Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs ExtremeWireless comparison

Cisco and Extreme are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while Extreme is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.3. Cisco holds a 12.9% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Extreme’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Extreme users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 119 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

15,495 Views
12,588 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

ExtremeWireless

Read 29 ExtremeWireless reviews

1,738 Views
1,516 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

ExtremeWireless

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

ExtremeWireless and Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN compete in the wireless LAN market. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN stands out due to its advanced features like integrated security and cloud management, while ExtremeWireless is favored for its competitive pricing and strong customer support.

Features: ExtremeWireless offers robust connectivity, customizable configurations, and flexibility, making it appealing for enterprises seeking adaptive solutions. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN features integrated network security, centralized cloud-based management, and high in-depth visibility of network activities, providing a comprehensive solution.

Room for Improvement: ExtremeWireless could benefit from faster deployment options, enhanced integration with cloud-based systems, and broader support for diverse environments. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN might improve by reducing the initial cost, offering more personalization in support services, and expanding customization capabilities for advanced users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers streamlined deployment with centralized cloud management, simplifying oversight. ExtremeWireless needs manual configuration, which can extend setup time, but compensates with more personalized and responsive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: ExtremeWireless is known for competitive pricing and a favorable return on investment, appealing to budget-conscious enterprises. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN has higher initial costs, but robust features and efficient management tools provide significant long-term value, justifying the investment despite a larger upfront cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless

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 Meraki Wireless LAN

Ranking in Wireless LAN

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

119

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ExtremeWireless

Ranking in Wireless LAN

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.9%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta

Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk

Streamline network management with a unified dashboard for seamless device integration

The primary use case for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is mostly for enterprise wireless, including guest Wi-Fi and enterprise Wi-Fi. I use it across various industries with a focus on retail Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers a single pane of glass management. It only comes with a controller on the…

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Seungho Yang

Network Engineer at KOREAN AIR

Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming

Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If you're trying to identify one of the switches or pinpoint a computer or pinpoint something, you could find it just like that and change the IP address. It's easiest to do it that way."

"The solution's most valuable features at that time were the ease of managing on the cloud without having a server and the authentication using RADIUS integrated with the server on the cloud."

"It is very stable, very resilient, and very robust."

"It has good security with its Layer 7 protections."

"There are many valuable features of Cisco Meraki, including the switches, stacking, and layer 3 routing."

"The solution is very easy to use."

"Its flexibility, ease of management via the portal, and the variety of access points are the most valuable features."

"The most valuable aspect of this solution is the single pane of glass management and reliability."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"The cloud-based management system is valuable."

"It provides seamless connectivity if you move around."

"The initial setup was easy."

"The monitoring system is integrated with AI features."

"The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine."

"The central control is valuable."

"The cloud-based solution allows for easy management and monitoring of traffic and congestion."

"ExtremeWireless provides us with enterprise-level authentication methods at an excellent cost. It supports all the latest authentication methods. Another advantage is the built-in DHCP server. We don't need third-party DHCP servers to get the IPF."

More ExtremeWireless pros

Cons

"The stability could be better. We have experienced many instances where we have experienced a lag in our network, and I am not sure if it is due to their devices or our network."

"It is super expensive for what you get. I just wish it was less expensive."

"Technical support can be improved, as well as having more detailed capabilities to go without using an API."

"It could be slightly cheaper but it's fine."

"Overall the solution needs to have more time to mature."

"I would like to see integration with sensors."

"The initial setup could be made easier."

"I would like to see them improve their support where an assigned engineer can take the case all the way to closure. Usually, you get a different engineer calling regarding the same ticket."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"The performance of the access points could be improved."

"In the next release, I would like to see more security features."

"The current product line is very high-level and is well suited for enterprise-level organizations, but they need a more cost-effective solution for smaller businesses."

"The onsite controllers are not as good as the cloud controller. I would also like ExtremeWireless to add web filtering on the access point. This feature is available from other vendors but not ExtremeWireless."

"Technical support is an area that needs to be improved."

"The APs have quite a low signal compared to other brands."

"One area that could be improved is the accuracy of tracking tags."

"The performance of the access points could be improved. ExtremeWireless coverage and signal stability could be enhanced to match the level of Ruckus Wireless and other vendors."

More ExtremeWireless cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is high and should be reduced."

"The price of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could be improved, it is too expensive. We pay for the solution on an annual basis."

"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."

"Having a good price is important when we are providing quotations for projects."

"As is always the case, the price could be better, although I do not recall exactly how much this comes out to."

"There are multiple licensing options including three months, six months, and one year."

"Cisco products are generally recognized for their performance and quality, which may justify the higher price point compared to other options on the market."

"This solution is slightly more expensive than others, such as Ruckus Wi-Fi."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"ExtremeWireless is subscription-based for both cloud and on-prem solutions, and it's quite expensive."

"Our access points device is at its end of life. I can buy one more and then I must buy a new device, but if it is a new device it will not support the old virtual appliance. I would need to upgrade our virtual appliance to the next version or build a new virtual appliance with new devices, and it's not good for us. The overall licensing subscription could be better."

"The price of the solution overall is expensive. Additionally, the controller and license are expensive. We pay for an annual subscription."

"I rate the price of Extreme Wireless a three out of five."

"The license cost per AP is about $150 USD."

"I rate the product's pricing a three or four out of ten."

"The purchase of 350 access points cost approximately $250,000 USD."

"Extreme isn't the most expensive, but it's not a low-cost solution, and because there are no big volumes, you don't receive significant discounts, making the final price higher."

More ExtremeWireless pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

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...

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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...

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What do you like most about ExtremeWireless?

The initial setup process is simple.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?

There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points. When there is a problem with the firmware of one access point, the correction might be too late.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?

We work with some end customers, and we use ExtremeCloud IQ ( /products/extremecloud-iq-reviews ) for the administration of the wireless platform. We use Wi-Fi 6 E for many users.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 31% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 16% 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

Ekahau Site Survey vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Ruckus Wireless vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 40% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 19% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 5% of the time

ExtremeCloud IQ vs ExtremeWireless

Compared 4% of the time

More ExtremeWireless Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

March 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeWireless

March 2025

Download ExtremeWireless product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

Extreme ExtremeWireless Access Points deliver wired-like performance, at scale for high-density in every environment. Smart Access Points are equally adept for both distributed and centralized deployment models. ExtremeWireless Controllers provide advanced functionality to allow organizations to define how wireless voice/video/data traffic is processed without architectural constraints and in accordance with business needs.

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

St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless

March 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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