We performed a comparison between Aruba Wireless and Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Of the two solutions, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is the more popular choice with PeerSpot users. While both have great features, users of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN seem to find fewer things lacking with it and are generally satisfied. In regards to service and support as well, Cisco users are happy with the service they receive. However, users do feel that it is an expensive solution.
"Overall, we've been very pleased with the performance."
"The solution is very secure."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) is the ability to troubleshoot ports on the network. Additionally, when there is an update on the APs they are able to reboot quickly reducing downtime. Other solutions have a longer downtime when updates are done."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is Marvis, the AI-driven network management system."
"The solution is stable."
"The simplicity is great."
"You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment."
"In terms of reporting, in terms of all the user reports, it's very rich."
"The network strength is good."
"Reasonably priced and great for small to medium size organizations."
"With Aruba Wireless Controller, all our access points are connected to one controller. Through that controller, we can actually handle each access point; we can disconnect or connect that access point, and then we can tell, or see, or allow how many users are, or should be, connected through that access point."
"The technical support is 24/7 from the UA."
"The most valuable feature in this product would be the stability. You build it, install it, and it’s good to go, with no further tweaks needed unless adding or replacing APs."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller."
"AirWave is a valuable feature."
"The solution is very easy to use."
"Its flexibility, ease of management via the portal, and the variety of access points are the most valuable features."
"The most valuable aspect of this solution is the single pane of glass management and reliability."
"We're able to automate as well as manually control as necessary."
"The most valuable feature is cloud management."
"The settings of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN can be very granular. You can lock down and block devices with the controls. For example, we have four different wireless settings, such as guest, employee, security, and backup. For example, the settings for the employees, if they use laptops, they're required to have certain settings, such as an antivirus installed. If they do not then Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN will not let them connect. This is very good protection because the network works on the bringing your own device(BYOD) principle. It's a BYOD environment now, and you also don't want them to bring infection into the environment because these people are connecting to the LAN via wireless connections. We have to be careful because we're managing it, we have to be very strict with regards to the rules and policies."
"From a security perspective, this product has several advantages."
"The solution provides good coverage and identity management. Additionally, the user interface is straightforward."
"The pricing should be made cheaper."
"They should include SD-WAN features to it."
"The pricing is very high in the Indian market."
"The solution is expensive."
"It would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network."
"I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features."
"Improving third-party integration is key for Juniper Mist's next release."
"Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) could improve if the MIST platform had a built-in master key. This would be an advantage."
"The management system would be better if it were more polished, if it had a better interface like, for example, Meraki"
"Lacks a heat map analysis and a cloud-based wireless controller."
"Every month Aruba has new firmware. I don't know if it's good or bad but it's not good in terms of production. We can't upgrade our firmware every month, especially an enterprise company, because if we upgrade our firmware based on the latest firmware that Aruba has, that firmware is not stable. They're not 100 percent sure about it."
"We would like to declare a specific number of devices that an employee or a user can use to access their Wi-Fi."
"The reliability could be improved."
"I need more access. I only install the hardware and the software part for the client. However, there are no admin privileges, which is an issue. You need to contact them and make a special request."
"The ceiling grid mount clips have room for improvement. "
"The latest design of their APs removes the console port and requires purchasing an expensive proprietary cable just to access the console."
"There should be better Spanish-language technical support."
"The price could be slightly better, but then again, we negotiate deals every time so the market price isn't really relevant."
"The solution should be more secure."
"Its price could be improved."
"Initially, I liked some of the filtering features, but that's one of the components that we ran into problems with."
"Some of their first level support staff does not seem to be well-versed in the solution, so support for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN needs improvement."
"We would like the solution to work on the pricing of the solution. It would be ideal if it could bring the overall costs down."
"The product's coverage area could be expanded. It would help ensure better connectivity."
More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Pricing and Cost Advice →
Aruba Wireless is ranked 1st in Wireless LAN with 138 reviews while Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is ranked 4th in Wireless LAN with 115 reviews. Aruba Wireless is rated 8.4, while Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Aruba Wireless writes "The portal for centralized management and virtual controller for APs are very valuable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN writes "Offers good mobility, stability and scalability ". Aruba Wireless is most compared with Cisco Wireless, Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti WLAN, Huawei Wireless and Mist AI and Cloud, whereas Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is most compared with Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti Wireless, Mist AI and Cloud, Cisco Wireless and Huawei Wireless. See our Aruba Wireless vs. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN report.
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Pricing is different based on region; it depends on Aruba's and Cisco's strategy in the region. You must contact the respective partners to get an accurate price for comparison.
That being said, in MENA where I live, as of a few months ago (21H1), Aruba pricing was cheaper than Cisco.
Aruba licensing for the AP's is much cheaper compared to Meraki.
You can get a 1/3/5-year cloud license per AP.