Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Mist AI and Cloud comparison

Cisco and Juniper are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Juniper is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 13.1% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Juniper’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 76% of Juniper 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

Mist AI and Cloud

Read 22 Mist AI and Cloud reviews

5,298 Views
3,668 Comparison Views

76% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Mist AI and Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Mist AI and Cloud compete in the advanced wireless solutions category. Cisco Meraki seems to have the upper hand in ease of use and integration, while Mist AI is favored for its innovative AI-driven features.

Features: Cisco Meraki offers centralized cloud management with comprehensive network visibility and seamless integration with other Meraki products. Users appreciate the dashboard's smooth experience and robust security. Mist AI and Cloud provide AI-driven functionalities with automation and detailed analytics. Its open APIs enable integration with various tools, and features like Marvis enhance troubleshooting.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki users desire more advanced configuration options and improved pricing models. The restrictive licensing, lack of technical flexibility, and need for better support and compliance are concerns. Mist AI faces criticism for high costs and a lack of language support. Users also report integration challenges, documentation gaps, and seek enhancements in hardware pricing and multi-vendor compatibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Cisco Meraki and Mist AI have flexible deployment options. Cisco Meraki is praised for its intuitive dashboard aiding deployment in hybrid environments; however, its technical support varies. Mist AI is noted for straightforward deployment in cloud settings and efficient customer service, although service costs and accessibility can vary by region.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki is considered expensive, with its licensing model requiring proactive management. Users find value in its feature set and long-term savings on staffing and support, seeing ROI mainly in operational efficiency. Mist AI is also seen as costly but justified by AI-driven benefits. Pricing is competitive yet significant, with favorable ROI in some regions, supported by AI advancements and operational efficiencies.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Mist AI and Cloud Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Mist AI and Cloud

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

Mist AI and Cloud

Ranking in Wireless LAN

8th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

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 Mist AI and Cloud is 2.7%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Q&A Highlights

Chuck Serauskas

Network and Telecommunications Manager at Kwik Trip

Jun 02, 2022

Which product would you choose and why: Mist AI and Cloud or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?

Had so many problems with Meraki in the past 5 years. I wouldn't recommend them to anybody. The last problem was intermittent problems connecting to an SSID, the helpdesk answer was: "make the password less complex". It was passw0rd. Roaming always seems to break whenever they do an update. One time it took more than a year to fix the issues, couldn't upgrade the firmware for more than a year. Every time I reported a problem, they wanted to upgrade our firmware, but they hadn't fixed the roaming problem. Wifi works so much better now when we moved away from Meraki. Plus, we don't have to pay the license fee anymore.

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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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ALEXANDRE VIANNA

CTO at Redeswirelessbrasil

Scalable and AI-driven automation helps in quick implementation

I have a global customer who wants to start the design phase in a big warehouse, but we do not have the equipment to do a site survey. I need support for the access point to implement in a freezer area. I do not have it. The customer tried to send one piece of equipment to Brazil. However, we had a problem because the customer needed to implement it in three months, and it took two months to send one equipment to Brazil.

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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 visibility of the site is most useful."

"The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage."

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

"The most valuable feature is the technology of the security that is offered."

"The user interface is very simple and easy to use — our customers are very satisfied."

"It is more robust for me to deploy networks. And because of the field we are in where offices open up and others close, it helps my turnaround time to deploy these networks for the customers."

"Its management is most valuable. It is the major feature of Meraki."

"The solution is very easy to use."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"Ability to control the access points by groups."

"The AI deployment process involves adding access points and placing them in the designated area. The AI system automatically adjusts channel selection and transmission power without any issues with stability or throughput. It has improved network performance."

"It's really easy to provision and support. Those are its main features."

"The tool's best part is the GUI. It is user-friendly and fast due to AI features. The solution can help you fix things with AI, which is impressive."

"Multi PSK (Pre-shared Key) is a very good feature in the solution...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Mist AI and Cloud is the best solution I have seen in the industry, especially from the artificial intelligence perspective, as it helps businesses."

"Has an extremely good feature set."

"This solution helps customers save time and fix problems proactively."

More Mist AI and Cloud pros

Cons

"There needs to be some work done on security because, with time, some viruses may emerge that one may not know about."

"It is not a very stable solution."

