialized software. Data depth and reporting for these use cases can depend on deployment design and licensing.

Plan & Pricing

Plan / License Edition Price (examples, 1-year list) Key features & notes
Enterprise (MX / MR / MS etc.) Varies by device — examples: Wireless AP (MR) Enterprise: $150.00 (1-year); MX60 Enterprise: $250.00 (1-year); MX64 Enterprise: $300.00 (1-year). Base cloud-management features, AutoVPN, firewall, zero‑touch provisioning, 24x7 enterprise support. Prices vary by device model and term (1,3,5,7,10 years). Licenses sold separately from hardware.
Advanced Security (MX) Examples: MX60 Advanced Security: $500.00 (1-year); MX60W Advanced Security: $550.00 (1-year); MX64 Advanced Security: $600.00 (1-year). Adds unified threat management (UTM) features, content filtering, AMP, Threat Grid, etc. Available for MX product line. Organization must use a single MX license type.
Secure SD-WAN Plus / Secure SD-WAN+ Per-device and org co-term options; pricing varies by MX model and term (examples not listed as single price on site). Adds Meraki Insight, ThousandEyes Internet intelligence, Smart SaaS QoE and advanced SD‑WAN analytics. Available Org‑Wide and Per‑Device.
Systems Manager (SM) – MDM seats Licensed per seat; seats sold in bundles/terms. (No universal per-seat list price published on site; examples and trials available via product catalog/sales.) Device enrollment based licensing; seats assigned to networks. Free legacy SM Free 100 program signup discontinued (legacy accounts may exist). Instant free trials are provided.
Meraki Display / Access Manager (specific apps) Trials available; Display offers 30‑day trial; Access Manager supports 90‑day evaluation licenses (LIC-ACCSMGR-A-1Y as trial SKU). Some Meraki apps offer time‑limited evaluated trials (30–90 days). Specific SKUs and trial terms depend on product.

Notes:

  • Meraki uses per‑device licensing with multiple editions (Enterprise, Advanced Security, Secure SD‑WAN Plus) and multiple term lengths; licensing must be purchased through Cisco/Meraki or authorized partners/resellers.
  • The site provides a "license base price" table with sample 1‑year list prices (see examples above). Prices vary by model and term; full pricing is available via the Product Catalog/quote or reseller.

Seller details

Cisco Systems, Inc.
San Jose, California, USA
1984
Public
https://www.cisco.com/
https://x.com/Cisco
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cisco/

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