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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
5.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN enhances operational efficiency and reduces costs with significant ROI, improved scalability, and optimized resource use.
Sentiment score
6.8
Meraki SD-WAN ensures strong ROI through cost savings, easy management, reduced support needs, and secure global network efficiency.
With Zero Trust provisioning via the Catalyst Center and Meraki dashboard, new branch offices are configured in hours instead of weeks, freeing engineering teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual deployment.
Network engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
They are now back to do that with the remainder of their company, so they've realized the value in 12 months and are willing to invest in the remainder of their organization.
Information Technology Consultant at Island Networks
There are many scenarios where we replace MPLS with the internet because now we have the flexibility to migrate to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and we do not need private connectivity such as MPLS.
Regional Manager at Orange
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is appreciated for expertise, but users desire faster response times and quicker access to knowledgeable support.
Sentiment score
6.8
Meraki SD-WAN customer service is fast, effective, and reliable, though occasionally faces integration challenges and slight response delays.
The principal third-level support is very good.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
I would consider Cisco support a 10 out of 10.
Information Technology Consultant at Island Networks
I would rate Cisco's support, their customer service, and technical support as excellent.
Solution Architect at Sonda S.A.
We raised it in TAC, and they were very approachable and supportive.
Solution Architect at airtel
Their technical support is responsive.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers scalable solutions with central management and integration, but faces challenges with licensing costs in enterprise environments.
Sentiment score
7.6
Meraki SD-WAN is scalable for SMEs, ideal for retail and educational sectors, but may need improvements for complex networks.
Its controller architecture is highly matured, making it one of the most valuable and reliable LAN platforms for large enterprises.
Network engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Cisco SD-WAN is highly scalable and can be expanded to more than 10,000 sites.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
The ease of configuration and features like zero-touch provisioning enhance the scalability of Cisco SD-WAN, especially in disaster recovery situations.
Engineer at Routz
Scalability depends on the model number of each switch, but generally, it is scalable according to need.
NOC Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
It's scalable with extensive features for Meraki SD-WAN.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is praised for its stability, reliability, and high performance, despite minor initial integration challenges.
Sentiment score
8.2
Meraki SD-WAN is reliable, consistently performing well with minimal disruptions and high stability ratings, praised for its user-friendly interface.
For example, with zero-touch provisioning, if we are adding new sites, we can do it with a few simple clicks.
Regional Manager at Orange
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
Engineer at Routz
A simple issue in the control connections between the fabric causes numerous complexities.
Network Manager at HPCL
Sometimes it is not working in Azure or GCP as it has interoperability only with some clouds, so that part needs work.
Solution Architect at airtel
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN needs improvements in licensing, cost, security, cloud integration, ease of use, AI, and support.
Meraki SD-WAN requires improved security, cost-effectiveness, WAN optimization, cloud integration, customization, VPN capabilities, scalability, and user interface.
Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Better documentation with real-world examples, improved third-party integration, and more detailed monitoring dashboards would make Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN even more effective.
Network engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Including more features like integrating with Splunk for monitoring vulnerabilities would help eliminate the need for other SOC solutions.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
VeloCloud provides much more detail and many more tabs for troubleshooting everything, such as ARP, IPv4, IPv6, TCP dumps, routing, and switching.
NOC Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
I work with Fortinet where with a single command you can deploy the entire SD-WAN along with FortiGuard within minutes.
Solution Architect at airtel
Cisco is one of the top vendors with the most stable performance in many solutions, but it all comes down to the customer requirements.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is considered expensive due to high costs, complex licensing, and additional feature subscriptions despite premium offerings.
Meraki SD-WAN offers flexible subscription terms, considered fairly priced, with discounts for longer commitments and additional related costs.
Its pricing is justifiable due to the comprehensive solution it offers.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller businesses when using the Meraki version.
Engineer at Routz
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
If the license expires in FortiGate, the basic functionality will work, but in Meraki SD-WAN, the entire system will shut down.
Solution Architect at airtel
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers centralized management, robust security, scalability, and efficient traffic management with user-friendly deployment and hybrid support.
Meraki SD-WAN offers seamless cloud management, enhances security, and reduces costs with real-time analytics and centralized control.
