Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ruckus Wireless WAN comparison

The compared Cisco and Ruckus solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #4 in Wireless LAN , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 13.0% mindshare in the category. Ruckus is ranked #2 in Wireless WAN , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 37.7% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Ruckus users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 118 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

16,460 Views
13,308 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Ruckus Wireless WAN

Read 56 Ruckus Wireless WAN reviews

3,639 Views
3,102 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Ruckus Wireless WAN

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Ruckus Wireless WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN.

To learn more, read our detailed Wireless LAN Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Wireless LAN

March 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 842,388 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

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

118

Ranking in other categories

Wireless LAN (4th)

Ruckus Wireless WAN

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless WAN (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is designed for Wireless LAN and holds a mindshare of 13.0%, up 12.3% compared to last year.
Ruckus Wireless WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless WAN, holds 37.7% mindshare, up 37.0% since last year.

Wireless LAN

Wireless WAN

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.

Read full review

Udit Narayan

Senior Engineer IT Networking at JSW

Offers robust outdoor connectivity, but signal strength and support need improvement

In Cisco, there is a configuration where it automatically switches from the 2.4 GHz to 5.2 GHz frequency. But with Ruckus, usually, we need to manually define whether we want to use the 2.4 GHz or 5.2 GHz. Another point is that its penetration power is low when we are using it in any location with more walls, as the signal strength diminishes. So, the signal strength and the penetration power of the signal should be improved. It is not like Cisco. We are using Cisco APs also, but Cisco APs perform better when we compare them with Ruckus. In future releases, I would like to see automatic switching between 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz frequencies. We should not have to set it manually. It should automatically change its frequency based on the load. For example, if the number of users increases, then its frequency should change automatically, switching to the less congested band.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is very stable. It is a very manageable and secure system."

"The fact that Cisco Meraki is cloud based and is reasonably priced has been most valuable."

"Integrating with the router, firewall, and Wireless Controller is advantageous."

"Its ease of use and flexibility are most valuable. It is cloud-based software."

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

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

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

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"Its benefits include efficient zone deployment and access point distribution, simplifying network management."

"The actual wireless access points themselves are very powerful."

"Ruckus Wireless WAN's best feature is its virtual controller."

"The performance of this solution is amazing in terms of radiofrequency technology."

"The solution is suitable for many types of environments, such as small businesses."

"The stability provided is very nice."

"The initial setup of Ruckus Wireless WAN is very easy."

"I have seen a good return on investment from the use of the product."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN pros

Cons

"if there is a better feature, they write it as beta so you have to be careful."

"The licensing isn't very customer-centric. They may have improved it, but previously, if you forgot to pay on a certain day, your service would be shut off."

"The commercial version of the solution could be cheaper."

"The solution cannot be looked upon for one year or short term because you will pay back all the discounts they offer the next time you pay for renewal."

"There's nothing that special about it."

"Integration with the corporate LAN where Catalyst products are installed is a major challenge."

"When it comes to switching, Meraki lacks categories of features."

"The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"Integration with AirMagnet, the design software, would be good because it takes the layout of a building and positions the access points accordingly, based on the areas and the construction materials."

"The pricing needs to be reconsidered because it's expensive."

"The connectivity and mobility for users could be improved."

"In Cisco, there is a configuration where it automatically switches from the 2.4 GHz to 5.2 GHz frequency. But with Ruckus, usually, we need to manually define whether we want to use the 2.4 GHz or 5.2 GHz."

"We had a problem with the delivery of the solution."

"I have been working with WiFi for more than 17 years. I am not able to convince customers because of the pricing of the solution. Otherwise, we could have sold lots of this tool to the customers."

"Ruckus Wireless WAN needs to improve its pricing."

"The documentation they do have is very difficult to understand. There should be some scenarios, deployments, complications, or techniques to follow. They are inadequate in that regard, and the documentation needs to be greatly improved."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"Pricing could be better."

"This solution is reasonably priced."

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

"The pricing is based on a subscription and is a bit high at the moment."

"It is expensive."

"As is always the case, the price could be better, although I do not recall exactly how much this comes out to."

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

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"Here in India, Ruckus is chosen often because it is priced low."

"This is a wonderful product for the price."

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."

"The product has competitive pricing."

