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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

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
Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
17th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
27
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 Fortinet FortiWLM is 1.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Zachary Wheeler - PeerSpot reviewer
Impressive manufacturing quality, highly durable, and very easy to deploy
They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with. It would be nice if they had some smaller switches or hubs. They should offer two-port, three-port, or four-port devices so that you don't have to buy an eight-port switch, and you don't have to use an unmanaged element, but their product line is very complete, and I can't say enough about it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is easy to install."
"Cloud managed wireless LAN product that's stable and scalable. It's an easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot solution."
"The big draw is the ease of installation. It's easy to manage, and it's easy to implement."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is fast and does the job."
"With Cisco products and third-party products, integration of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is good."
"The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage."
"It is cloud-based. You can manage it remotely from anywhere in the world, and you don't have to be on-site, which is a very big advantage."
"The solution is very stable. It is a very manageable and secure system."
"This is the only product on the market currently that supports as many access points for wifi users."
"Seamless roaming by leveraging Virtual Cell is a major advantage which reduces roam times and issues related to roaming. Code stability has been excellent and the hardware quality is second to none."
"Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The firewall integration is very important for the security of the connection."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
"The Fortinet FortiWLM system can be controlled through the cloud controller, which is convenient when the solution is not installed in our environment, as it allows us to manage the entire WiFi or access points and provides more adaptability."
"With Fortinet, there is a feature called Network-In-Control. It's the AP controller that decides what the clients are going to connect to... Even though your phone sees, let's say, two APs, since the wireless controller has visibility into and access across all the APs, it knows the best AP for the client to connect to. This way, the controller makes sure that none of the APs is over-crowded, and the spectrum is used properly."
"Security is the feature we like most from Fortinet. In general, their security architecture is really great, because it involves everything: firewalls, wireless LANs, the user. Everything is really secure."
 

Cons

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's management tools need enhancement."
"This solution could benefit from a heat mapping ability so that you can tell where the hotspots are, and where the good signals are."
"Its pricing could be better."
"The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks."
"Recently I have seen that the Meraki access point, maybe due to congestion, just kicks off my customers, mostly when they are in Zoom meetings or Teams meetings and they have to reconnect."
"The annual maintenance is something that needs to be changed."
"It could be slightly cheaper but it's fine."
"The product doesn't effectively do its job anymore since some issues crop up in it once you run out of your subscription licensing...Improvements are needed in the licensing part of the tool."
"The initial setup is complex and has room for improvement."
"The pricing for the solution is expensive and can be improved."
"The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned."
"The platform's pricing needs improvement."
"One area that needs improvement is the configuration aspect, which is more challenging compared to other products, despite Fortinet FortiWLM being a popular brand in Sri Lanka."
"There is very little publicly available information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture. Promotion of the overall technology is limited as well. Being more vocal about a product that has many advantages would go a long way to eliminating a lot of the confusion and negative perception about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture."
"Cost is something that could be improved, but you have to pay for what you get."
"There are currently issues with Fortinet's software quality."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is on the higher side."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The platform is more expensive than other solutions."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is expensive."
"When compared to other vendors, Cisco's pricing is higher."
"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."
"These units cost between $800 and $900 per device and on top of that, you have to pay yearly fees for maintenance."
"The price is good, but it could be improved."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."
"If a customer already is a FortiGate customer, the cost to go to the FortiAP is incredibly affordable, because you already have the controller."
"Licensing costs are reasonable. There are so many different types of licenses with Fortinet, but the licensing and the 24/7/365 support are so reasonable that I automatically include it with every transaction. I never line item it without it. There are no additional costs."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing 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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
While the pricing of Fortinet FortiWLM is a bit high, it remains effective. However, the cost could be better if reduced.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial.
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
 

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
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.