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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ruckus Wireless 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
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ruckus Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 13.0%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ruckus Wireless is 14.3%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Mageshwaran S - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Xander Janse Van Rensburg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and high-performance wireless networking with exceptional stability, scalability, and robust feature set
One of the most valuable features I appreciate is auto channelization, facilitated by a proprietary product called ChannelFly. This feature enables APs in a specific zone to automatically adjust their channels, optimizing performance. Additionally, Ruckus Wireless stands out for its ability to reuse certain beams, resulting in smaller data spots. In my experience with various products, Ruckus Wireless consistently delivers unparalleled throughput, coverage, and reliability in wireless networking across different environments. As a noteworthy point, the newly launched WiFi 7 standard is measured against Ruckus's WiFi 7 AP, establishing it as the global benchmark. When it comes to WiFi, Ruckus sets the standard, outperforming competitors with its superior performance and capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It only comes with a controller on the cloud, and this differentiator simplifies network management."
"The solution has worked very well in our campus environment."
"Cisco Meraki is HIPAA compliant."
"The solution ensures seamless connectivity as users move within the office. Six installed Meraki APs provide excellent coverage for around three hundred users, offering reliable speeds. Additionally, the system allows guests and users with priority devices to connect using their SAP ID. The traffic is managed through D and G controllers to meet the specified requirements for continuous connection and speed."
"The single dashboard of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is the most valuable feature for me."
"The functionalities are quite professional and complete. It offers good integration with other Meraki products, like switches and the firewall. You can get an overview of all networks and the host. It's really great; nobody else can do that."
"For Meraki, the ease of deployment and management is most valuable."
"With Cisco products and third-party products, integration of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is good."
"It gives you the whole user session, and you can tell that the client connected at the traffic post."
"I really like Ruckus Unleashed, which is the feature that provides a quick solution for me to control the APs."
"The scalability has been very good."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is the Beamforming feature."
"Ruckus features a centralized architecture solution with ultrasound technology, which helps us with communication and roaming."
"For me, the most valuable features are good integration with the customer's existing network and the ease of deployment and configuration. Ruckus products are also easy to learn to manage and deploy for not only our own staff, but also for the IT workers in the customer's organization."
"The setup is very straightforward."
"They have all the features in terms of wireless technology. They have most of the features already there in the controller and their wireless system."
 

Cons

"Licensing is, in my opinion, the least appealing component. It can be difficult to keep licenses up to date in order for the system to function properly."
"There should be better Spanish-language technical support."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's management tools need enhancement."
"The solution should be more secure."
"The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks."
"There needs to be some work done on security because, with time, some viruses may emerge that one may not know about."
"The error logs need to be much more comprehensive."
"We would like the solution to work on the pricing of the solution. It would be ideal if it could bring the overall costs down."
"The solution currently lacks the integration of security services."
"In my company, we still has to do some manual calculations on where we should set the access points, which is a time-consuming process as there were no automatic setup functions provided by the tool."
"Most customers revoke the idea of deploying it when they observe the cost per AP license."
"I would like to see more location-based services on the Smart Cell Insight on access points."
"The initial setup was not simple. We were installing indoor and outdoor wireless and this is why it took us three months."
"The solution lacks a lot of features other solutions provide. If you are an organization that is more focused on security or you need a lot of other features, such as location tracking then Ruckus Wireless may not be the right choice. If you want a solution with more than basic security I would choose Arista or Aruba."
"It is very difficult to convince the customer to choose Ruckus because of the price."
"Some customers have issues with the price because it's more expensive than Ubiquiti, but they can accept the cost because it's reliable and has more features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Users have to pay a yearly license fee for the solution."
"I haven't conducted a price comparison yet, but based on information, it appears to be more affordable than the current environment. Therefore, I consider the price to be reasonable."
"It's a pretty good value, but not great. Pricing is on a yearly basis for the Meraki solution."
"My client has made comments on the price, indicating it is expensive, however you do receive a lot for the money that you did spend on the solution. The price of the annual renewal of the licensing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a little high. We wish the price would drop."
"The price is on the high side when compared to Aruba."
"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is an expensive solution."
"The price is negotiable."
"We have a yearly license for our multiple mode 200 or 300 Ruckus Wireless systems. It's a good price."
"It is reasonably priced. I would rate the price a three out of five."
"I rate the product price as six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The setup that I have at the moment does not require licensing, although I am not sure whether a bigger project will mean that I have to spend more."
"If you walk into any restaurant or hotel you will find Ruckus Wireless solutions because it is economical when it comes to pricing. There is a basic subscription for the license and support."
"Ruckus Wireless is available at a reasonable price"
"The price is reasonable."
"The price could be better. Normally, if you find customers paying for cost-effective wireless solutions, Ruckus devices are a little expensive compared to other vendors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

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...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
What do you like most about Ruckus Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless is an easy to manage solution.
 

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
American University of Sharjah, Baruch College, Centro Escolar Liceo Santo Tomšs, Chevalier College, Chico Unified School District, Colegio de Fomento El Prado, Columbia Public Schools, Delta School District, Dordt College, Douglas County School District, Drew University, Armonea, Central Utah Clinic, Grove Hill Medical Center, Inner South Community Health Service, Midwest Surgical, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Lyndoch Living, Polonus, Roaring Fork School District, Sonora State, Vivid, Sydney, Players Club, Sandals, Scandic Hotels, Sheraton LAX, Sunbird
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Ruckus Wireless and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.