Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

The compared Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Meraki SD-WAN solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is ranked #6 in NMA , with an average rating of 8.1. Meraki SD-WAN is ranked #1 in SDN , with an average rating of 8.8, and holds a 23.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Meraki SD-WAN users who would recommend it.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Read 92 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN reviews

129 Views
67 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Meraki SD-WAN

Read 77 Meraki SD-WAN reviews

1,592 Views
1,029 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Meraki SD-WAN

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Meraki SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Network Management Applications

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

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

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Networking (SDN) (1st)

Featured Reviews

Igor Van Den Ouden

Engineer at Routz

Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing

The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.

Read full review

Martyn Walker

Business development manager at Virgin Media

Enables productivity in terms of users and has ease of management

Scalability could be improved. Yes, you can add more than 300 or 400 sites onto it, but because it's not a true SD-WAN and, effectively, it's just a Multi-VRF, it's all hub and spoke at that point. That's the nature of the design, but that's what keeps it simple to administer. So, it's a trade off.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"You get security, all of the service you need, and it's easy to deploy."

"The most valuable feature is the application-level routing."

"The solution is great at aggregating the traffic and then sending it in one direction."

"Initial setup is easy."

"Cisco SD-WAN is a good product."

"The product helps to aggregate network links. The tool increases security and makes it possible for you to have remote workers."

"If one of your ISPs goes down or has latency in your environment, Cisco SD-WAN will detect the issue and explain why the ISP is down."

"The most valuable features are zero-disk provisioning and link load balancing on an application basis."

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN pros

"The Meraki SD-WAN solution is simple to deploy."

"The management system is one of the best available."

"Tech support is willing to go the extra mile to resolve issues."

"The solution is a whole vertical solution, so it doesn't need any other components in order to provide basic features."

"The tool is easy to use."

"We have found the product to be quite scalable."

"They're known for their ease of use and ubiquitous management platform that covers everything. Meraki really excels in plug-and-play solutions. You just plug it up, and everything works. All of the components—the firewall/router, the switches, the access points, the cameras—work very nicely together, and they all can be managed from one platform. That is probably their biggest selling point. Everything comes in one ubiquitous package, and you don't have to manage different components from different platforms. You can see everything from one platform."

"The advantage you have with Cisco Meraki is that they take a lot of that complexity out of the backend."

More Meraki SD-WAN pros

Cons

"Since Cisco acquired Viptela, the stability of this solution has given problems since it is quite new."

"The UI has room for improvement."

"The integration of Cisco SD-WAN with cloud solutions could improve. For example, if any of the applications are hosted in the Amazon AWS cloud we can use a virtual transit gateway for integrating Cisco SD-WAN."

"The initial setup could be a bit less complex."

"I would like to see a better, web-based interface to make changes to the configuration or to view statistics."

"We have had some problems with the licensing model, and it is something that should be improved."

"All of the configurations are based on templates, and we need to spend a lot of time doing the templates. It's good because that means that all of the configurations will be equal in the network. However, we need to spend a lot of time implementing the templates and doing the customizations."

"The tool is very expensive."

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN cons

"Meraki offers the client basic security, it is not the same as what FortiGate is offering."

"I think they should enhance the security."

"Technical support could be more knowledgeable and responsive."

"In Meraki SD-WAN, we have some limitations with the traffic shaping capabilities."

"Meraki is more or less intelligent load balancing, although a lot of features are missing that our SD-WAN solutions will have."

"I would like to see more flexibility in our choices of customization for our needs."

"There are literally things you cannot do at this point in a graphical user interface that can be done from a command line."

"I would like improved stability in Meraki SD-WAN."

More Meraki SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For 600 links, the license for Cisco SD-WAN costs us US$250k a year."

"80 percent reduction in WAN costs. There are no MPLS or P2P circuits left in the organization."

"It is expensive."

"The price is high."

"We can only buy three-year licenses, not monthly. The cost seems high for us, especially since we're in Vietnam, which isn't a rich country. But we still like the product because it is good."

