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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs D-Link Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

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 Meraki Wireless LAN
Ranking in Wireless LAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
D-Link Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 13.1%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Mageshwaran S - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables organizations to control many sites globally with a lean IT team and provides visibility into the user activities
The solution can handle only medium and small businesses. We face a bottleneck on the gateway while using the solution for large enterprises. The solution must be able to expand to larger enterprises. Currently, the MX device can support only up to 10,000 users. It would be good if it can go beyond 1 lakh users. Catalyst 9300 is coming on the Meraki Dashboard. The vendor must also bring in the 9400 and 9600 Catalyst series. It will be very helpful. We will not have any choke on the gateway. There is no active-active concept. It will be very helpful if the solution provides active-active. Now, we are doing an active-passive setup, which is a warm spare. If it is an active-active setup, the gateway bottleneck issue can be resolved. I would be able to segment the Wireless LAN IPs. It will help support 20,000 devices at a go. Meraki does not have a single dashboard. I need to port an on-premise controller. There is a bottleneck while scaling the product. I need to consider a lot of things.
Sivakumar V - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that offers a good performance at a good price
Over a period of time, the technologies change, and users may not get the proper things. In general, there is a need to keep changing devices after a period of five years, especially considering that I operate in a university where we don't have closed offices, while the devices' performance level goes down in open spaces. Though in our institution, we tried to make some changes to the product, we know that nothing much is going to change. In our institution, we plan to have indoor and room-based APs, but even then, some of the rooms don't come in a dust-free environment, so there is a need for us to experiment with the product as the degrading of the devices and signals still keeps happening. In our institution, we are making some changes to adopt to an indoor-based system. For certain setups, D-Link Wireless works better and ensures that users get value for their money. If you know how to maintain a technology, then it can help you. I rate the overall tool an eight to nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable thing to me is the stability of the product."
"It is very handy to have a support number to call."
"It's easy to manage and provides a clear network view, allowing efficient navigation down to the network details."
"The functionalities are quite professional and complete. It offers good integration with other Meraki products, like switches and the firewall. You can get an overview of all networks and the host. It's really great; nobody else can do that."
"Integrating with the router, firewall, and Wireless Controller is advantageous."
"The initial setup of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN was very easy."
"The interface is excellent. We've been really happy with it."
"The most valuable features in Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN are that we were able to see all the registered users for each particular WAP, which is a big help. The roaming allows us to have continuous wireless throughout the building. The signal can carry over from one WAP to another. Which is probably the most important feature."
"The system simplifies network management."
"The connectivity is good."
"This is an affordable product that offers good performance. This is why it is popular with our customers. It offers good speed and bandwidth."
"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."
"D-Link is a good product that is quite affordable and I recommend it."
"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The initial setup process was easy."
"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."
 

Cons

"The product's coverage area could be expanded. It would help ensure better connectivity."
"Its licensing can be better."
"In the next release, I would like to see a third-party high tech center to connect multiple users to a particular network."
"The customization needs to be improved because it's pretty locked down."
"In some cases, they could include enhanced features in the product, such as a firewall console and traffic analysis."
"When we are using SSID roaming, it is not flexible in terms of which AP it connects to."
"I'd like better integration with security providers."
"If you lose connectivity with the controller, your Wi-Fi network is immediately impacted."
"The only issue is with the controller visibility of the devices connecting to the network."
"Sometimes, the solution needs to be restarted."
"Its interface and support system need much improvement. Sometimes, when we use the interface to reset the password and configure SSIDs, or some other changes, the "Save" option does not show and we have to go to some internal setting and then we can "save" the setting. The “Save” option should be in front of or below of the settings."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"In future releases, it can keep improving on countering the new patterns of security attacks."
"The cloud managed solution needs improvement, and they should focus on the SD-WAN segment with regard to integration."
"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."
"D-Link has some catching up to do in terms of advancing and improving its technology."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is more expensive than other solutions."
"The box itself is very cheap. The question here is about the subscription because this is what you will pay every year. In the initial year, for purchasing, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN gives you an attractive price. While during renewal, we are not given much discount."
"There are multiple licensing options including three months, six months, and one year."
"You have to renew your contract every year, or for three or for five years. If you do not pay right away they will suspend your subscription."
"The cost is not so much for Wireless LAN, but when you have to get the security license, it costs a lot."
"The price/benefit ratio is great."
"The price is good, but it could be improved."
"I haven't conducted a price comparison yet, but based on information, it appears to be more affordable than the current environment. Therefore, I consider the price to be reasonable."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"The product is affordable."
"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
9%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
Which wireless solution would you choose - Huawei or D-Link?
Huawei wireless is a strong and solid product that has a lot of features - and for all that it offers, it happens to be very cost effective. As a wireless solution, it is simple and its user interf...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for D-Link Wireless?
The tool’s pricing is good for the functionality it provides. It is a one-time purchase. The cost can range from $100 to $400. The higher-end devices might cost $400.
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
D-Link WLAN
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Metropolitan Public Defender, Mission Motorcycles
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.