"The error logs need to be much more comprehensive."

"The throughput of the switches for wireless could be improved."

"Initially, I liked some of the filtering features, but that's one of the components that we ran into problems with."

"There could be more functionality."

"It would be better if they enable full integration with Cisco's cloud-based network in the next release."

"Currently, with Meraki, a controller is required to direct guest and user traffic to the internet. Improvement is needed in the portal for enhanced visibility into activities. Additionally, addressing multiple bugs, especially those arising with new releases, is crucial to ensure system stability."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"There is no local support for Mist in Brazil."

"There are many aspects of AI, and how acquisitions are proceeding, particularly between Juniper and Aruba, remains unclear."

"The inter-functionality with other vendors was a negative for us."

"There are some technical issues that may require attention"

"Juniper should integrate all their dashboards instead of having separate dashboards...Since it lacks the integration of dashboards, Juniper needs to improve it."

"There seems to be different versions of standards used in the wireless access points. In the future, it would be helpful if the solution could come up with some kind of universal standard for all devices and all access points."

"Currently, the solution lacks the ability to configure with other solutions from other vendors."

"Mist AI and Cloud need to improve the configuration speed."

More Mist AI and Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is pretty expensive."

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

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is expensive."

"It's not super expensive and it's not super cheap."

"Since it's been acquired by Cisco, it's an even higher cost."

"The cost is not so much for Wireless LAN, but when you have to get the security license, it costs a lot."

"The price is on the high side when compared to Aruba."

"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."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"The annual cost is a significant issue for us, and it notably contributes to the overall price. We have a customer with nearly fifty-eight access points in a multifunctional building, and while the setup was relatively simple, the yearly licensing cost is substantial. For the specific features we utilize, the licensing amounts to about forty thousand euros annually. This is not a trivial expense and significantly impacts the overall cost, making it quite high."

"The solution is expensive in Brazil."

"The price of Mist AI and Cloud is approximately 20 percent less than competitors, such as Aruba and Cisco. However, Cisco has a lifetime warranty for its solutions."

"Mist AI and Cloud is expensive."

"I rate the pricing a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low and ten is high."

"The price is about the same compared to other vendors. There is an add-on license, but it's up to you if you want to buy it or not."

"Depending on the features, I think it's quite reasonably priced, especially considering the facilities of the product."

"The price is not cheap, but it's a reliable solution and very easy for management."

More Mist AI and Cloud 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

Educational Organization

31%

Computer Software Company

17%

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

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...

See all answers

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 Mist AI and Cloud?

AI-driven automation helps implement the solution quickly.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mist AI and Cloud?

The price is very high in Brazil because of the high tax. The solution is expensive in Brazil.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Mist AI and Cloud?

There are many aspects of AI, and how acquisitions are proceeding, particularly between Juniper and Aruba, remains unclear. From a Juniper perspective, there is a need for further improvements in t...

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

Cisco Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Aruba Wireless vs Mist AI and Cloud

Compared 24% of the time

Cisco Wireless vs Mist AI and Cloud

Compared 11% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Mist AI and Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

ExtremeCloud IQ vs Mist AI and Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

Meraki Dashboard vs Mist AI and Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

More Mist AI and Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

February 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Mist AI and Cloud

February 2025

Download Mist AI and Cloud product report

Also Known As

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

Mist Access Points

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

Mist AI uses a combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science techniques to optimize user experiences and simplify operations across the wireless access, wired access, and SD-WAN domains.

Data is ingested from numerous sources, including Juniper Mist Access Points, Switches, Session Smart Routers, and Firewalls for end-to-end insight into user experiences. These devices work in concert with Mist AI to optimize user experiences from client-to-cloud, including automated event correlation, root cause identification, Self-Driving Network™ operations, network assurance, proactive anomaly detection, and more.

Juniper also leverages Mist AI for next-generation customer support. It is the foundational element behind Marvis, the industry’s first AI-driven Virtual Network Assistant, which provides extensive insight and guidance to IT staff via a natural language conversational interface.

With Mist AI, operators save time and money with faster problem resolution and fewer onsite visits. Users benefit from a network infrastructure that is more predictable, reliable, and measurable.

Juniper

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

Dartmouth, Hitachi, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Nebraska Furniture Mart, NTT, Okta

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Mist AI and Cloud

January 2025

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