"It's costly. The cost is high compared to competitors."

"In the Russian market where we operate, this solution is expensive."

"The cost of Cisco SD-WAN is high and has room for improvement compared to competitors such as Fortinet which has similar functionality."

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN pricing and cost advice

"Regarding pricing, Meraki SD-WAN is quite competitive, especially compared to solutions like Fortinet. However, it's essential to consider that Meraki requires cloud orchestration, which adds to the overall cost. Overall, it's one of the most competitive solutions from Cisco for SD-WAN."

"like everything else, it's negotiable."

"The licenses cost a fortune."

"The price can vary depending on the challenges that you need to address. When you look at the stability and reliability against the price, you absolutely get the value for the price."

"They have a baseline software license, and then they've got an SD-WAN software license, and then they've got an advanced security software license. They're low cost, and they'll provide any amount of flexibility that you want from a modeling perspective for payment. Typically, it's either annually or multi-year, but they are a lower-cost company. They're not the most expensive by far."

"I am not aware of the licensing fees."

"The product is not expensive."

"The product's price falls under the mid-range category, especially if we consider the new licensing model. The tool is not cheap anymore."

More Meraki SD-WAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

45%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?

The pricing for Cisco SD-WAN is rated eight out of ten, with some variability depending on the reseller discounts and the size of the enterprise. It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller bu...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?

The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases. This is especially notable since Cisco acquired the solution and is still ...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?

The price is a little bit higher than local vendors, for example, Huawei ZTE or H3C. However, some customers require the best quality and performance, thus needing solutions and products from Cisco.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?

They have to ask us many questions about configurations. It could be improved with some automation to trigger, for example, telemetry data, so we can determine the state of the deployment as of day...

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 15% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 13% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 10% of the time

Peplink SpeedFusion vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Competitors

Omada Cloud SDN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 20% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 16% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 14% of the time

Cradlepoint NetCloud vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 6% of the time

More Meraki SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

March 2025

Download Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Meraki SD-WAN

March 2025

Download Meraki SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN

No data available

Overview

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN serves to connect remote offices, reduce MPLS costs, and facilitate cloud and internet access while providing secure connectivity and centralized management for hybrid networks.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is leveraged for secure connectivity, load balancing, VPN, centralized network management, and migrating from traditional networks to SD-WAN. It supports hybrid networks, enabling centralized management across branches and data centers, improving security, and optimizing bandwidth usage. Industries such as banking and retail benefit from its capabilities for secure and efficient network management.

What are the main features of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN?

Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations and administration.
Application-Level Routing: Enhances performance for critical applications.
Segmentation: Provides robust network segmentation for security.
Policy Configuration: Customizable policies for traffic management.
Real-Time Traffic Visibility: Enables monitoring for better insights.
Load Balancing: Distributes network traffic efficiently.
Hybrid Cloud Connectivity: Seamless integration with cloud services.
Deep Packet Inspection: Detailed traffic analysis for security.
High Security: Offers strong security protocols to protect the network.
Ease of Deployment: Features like zero-touch provisioning simplify setup.

What benefits should be considered in reviews?

Cost Savings: Reduces operational expenses through efficient network management.
Reliability: Proven performance and uptime for critical operations.
Scalability: Grows with the organization's needs.
Integrated Health Monitoring: Proactively identifies and resolves issues.
Industry Trust: Cisco's reputation for quality and support.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN's implementation in banking enhances secure transaction communication between branches and data centers. Retailers utilize it to ensure steady connectivity for point-of-sale systems and inventory management. Organizations benefit from centralized management, making it easier to handle networks across multiple locations.

Cisco

Software-defined WAN is a new approach to network connectivity that lowers operational costs and improves resource usage for multi-site deployments, allowing network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and ensure the highest possible level of performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data privacy. For more information on deploying and configuring SD-WAN on the Meraki MX Security Appliance, see the Meraki SD-WAN Deployment Guide.

Cisco

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates

École Jeannine Manuel

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

March 2025

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