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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 captive portal feature is my favorite. It allows us to keep track of how many people are entering our client's businesses."
"It has good security with its Layer 7 protections."
"Cisco Meraki is HIPAA compliant."
"With Cisco products and third-party products, integration of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is good."
"The most valuable feature is cloud management."
"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."
"It is very handy to have a support number to call."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of deployment."
"The setup was easy."
"The solution is controlled from one device and one GUI for all devices."
"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 most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLM is the single management pane and integrated controller inside the firewall."
"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."
"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 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 most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
 

Cons

"Overall the solution needs to have more time to mature."
"The error logs need to be much more comprehensive."
"It would be better if they enable full integration with Cisco's cloud-based network in the next release."
"The initial setup could be made easier."
"I would like to see more cybersecurity. I would like the ability to go in and enhance security. Because WPA2 is becoming obsolete, many devices are now WPA3, but the challenge is that a lot of devices are not yet there. I would like to be able to go in and do monitoring, similar to ASPM. ASPM has the ability to monitor who's joining and who's active. It supports two-step monitoring. The stability of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN can also be improved."
"I'd like better integration with security providers."
"In a future release, they should offer a next-generation UTM, where you can manage all items and the network, and have it include a lot of security features like fingerprinting functionality."
"Despite being enabled, I've encountered an issue where the alert main dashboard fails to detect when any of the devices go down. Hence, the tool's notification feature should improve. We have also faced issues with integration."
"The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned."
"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."
"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."
"I have used Cisco previously and I don't see any specific differences from Fortinet FortiWLM or other vendors."
"The solution should improve user capacity."
"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."
"This solution should be easier to set up in a production environment."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We do a three-year or five-year license and support. Its price could be better, but overall, we get competitive prices. A lot of times, Cisco puts itself out of range, especially with Meraki. I've dealt with a lot of business development from Cisco, and they have always been accommodating, especially in dealing with hospitals or government. There is also a right time to buy it. July is when they are eager to sell a lot of things because that is the end of their calendar year."
"It is expensive, but it is a good product."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is an expensive solution."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is expensive."
"It's not super expensive and it's not super cheap."
"We are on a SmartNet contract. All of our Cisco products are licensed under one contract. I do not think there are any additional costs."
"Having a good price is important when we are providing quotations for projects."
"I would say that they have adequate pricing."
"To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"In the last few years, due in part to the impact of COVID on the market, Fortinet has increased its prices by 35 percent."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
report
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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
8%
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.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.