"In terms of the license of Ruckus Wireless WAN being cheap or expensive, it would differ based on your country. As I'm living in Turkey, it's expensive, so far. There is a big challenge about the chip crisis or the silicon crisis lately, and all vendors are fighting, so not enough equipment could be sold and the vendors must earn money, so it's very fair for vendors to push software and licensing to keep working and earning, so it's hard to answer a question on how cheap or expensive the license is for the solution."

"Compared to big brands, the tool is quite competitively priced."

"It is less expensive than Aruba and Cisco."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

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...

See all answers

Is Ubiquiti Wireless better than Ruckus Wireless WAN?

Ubiquiti Wireless is extremely easy to set up and is an excellent option for small businesses, offering enterprise features for a one-time fee and no ongoing licensing fees. Ubiquiti Wireless is ve...

See all answers

What do you like most about Ruckus Wireless WAN?

Ruckus Wireless WAN is an easy-to-use solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ruckus Wireless WAN?

The pricing is reasonable for us as partners since we receive discounts. However, I believe for non-partners, it might not be considered cheap, though it isn't the most expensive either.

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 16% 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

Mist AI and Cloud vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 6% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Ruckus Wireless WAN

Compared 90% of the time

Cambium Networks Wireless WAN vs Ruckus Wireless WAN

Compared 9% of the time

More Ruckus Wireless WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

March 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Ruckus Wireless WAN

March 2025

Download Ruckus Wireless WAN 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

Ruckus Wireless’s WAN (Wide Area Network) suite of switches and solutions provides companies and organizations with a wide variety of products that enable them to deploy and manage the kinds of WANs that best meet their needs. Ruckus Wireless is a leader in the field of WAN creation, deployment, and management. Their solutions are designed with the user in mind. They are sleek products and solutions that are easy for administrators to use and maintain. This makes it a valuable suite for any and every kind of industry. The level of ease that it provides makes it possible for companies and organizations to reap a high level of benefit from whichever product they choose to use.

Ruckus Wireless WAN Benefits

Some of the benefits of using the Ruckus Wireless WAN suite of switches and solutions include:

Simplified network deployment and management. Ruckus Wireless WAN uses Campus Fabric technology to create a streamlined network creation and management process. This technology takes many of the processes used to create and manage networks that usually require many different solutions and combines them so that a single solution can accomplish the same amount of work.

The ability to operate on a massive scale. The Ruckus Wireless SmartZone 100 solution gives administrators the power to handle 1,024 access points and 25,000 users from a single device. Companies can operate at a high level with fewer devices than their competitors require to accomplish a similar level of work.

Ease of use. Solutions like RuckusZoneDirector 1200 can be easily deployed and used by administrators who may not have a background in the use of wireless solutions. Companies that choose Ruckus Wireless WAN do not need to train administrators to deploy it. This makes it extremely valuable to companies looking to keep their budgets to a minimum.

Ruckus Wireless WAN Features

Organizations that choose to use the Ruckus Wireless WAN suite of switches and solutions have a large number of capabilities from which they can choose.

Centralized network management. Ruckus Wireless WAN’s RUCKUS Network Director feature enables administrators to manage their networks from a single location. All of the controls and data that users need to monitor and control the network can be managed from one interface.

Advanced security features. Ruckus Wireless WAN has the capability to encrypt and demand that traffic that is trying to pass through the network be authenticated before it is allowed access. This protects the data that leaves the network and the network itself.
Seamless interoperability. The various solutions and products that make up Ruckus Wireless’s WAN solution suite have the ability to integrate and operate together seamlessly. Users can mix and match solution pieces to best fit their needs.

Reviews from Real Users

Ruckus Wireless’s WAN suite is a truly versatile selection of solutions that offer users a complete package of capabilities and features. This suite makes it possible for users to meet all of their networking needs. Their wireless access points are the kind that is mostly employed in industries like resorts, which have to cater to large volumes of people over extended periods of time. They provide companies with the highest possible level of coverage. Users working in any number of fields would find Ruckus Wireless to be up to the task of handling their networking needs. This suite is appropriate for large corporations and small businesses alikes.

An information technology project manager at a university writes, “The actual wireless access points themselves are very powerful. We get very good coverage from just one access point. The throughput is very good and the centralized management is excellent. Also, the ease of deployment is very good.”

A video conferencing administrator at a technology services company states, “The solution is suitable for many types of environments, such as small businesses.”

Ruckus

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, Dordt College, Drew University, Lamar University, Raroa School

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: March 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.

We monitor all Wireless LAN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.