Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Fortinet is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 13.1% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Fortinet’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Fortinet 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

Fortinet FortiWLM

Read 25 Fortinet FortiWLM reviews

2,506 Views
2,338 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Fortinet FortiWLM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Fortinet FortiWLM are top competitors in wireless network management. Cisco Meraki is more suitable for smaller IT teams due to its cloud-based, user-friendly management system, while Fortinet FortiWLM excels in security features and seamless integration with security products, catering to organizations with strict security requirements.

Features: Cisco Meraki offers cloud-based management with an easy-to-use dashboard, supporting multiple SSIDs, RADIUS, and seamless systems integration. Its centralized management simplifies deployment and updates. Fortinet FortiWLM uses Fortinet’s Security Fabric for secure management, integration with firewalls, switches, and access points, providing robust analytics and centralized management, ideal for end-to-end security.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki could refine its pricing, enhance logging details, and address GDPR compliance, while sometimes lacking the depth of non-cloud solutions. Fortinet FortiWLM could improve reporting capabilities, ease of setup, and guest management without relying on additional tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki facilitates deployment across various cloud environments with generally positive customer service. Fortinet FortiWLM, mostly on-premises, offers strong technical support and easy access to assistance, receiving high service ratings.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki is perceived as costly due to its licensing model requiring annual renewals, although it offers powerful features and stability. Fortinet FortiWLM provides competitive, transparent pricing with cost-effectiveness, beneficial for budget-conscious organizations like schools.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM

January 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

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

118

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Fortinet FortiWLM

Ranking in Wireless LAN

16th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 13.1%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 2.0%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

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.

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Zachary Wheeler

President / CEO at Secure Solutions Center LLC

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.

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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

"The solution is very easy to use."

"The setup phase was very easy and user-friendly for me, not only for initial setup but also for ongoing management."

"The product's cloud availability feature is the most valuable for network management."

"Meraki WLAN is easy to deploy, includes a cloud controller, and updates continuously. It also offers high visibility."

"The solution is stable and reliable."

"It enables quick deployment within all branches for the users."

"Cisco Meraki is HIPAA compliant."

"The interface is excellent. We've been really happy with it."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"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."

"The firewall integration is very important for the security of the connection."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks."

"The setup was easy."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLM is the single management pane and integrated controller inside the firewall."

"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."

"The greatest advantage is the security fabric Fortinet offers."

"Although there are a few steps, the initial setup is pretty straightforward."

More Fortinet FortiWLM pros

Cons

"Updating the equipment and the scheme they use to bill for the license could be improved."

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

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

"The solution should be more secure."

"There could be more functionality."

"Meraki leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the technical capabilities in terms of throughput, spectrum, management, higher-level functions, etc"

"The integration options with third-party applications need enhancement."

"The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"The guest management features need to be improved by adding automation."

"This solution should be easier to set up in a production environment."

"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."

"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."

"Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration."

"The interface could certainly do with some improvement. We have other customers with WiFi networks, and they always use Ubiquiti. With Ubiquiti, it's a much better user interface, and it is much easier to configure."

"In the next release, they could improve by adding a controller-less server, or architecture that is provided in other solutions, such as Aruba. This would be a great benefit for customers."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiWLM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price/benefit ratio is great."

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

"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."

"This solution is reasonably priced."

"The price of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is per unit and it has annual maintenance costs."

"It is expensive."

"The cost of both the hardware and licensing is high, and it is more than what I would prefer to spend currently."

"The solution is overpriced and more expensive than Hauwei."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"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."

"If a customer already is a FortiGate customer, the cost to go to the FortiAP is incredibly affordable, because you already have the controller."

"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."

"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."

"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLM is reasonable compared to the other vendors. We are using a five-year license."

"In the last few years, due in part to the impact of COVID on the market, Fortinet has increased its prices by 35 percent."

"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."

More Fortinet FortiWLM pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

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...

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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 Fortinet FortiWLM?

The security is a valuable feature.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?

The pricing for Fortinet products has increased. While historically there was a bundle price available, it's now gone, making Fortinet less affordable than before. However, they are not the most ex...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?

There are currently issues with Fortinet's software quality. We have concerns regarding the frequent updates needed because of short software cycles. More cloud orientation like that seen in compan...

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

ExtremeWireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Aruba Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 26% of the time

Cisco Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 19% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 15% of the time

Omada Access Points vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 7% of the time

Cambium Networks Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 6% of the time

More Fortinet FortiWLM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

February 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiWLM

February 2025

Download Fortinet FortiWLM product report

Also Known As

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

FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN

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

Consolidate security and wireless LAN management with our integrated wireless solutions. Single-pane-of-glass management for security and access without the need to add point products simplifies deployment and reduces management complexity. These solutions are highly scalable to support even the largest organizations and distributed enterprises.

Fortinet

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM

January 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM

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