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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs iBwave Wi-Fi 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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (3rd)
iBwave Wi-Fi
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and iBwave Wi-Fi aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is designed for Wireless LAN and holds a mindshare of 12.9%, up 12.2% compared to last year.
iBwave Wi-Fi, on the other hand, focuses on Network Modeling and Simulation, holds 10.9% mindshare, down 12.1% since last year.
Wireless LAN
Network Modeling and Simulation
 

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…
Gopi R S - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced accuracy in design projects with advanced three-dimensional modeling and great support
I am using iBwave Wi-Fi for a project where we are designing on campus. It is used for large venue designs such as a university campus, and my work involves optimizing and validating the designs for accuracy before site surveys Using iBwave Wi-Fi, I am able to provide more accurate results for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features include key elements like creating SSIDs, networking configurations, and the ability to manage all devices through a single console."
"I like the status page Cisco added that shows you the health of the wireless connection."
"The visibility of the site is most useful."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of deployment."
"The setup phase was very easy and user-friendly for me, not only for initial setup but also for ongoing management."
"The solution is easy to install."
"Multiple access ID capabilities, meshing, and the quality of the product itself are all valuable features."
"It enables quick deployment within all branches for the users."
"The most valuable features of iBwave Wi-Fi include the critical three dimensional modeling capabilities, which are necessary for tasks like locating access points, determining their height, and cable routing."
"I find the high-quality Heatmap generation, multi-floor, and wire mapping features to be most valuable."
"The 3D Coverage is a good feature that shows the signal propagation in three dimensions."
"Compared to other tools, iBwave Wi-Fi provides 95% accuracy and generates heatmaps."
"The solution's 3D imaging is amazing."
"iBwave Wi-Fi's tech support is great. They pick up their phones. I have no complaints."
"It can speed up design."
"The stability and feature set of the application are top notch and can't be matched."
 

Cons

"In the future, I would like to see IP telephony in Saudi Arabia."
"The price could be slightly lowered to make it more competitive in the market."
"Some of their first level support staff does not seem to be well-versed in the solution, so support for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN needs improvement."
"The annual maintenance is something that needs to be changed."
"There could be more functionality."
"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."
"We face a bottleneck on the gateway while using the solution for large enterprises."
"In the next release, I would like to see the central control plane have the flexibility to control and distribute policies to all LAN networks, balance the traffic, and the performance based on application monitoring."
"I am currently looking for an alternative due to my reluctance with the reliability of this product."
"iBwave Wi-Fi doesn't have a distributor feed platform."
"It would do iBwave well to become more involved with their clients."
"It would be good if we could involve a visual while designing the backhaul."
"Areas of improvement would include more functionality in the Mobile App, expanded reporting features, and some shortcut features."
"The cost of the solution could be improved. It's extraordinarily expensive."
"I would like to be able to see two buildings at the same time so that you can create a campus view."
"iBwave Wi-Fi could be improved by adding a plot for overall improvement, allowing us to see where we are failing in design parameters, similar to features in Ekahau."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is based on a subscription and is a bit high at the moment."
"There are multiple licensing options including three months, six months, and one year."
"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."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's pricing is high."
"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."
"We pay a yearly license fee for the solution."
"Having a good price is important when we are providing quotations for projects."
"The price is on the high side when compared to Aruba."
"I advise others to treat the cost as you would any tooling cost and use the monthly option as needed."
"iBwave Wi-Fi is an expensive solution, but it is worth the cost."
"The solution's pricing is cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
13%
Construction Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
 

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 do you like most about iBwave Wi-Fi?
Compared to other tools, iBwave Wi-Fi provides 95% accuracy and generates heatmaps.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iBwave Wi-Fi?
Both iBwave Wi-Fi and Ekahau are costly tools. They're considered high in cost because the license needs to be renewed yearly.
What needs improvement with iBwave Wi-Fi?
iBwave Wi-Fi could be improved by adding a plot for overall improvement, allowing us to see where we are failing in design parameters, similar to features in Ekahau.
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
No data available
 

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
ARRIS
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.