Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs ExtremeCloud IQ comparison

The compared Cisco and Extreme solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #4 in Wireless LAN , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 13.1% mindshare in the category. Extreme is ranked #10 in NMA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Extreme users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 118 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

17,496 Views
13,994 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

ExtremeCloud IQ

Read 75 ExtremeCloud IQ reviews

618 Views
452 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

ExtremeCloud IQ

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and ExtremeCloud IQ based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN.

To learn more, read our detailed Wireless LAN Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Wireless LAN

February 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 Meraki Wireless LAN

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

118

Ranking in other categories

Wireless LAN (4th)

ExtremeCloud IQ

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (10th), Network Access Control (NAC) (11th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (20th)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and ExtremeCloud IQ aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is designed for Wireless LAN and holds a mindshare of 13.1%, up 12.3% compared to last year.
ExtremeCloud IQ, on the other hand, focuses on Network Management Applications, holds 2.8% mindshare, down 3.4% since last year.

Wireless LAN

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

Mageshwaran S

Solution Architect at Bharti Airtel ·

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.

Read full review

Sriman L

Senior Network Engineer at Nipun Net Solutions

One of the best cloud-based wireless solutions that helps manage multiple APs from a single dashboard across multiple locations

ExtremeCloud IQ’s user interface needs to be improved, and its current bugs need to be fixed. Sometimes, AP details, like the AP firmware and the AP hostname, are not updating properly because of a few bugs in the current version, which they might fix in the next version. Compared to the central and other cloud solutions, a couple of bugs still running on these portals need to be rectified. For ExtremeCloud IQ's next releases, I expect to get all the users and the events alerts. Also, if any AP goes down, I should be able to do some scheduled reports specific to the site because it is currently in beta. If any AP goes offline, that's an event. If you want to do the filter for a specific site event, we don't have that filter option. I expect specific site-level and category-level events and alert filters to get reports.

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

"The product's cloud controller is easy to use."

"The automatic VMware update is very useful because you don't have to worry about outages and planning for VMware updates. It is very advantageous from a management point of view. The ability to restrict and review the clients connected to each of our segments. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."

"Its ease of use and flexibility are most valuable. It is cloud-based software."

"The solution is easy to use."

"This product offers cloud-based configuration, so you can set it up from anywhere."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is fast and does the job."

"The emailing of statuses is the most valuable feature."

"It is more robust for me to deploy networks. And because of the field we are in where offices open up and others close, it helps my turnaround time to deploy these networks for the customers."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"It is more cost effective and gives more flexibility."

"The feature that I like to most is unified management in a multitenant environment, where we can manage all our customers with thousands of devices (routers, switches, VPNs, and APs)."

"a true controller-less approach, where each Access Point is 100% independent from the management system."

"The Client 360 feature provides a comprehensive view of your clients and their activities, including the devices they use. Additionally, a feature called Network 360 offers a 360-degree view of the network, like data usage (in GB), the status of ports and AP, and other details. You can drill down on granular-level drills to gain insights into specific applications and usage patterns like application level and fee, where your data is being wasted or what your clients are doing with the Internet data, what kind of applications they are using, etc."

"ExtremeCloud offers features that not a lot of other vendors do like their data storage and the ability to swap licenses."

"ExtremeCloud IQ is an intuitive platform. The tool's ability to streamline network operations depends on the end customer. Sometimes it's quicker, and sometimes it takes much longer. It helps me to address network problems."

"ExtremeCloud IQ is integrated with the Ekahau tool so that you can log in to the ExtremeCloud IQ portal, upload the cloud plans, draw all the interiors, and plan the APs with the real-time AP position."

"HiveManager is extremely easy to use for anyone with little network experience."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pros

Cons

"There is a processing limitation when you have multiple SSIDs, above three or four."

"The issue primarily revolves around failure to renew the license on time, leading to service termination."

"It lags a bit in providing reports for Wi-Fi performance."

"Initially, I liked some of the filtering features, but that's one of the components that we ran into problems with."

"Concern when there are a number of concurrent users."

"Cisco Meraki must improve the integration between its own family of products."

"Integration with the corporate LAN where Catalyst products are installed is a major challenge."

"In the next release, I would like to see a third-party high tech center to connect multiple users to a particular network."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"Lacks cyber asset tracking."

"Need port aggregation on the 2384 switches to take full advantage of ac on the APs. I understand that is on their product road map."

"The product could support multi-vendor infrastructures."

"I would like to see more security features such as NAC integrated to the solution. This would allow customers to be able to control all other users under one dashboard."

"For me, the only issue is the potential delay in the tool statistics updating in real time after making changes."

"Browser load time for the cloud is long and needs improvement."

"A mobile app would be awesome."

"They can improve just the onboarding process. More user information about the introduction to the product would be helpful. It would be good if they have a better user introduction to the new product because it is different than the prior version."

More ExtremeCloud IQ cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you are wondering if Meraki can work for you, contact one of their representatives because they will do onsite trials where you can set up their system. If it does not work, you can send it back to them for no charge."

