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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

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
6.6
Organizations see significant ROI with Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN through cost reduction, improved efficiency, and enhanced reliability within 12 months.
Sentiment score
6.8
Meraki SD-WAN ensures strong ROI through cost savings, easy management, reduced support needs, and secure global network efficiency.
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
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though occasional outsourced support delays are noted.
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
7.4
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is scalable, versatile, and preferred for businesses, despite occasional licensing or deployment complexities.
Sentiment score
7.6
Meraki SD-WAN is scalable for SMEs, ideal for retail and educational sectors, but may need improvements for complex networks.
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 highly stable and reliable, with minor update bugs overshadowed by robust performance and industry approval.
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.
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
Engineer at Routz
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 improvement in pricing, integration, support, user-friendly interfaces, cloud compatibility, documentation, and enhanced security.
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
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
The negative, or the downside of Cisco is the knowledge base; you need to be a little bit more tech-savvy and network-savvy to work with Cisco, while Juniper is a lot more user-friendly from what I can see, especially in terms of configuration and any kind of roll back.
Information Technology Consultant at Island Networks
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 costly but valued for quality; pricing involves complex subscription-based hardware and software expenses.
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 provides robust security, efficient management, and scalability for enterprises with its comprehensive, automated networking solutions.
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.
Integration capabilities provide comprehensive security.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
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
6.8
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), 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 2.4%, up 0.6% compared to last year.
Meraki SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), holds 15.8% mindshare, down 24.2% since last year.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN2.4%
Cisco DNA Center14.4%
Cisco Catalyst Center7.9%
Other75.3%
Network Management Applications
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Meraki SD-WAN15.8%
Cisco ACI11.7%
Omada Cloud SDN8.5%
Other64.0%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Henry Rosenstiehl - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Sonda S.A.
Comprehensive support and ease of implementation enhance operational efficiency
With Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I have centralized orchestration and management. The transport independence of MPLS or connectivity and internet connectivity is another excellent feature. End-to-end segmentation is also provided. I use the application-aware routing feature. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports dynamic police-based routing decisions based on application type or different performance metrics such as jitter or latency. The benefit of that feature is that it improves user experience. The principal benefit of application-aware routing is that critical applications are prioritized or routed over the best performing paths to reduce outages and service degradation. There is full visibility of applications. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation, and it supports integration with other Cisco products such as Umbrella or Snort. This feature is beneficial for the client because the information is secure. It is important that Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud. It reduces operational needs because I don't need to manage physical controller hardware, and updates and maintenance can be centralized and automated. The zero-touch provisioning feature is very important for the speed of deploying new branch locations. I can deliver the device to the branch, and it is important because simplified deployment makes the implementation start more easily since devices are auto-configured and authenticate without manual intervention.
Mageshwaran S - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at airtel
Experienced streamlined network management with enhanced usability and room for improved security features
On the security features, when compared to Fortinet, they have more patterns and AI-generated ones. Meraki SD-WAN is slowly implementing AI, but it is not yet full-fledged. If AI comes into the picture, it will be helpful. I work with Fortinet where with a single command you can deploy the entire SD-WAN along with FortiGuard within minutes. For AI, it can discover and connect, but currently, we are doing it manually. In Meraki SD-WAN, some features require additional licenses and subscriptions. If these were bundled together, such as 10 or 20 licenses, it would be very helpful for a mini branch or small campus area coverage.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise43
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
More or less, it's the same with Cisco in terms of complexity and pricing, so there's not much of a difference. They might want to consider incorporating features seen in Versa or other competitors...
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
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...
 

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, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: December 2025.
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