Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points comparison

Cisco and Netgear are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.8, while Netgear is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 10.3% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Netgear’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Netgear users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 122 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

10,406 Views
9,261 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Read 12 NETGEAR Insight Access Points reviews

1,268 Views
1,268 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and NETGEAR Insight Access Points are both key players in the wireless networking market. Cisco Meraki stands out with advantages in support and built-in security features, whereas NETGEAR Insight is recognized for its cost-effectiveness and adequate features for smaller setups.

Features: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers a cloud-based management platform, enhanced security with Layer 7 protections, and robust performance options that include seamless WiFi connectivity and strong network security. On the other hand, NETGEAR Insight provides ease of management via a mobile app, flexibility in scaling for small to medium-sized networks, and strong throughput speeds that are reliable even with multiple users.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki could enhance its offering by improving customizability, as the current guardrails may limit experienced engineers. The initial setup cost is often higher compared to competitors. Meanwhile, the NETGEAR Insight could benefit from expanding its security features offering, enhancing customer service options beyond mobile app support, and providing more comprehensive guidance for setup and management for users without IT expertise.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is known for its straightforward deployment process, complemented by extensive online resources and strong customer support networks ideal for complex environments. In contrast, NETGEAR Insight offers simple setup procedures and real-time management through its app, making it particularly appealing for novice administrators.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki typically involves higher initial setup costs due to its premium services and infrastructure, though its ROI is often validated by high security and management capabilities. In contrast, NETGEAR Insight Access Points are more affordable upfront, catering to budget-conscious buyers and delivering quick ROI for smaller networks due to lower capital expenditure.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 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

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

4.4

Number of Reviews

122

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Ranking in Wireless LAN

22nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 10.3%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN	10.3%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points	1.6%
Other	88.1%

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

DolfKrikke

Senior Network Architect at Previder

Centralized management has simplified remote branch control and improved network visibility

Cisco Meraki Wireless is very powerful and very easy to manage. The solution is also integrating Cisco Catalyst Wireless products into their portfolio, and they are managing the Catalyst switches as well. The seamless roaming capabilities function well. I monitor network performance with Meraki's real-time analytics. The most useful metrics to my team are the internet performance metrics, as there is a lot of information in the dashboard that I can access. All auditing and event logs are centralized in the dashboard. When I need to apply to compliance requirements or other regulatory needs, I can have my auditing in one place, which is an advantage. I use Cisco Meraki Wireless's Layer 7 application traffic shaping with the MX and the Meraki MX Firewalls.

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Calvin Ong

Business Manager at KAIRA Technologies pte ltd

Reasonably priced product with a straightforward deployment process

I never thought about what could be made better in the product since my company is a customer-centric organization where we provide Aruba or NETGEAR, depending on the demands and needs of our customers. The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward. It would be great if it was possible to send notifications regarding some errors related to the product that can be sent from our company to our clients through the organization's post-sales team.

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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

"I like the status page Cisco added that shows you the health of the wireless connection."

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

"The product is super stable. I would rate the stability a ten."

"It is cloud-based. You can manage it remotely from anywhere in the world, and you don't have to be on-site, which is a very big advantage."

"The monitoring device enables you to see the network health."

"The cloud manageability feature is valuable."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is fast and does the job."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the application visibility, which is one of the main features."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"The product's deployment is straightforward."

"The meshing capabilities are the most valuable feature. When I am going in-between buildings, my phone doesn't have to pick up different WiFi. They are all the same. Even in-between the buildings, I stay connected."

"The internet connectivity is good."

"I now have the ability to remote access my network. That works extremely well. I can access it from any place. I don't need to be physically at the device. This saves me on time and travel."

"We use NETGEAR's Insight management solution to do off-property controls. It is user-friendly and provides network management, monitoring, and service deployment across multiple remote and local sites. That means I don't have to be physically at a location to do things if I want to make any changes to the network. It saves time and money."

"The metrics demonstrate that NETGEAR really does a good job of balancing the load between the various access points on the networks and this results in an elimination of downtime."

"From the WiFi aspect, it's very intuitive and easy to use. The solution enables me to manage my entire WiFi from anywhere in the world..."

"The initial setup of NETGEAR Insight Access Points was straightforward."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pros

Cons

"If there are advanced features that you can have enabled, they should allow users access to that in an easier manner."

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

"The user interface needs to be improved."

"It lags a bit in providing reports for Wi-Fi performance."

"Its price should be reduced."

"It would be useful to have a service management platform integrated within this solution where we can measure the customer experience."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could improve by having more granularity in terms of the data displayed. However, I understand that with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, you need to have a compromise point to what are the functions that you're going to provide to the users versus ease of use. More granularity in terms of the data and the things that you can do to the devices would be helpful. For example, when we wanted to make a change, restriction, or segregation within Palo Alto, we can go to the level of detail that we want. The amount of detail provided is amazing, it is very granular. However, it comes with much more difficulty, it requires a technical understanding of the environment compared to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN."

"This solution could benefit from a heat mapping ability so that you can tell where the hotspots are, and where the good signals are."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward."

"A con is the backend system which is very, very slow."

"Ubiquiti is a very good company. NETGEAR should look at that model and expand on its remote capabilities. Ubiquiti seems to have a better product."

"There is always room for improvement."

"The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved."

"While the data throughput does provide us with full insight into data being used, we find that it's not very accurate."

"The biggest issue I've had is that it works very well with the WiFi, but it does not offer any assistance at all with the routers. You can't control them or manage them at all. As soon as you want to use anything on the network side—because I have multiple 28-port switches—you can't manage them using this app."

"My major problem is right now, the area which I need to cover is around 7,000 to 10,000 square feet...I would like NETGEAR Insight Access Points to extend the area coverage they provide."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay licensing fees."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's pricing is high."

"You have to renew your contract every year, or for three or for five years. If you do not pay right away they will suspend your subscription."

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

"The solution could improve the licensing structure and the price is expensive."

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

"The tool is reasonably priced."

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

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"It wasn't much more than 100 dollars a year. For the devices that we have, the pricing was pretty fair."

"I can source the stuff pretty quickly wherever I go through the distributor. There is pricing available at NETGEAR if you can spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on a solution. So, there is special pricing that they can help with. The vendor's reps are very responsive. They have a good channel system."

"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."

"It is an expensive solution."

"For what you get, the price of Insight access points is very reasonable."

"The pricing seems to be reasonable."

"Their pricing is perfect for smaller businesses who are money and budget conscious. There are a lot of other solutions out there that are two to three times more expensive."

"Price-wise, it is a little too high, about $20 higher than what it should be, but it's worth it. It's cheaper than Cisco's access point, but the products are not apples to apples."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Retailer

Outsourcing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	69
Midsize Enterprise	27
Large Enterprise	31

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	2

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 NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

The product's deployment is straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

We have some basic models they give without a license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NETGEAR Insight Access Points?

The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 33% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 11% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Ubiquiti WLAN vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 18% of the time

Omada Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 11% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 11% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 10% of the time

Aruba Instant On Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 5% of the time

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

January 2026

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

January 2026

Download NETGEAR Insight Access Points product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

At NETGEAR, we turn ideas into innovative networking products that connect people, power businesses, and advance the way we live. Easy to use. Powerful. Smart. And designed just for you.

Netgear

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points

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