"The platform is highly priced."

"It is expensive, but it is a good product."

"At this price point, I would not mind seeing a four-way channel, instead of a 3x3 or a 4x4, like they do in the Cisco Aironet system with their other brand. For the same price point in this other Cisco brand, it is a lot cheaper, and you can get a slightly better throughput than you can with these."

"The price is negotiable."

"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."

"I don't deal with pricing directly, however, it's my understanding that it is around $40 per unit."

"These units cost between $800 and $900 per device and on top of that, you have to pay yearly fees for maintenance."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"The price was okay."

"ExtremeCloud IQ's pricing is medium, but its support contract costs more."

"Bring the cost down."

"I would advise that you be sure to compare apples with apples. Many customers just look at the price per AP and licences, and compare that against other solutions. But, they do not look at the complete picture such as: TCO - how much the equipment will cost you over, say, seven years? Will the customer need to change complete infrastructure when they want to buy the newest hardware? Does support include a lifetime warranty and RMA?"

"Extreme is twice as cheap compared to Cisco due to the currency exchange. Normally, I think Cisco would be a little bit more expensive, but there wouldn't be that much of a difference."

"This solution offers annual licensing that is middle of the range in terms of cost."

"It is easy for customers to use this product because they are able to interchange the license depending on their usage rather than having to buy individual licenses for each asset."

"I did a multi-year license. It was a three-year license. It compares well with others in terms of the price. It is about a hundred dollars per year on a three-year scale."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

Eric Biller

Network Systems Administrator at County Of Summit Board Of DD

Aug 10, 2021

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?

2 out of 5 answers

Ralph Malone

Network Engineer with 51-200 employees

Mar 25, 2021

I have Extreme and chose them years ago when they were Aerohive for one reason PPSK they are still the only company that has this. I put out a bid this year and was ready to forklift my entire extreme system because of their outrageous maintenance costs Aruba had a great maintenance cost but to achieve what I needed I would have to purchase clearpass an excellent product I might add. TCO for Aruba was about 10% of my original Extreme quote. The bid for extreme came in and they had dropped the maintenance cost to 10% of the original cost for 5 years. I would like to have purchased Aruba but I have 125 Extreme WAPs deployed so the cost of Aruba forklift would have been higher and the need to retrain techs on how to configure Aruba is now not an issue. If I was doing a system from scratch I would choose Aruba hands down for their service, price and ease of use. I have a full Aruba network of routers and switches as well as all HP printers so it would have been a good fit. I must add this is based on educational prices I am the network Engineer for a residential High School ASMSA. Your prices may vary. I have heard from other extreme users that their support is not what it was when Aerohive was a stand alone company, I have a very knowledgeable vendor so I rarely have to contact Extreme.

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Michael Fulton

Systems Administrator with 501-1,000 employees

Mar 25, 2021

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 experience with any of these brands? If so, based on your experience would you use that brand again? Also what other equipment do you have on your network? Firewall? Router? APs? Security (Cameras, door locks etc.)? Are there any functions with one of these brands of switches that would enhance the products you already have? Sometimes you get more bang for your buck by sticking with the same manufacture as they will have features on different products that work together well or feed off of each other. If all of that comes down to the same three brands still, then look at performance claims, features sets, cost. We have the Meraki AP's and I like the cloud management portion of them. But if you don't renew with them to use the cloud then the AP's are worthless as the require the cloud management. But it is nice to have that central, visual representation and central management feature Meraki has to offer. I don't know if Extreme Networks or Aruba has that.

Read full answer

See all 5 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about ExtremeCloud IQ?

The Client 360 feature provides a comprehensive view of your clients and their activities, including the devices they use. Additionally, a feature called Network 360 offers a 360-degree view of the...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?

Price-wise, it is a reasonable tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ExtremeCloud IQ?

There can be an improvement by incorporating two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication for security. Advanced network access control features and application control features should ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 32% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 17% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Ruckus Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 10% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 7% of the time

Mist AI and Cloud vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 6% of the time

More ExtremeCloud IQ Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

February 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ

February 2025

Download ExtremeCloud IQ product report

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN

Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity

Overview

Cisco Meraki access points are built from the highest grade components and carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls. The Cisco Meraki dashboard gives visibility into the network users, their devices, and their applications. Armed with rich analytics, administrators can quickly create access control and application usage policies, optimizing both the end-user experience and network security.

Cisco

ExtremeCloud is a resilient and scalable cloud-based network management solution offered by Extreme Networks as a subscription service.

The network is your platform of engagement for clients and staff. We have designed ExtremeCloud to provide superior user experience by empowering you and the applications that drive your business. The combination of Extreme Networks’ smart wired and wireless edges and the elasticity, resilience and scalability provided via state-of-the-art datacenters distributed strategically for worldwide availability allows you to respond to the changing needs of your business, at the speed of cloud, through a simple, multi-site aware user interface.

Extreme

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

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: February 2025.

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