It also provides robust security features, including port security, analysis, mirroring, and multiple other security solutions.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation.
Solution Architect at Sonda S.A.
The centralized dashboard gives me a clear view of all branch sites, making it easy to manage and monitor tunnel health, bandwidth usage, and device status from one place.
Network engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The architecture allows us to see whether the physical cable is connected or disconnected.
Solution Architect at airtel
The SD-WAN features of Meraki SD-WAN include the overlay setup that can connect between the switch and the Viptela device or between the VCE of another vendor without needing to be vendor-specific.
NOC Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable features I find in Meraki SD-WAN are that it's easier to manage cloud, cloud-managed, with a simpler deployment from Cisco Viptela or Cisco enterprise SD-WAN solution, and it combines the access point, so it is a much simpler deployment, usually fit for retail.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (4th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (2nd)
Meraki SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.3%, down 2.8% compared to last year.
Meraki SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), holds 9.8% mindshare, down 20.9% since last year.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN2.3%
Cisco DNA Center7.3%
OpenText Network Node Manager5.3%
Other85.1%
Network Management Applications
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki SD-WAN9.8%
Cisco ACI9.2%
Juniper Contrail Networking7.9%
Other73.1%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashwani-Tyagi - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Manager at Orange
Centralized control has simplified cloud access and has improved operational visibility
If they can have better firewall features as their competitors have, such as Fortinet and Versa, that would help to place this solution better so that we can address security related things. If they can have all the IPS, IDS, everything built on all the edge devices, whether physical or virtual, that could be one improvement. Actually, if customers are existing Cisco customers, if Cisco can be more flexible to leverage the existing investment, that could be another important aspect to save on cost and be more competitive from a pricing perspective. Overall, the pricing or the segment that Cisco deals with is a bit premium, which they charge a bit premium against the competition on the licensing, hardware, and services. The implementation is not straightforward. You need a specialized partner or specialized people who can implement this. It can be simplified a bit from that perspective as well. Mostly the way we implement the policies for a big environment requires a lot of things that we need to take care of. If that can somehow be improved, because they have different components, like they have vManage, they have vSmart, and vBond and all these components have to work with a certain flow that they need to follow.
reviewer2771085 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Has simplified cloud deployments for retail environments but needs more advanced features and better pricing
The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN depends compared to which vendors, because it's a bit pricey, so not all retail would go for it unless it's a big retail company, but it depends on your comparison. I usually recommend multiple vendors in mind because it depends on the customer's requirements; you have Fortinet, you have Aruba, you have Huawei, and you have multiple options that may be cheaper than Cisco. Regarding Meraki SD-WAN functionality, it depends on the situation, but I would recommend this product if they have the money. It all comes down to the requirements first because I try to fit the best solution for them. It doesn't depend only if I'm carrying only Cisco, it depends on what their exact requirements are. Cisco is one of the top vendors with the most stable performance in many solutions, but it all comes down to the customer requirements. Mainly the pricing is a concern, and it doesn't fit enterprise customers. For enterprise-grade customers, it's not going to fit; it's not possible to use Meraki SD-WAN. It's not just because of the price; it's for enterprise because of the limitation in features and capabilities. Meraki SD-WAN is not fit for enterprise-grade customers or big deployments.
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business51
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise51
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is something I don't know as the tender is not in my department or at my level, but I know it is very expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
I cannot speak to programming-side improvements since that is not my area of expertise. On a base level, improvements could include a better interface, more AI capabilities, better pricing, and bet...
What is your primary use case for Cisco SD-WAN?
The primary use case is for network management and routers we have for WAN connectivity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
When compared for the long run, it is reasonable, but for the short term, such as one year, it is costlier, especially compared to other OEMs such as FortiGate. If the license expires in FortiGate,...
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN depends compared to which vendors, because it's a bit pricey, so not all retail would go for it unless it's a big retail company, but it depends on your comparison. I u...
What is your primary use case for Meraki SD-WAN?
For Meraki SD-WAN, I always go with retail companies.
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Skyline Communications and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: October 2026.
919,003 professionals have used our research since 2012.