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 #21 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 10.5% 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 121 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

10,528 Views
9,370 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Read 12 NETGEAR Insight Access Points reviews

1,251 Views
1,251 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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Helped 881,176 peers since 2012

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

4.5

Number of Reviews

121

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Ranking in Wireless LAN

21st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 10.5%, down from 13.0% 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	10.5%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points	1.6%
Other	87.9%

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

MiguelDe Bique

Independent Information Technology and Services Professional at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Provides robust remote configuration and reliable support for managing wireless networks

The best features of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN include the excellent reporting; the dashboard reporting aids us a lot in troubleshooting issues, and the platform is very robust. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is very stable, and the performance is there, as we normally do throughput tests that align with the manufacturer's specs. We use Meraki's Layer 7 application traffic shaping. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN has helped optimize network traffic very effectively, as we do prioritization for streaming and web conferencing apps, resulting in a clear, visible improvement in performance. The capability to configure network policies remotely is the most important aspect for our organization, as we are an MSP providing remote support for all our clients. We monitor network performance with Meraki's real-time analytics. We find client performance metrics most useful to know how the wireless clients are receiving service and the quality of service.

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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

"It will allow me to integrate another system very quickly, as we continue expanding for our client."

"Great architecturally based dashboard and the solution is accessible from anywhere."

"The solution is very easy to use."

"It enables quick deployment within all branches for the users."

"The primary value lies in the ease of configuration; these products seamlessly integrate, and work well together."

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

"The product's cloud availability feature is the most valuable for network management."

"We're able to automate as well as manually control as necessary."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"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..."

"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."

"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 am all about simplicity. With the Insight management solution, I don’t need an additional cloud controller, appliance, network manager, or PC/server to configure and manage my access points. You have to look at cost, and everything has a cost. There is a cost to using Insight. But if the cost is reasonable, I don't want another layer. The ability to deploy a network and then have that software built-in, without having to go to a third-party, is big. Also, the less pieces that I have to call in on, the better. So, when I'm calling NETGEAR, it's not like I'm using some third-party piece of software to manage their product. It doesn't add that layer of complexity, which is key."

"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."

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

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points pros

Cons

"I would like to see Cisco Meraki improve the accessibility by region level here in Latin America."

"Its price should be reduced."

"In the next release, I would like to see a third-party high tech center to connect multiple users to a particular network."

"They should introduce a grace period of 60 days after license expiry because as it is now, it automatically goes down and there is no grace period."

"The wireless infrastructure scalability has room for improvement."

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

"The price could be slightly lowered to make it more competitive in the market."

"The biggest pain point is that they limit you through firewall throughput. I understand why they do it, but that really grates me. For instance, for 450 Mbps throughput, you're looking at £800 for a router, whereas if you look at the one gig connection, for some of us are lucky enough to have a gig connection, you could almost be spending £3,000 for the option to have one gig connectivity. That's one of the pain points I've got. I don't mind paying for throughput, but I should at least have the option to be able to update that throughput, maybe through extra licensing or something else. It is crazy expensive to jump through to the next one."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

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

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

"Due to certain shortcomings in the solution's stability, I feel that the solution's stability requires improvement."

"There is always room for improvement."

"Software-wise, they need to provide the ability to kick users out. If multiple users are abusing the system or the network, I should be able to block them for a time and, when I need to unblock them, I should be able to do so by using their MAC ID. That feature might already be there and I just don't know about it."

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

"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."

"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."

More NETGEAR Insight Access Points cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is on the higher side."

"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."

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

"Its price is high and should be reduced."

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

"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."

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

"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."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"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."

"We have some basic models they give without a license."

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

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

"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."

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

"The pricing seems to be reasonable."

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

University

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	69
Midsize Enterprise	26
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...

See all answers

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 6% 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 19% of the time

Omada Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 12% 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 Access Points vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points

Compared 6% 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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