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 #17 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 13.0% 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

16,460 Views
13,308 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiWLM

Read 27 Fortinet FortiWLM reviews

2,366 Views
2,199 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Fortinet FortiWLM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Fortinet FortiWLM compete in the wireless networking solutions category. Cisco Meraki seems to have an upper hand due to its user-friendly cloud management and powerful analytics tools that cater to smaller organizations, whereas Fortinet has a strong emphasis on security features and integration capabilities.

Features: Cisco Meraki offers centralized cloud-based management simplifying monitoring and reporting. It supports RADIUS and SSO, making it easy to deploy splash screens and generate reports. Meraki's intuitive dashboard provides visibility and flexibility. Fortinet FortiWLM features seamless management through its Security Fabric and strong integration with FortiGate, VLANs, and SSIDs. The Network-In-Control feature optimizes client connections to APs, offering superior security.

Room for Improvement:Cisco Meraki could enhance security, customization, and technical support while making pricing more affordable. Users also suggest expanding logging granularity and addressing GDPR compliance concerns. Fortinet FortiWLM might improve marketing strategies and reporting capabilities and adopt smaller business-friendly pricing models to minimize challenges presented by mandatory service contracts.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Cisco Meraki is favored for its flexibility in deployment across public and private clouds, with mixed reviews for first-level support but generally responsive service. Fortinet FortiWLM excels in customer service and seamless management visibility with effective security fabric integration, focusing on on-premises deployment.

Pricing and ROI:Cisco Meraki is noted for high costs attributed to annual licensing, with potential for negotiation yet considered a pain point. Fortinet FortiWLM offers reasonable pricing with straightforward licensing despite recent increases. Both products provide ROI, with Meraki focusing on resource savings and Fortinet on cost-effective security and management solutions.

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM

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

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

17th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 13.0%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 2.0%, down from 2.1% 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

"It is easy to manage and configure. The dashboard of Meraki is easy to use."

"The captive portal feature is my favorite. It allows us to keep track of how many people are entering our client's businesses."

"With Cisco products and third-party products, integration of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is good."

"The big draw is the ease of installation. It's easy to manage, and it's easy to implement."

"The most amazing part is that their Access Points have the ability to connect to multiple conference devices at different times, and it shows you the very in-depth Wi-Fi analytics through their dashboard."

"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."

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

"I have found it to be stable."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"I found that It's really good when comparing it to any other product or it is much better in terms of features that the customer requires."

"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."

"The setup was easy."

"The product is a stable solution."

"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."

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

"Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiWLM pros

Cons

"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."

"When we are using SSID roaming, it is not flexible in terms of which AP it connects to."

"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."

"if there is a better feature, they write it as beta so you have to be careful."

"In the future, I would like to see IP telephony in Saudi Arabia."

"Meraki is still very much a small office type of solution. It is not a fit for large enterprise networks, as it doesn't have tunneling functionalities."

"Its pricing could be better."

"The only concern is when the license has expired and it will no longer function, the entire network goes down, without any notification, or warning."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"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."

"The range needs some improvement and also the stability."

"Licensing is the only area that I think they are below average. They need enterprise licensing, an all-encompassing license to cover all products for a company."

"The platform's pricing needs improvement."

"Improving support and firmware upgrades is necessary. Firmware upgrades and bug improvements need to be tested well."

"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."

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

"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

"It is an expensive solution."

"It is a relatively expensive solution compared to traditional network alternatives."

"The solution's pricing is a little higher."

"Its price is okay for an enterprise. Its licensing is the most painful. If you hear anything bad about Cisco, it's about that. We're supposed to be one of the resellers but had to come back down to become a user. It's really bizarre."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."

"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."

"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."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"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."

"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."

"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."

"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."

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

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

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...

See all answers

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?

While the pricing of Fortinet FortiWLM is a bit high, it remains effective. However, the cost could be better if reduced.

See all answers

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.

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 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

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 14% of the time

Cambium Networks Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 8% of the time

Omada Access Points vs Fortinet FortiWLM

Compared 7% of the time

More Fortinet FortiWLM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

March 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiWLM

March 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

March 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiWLM

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