Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi comparison

Cisco and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while WatchGuard is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.0. Cisco holds a 12.3% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to WatchGuard’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 120 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

14,344 Views
12,623 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Read 7 WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi reviews

510 Views
500 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi compete in the wireless network space, with WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi having an edge due to its robust security features compared to Cisco Meraki's advantages in pricing and customer service.

Features: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers cloud-based management, integration with existing Cisco infrastructure, and extensive traffic analytics. WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi features advanced threat detection and prevention, cloud controller capabilities, and comprehensive security options.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could enhance its security options and customization flexibility and expand its integrations beyond Cisco products. WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi might improve its user interface, documentation clarity, and compatibility with non-proprietary hardware.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN provides a cloud-managed deployment model that simplifies setup and offers strong customer support. WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi emphasizes intuitive configuration with enhanced security insights but has less emphasis on customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN typically boasts a lower initial setup cost and is praised for its ROI through extensive features and support. WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi requires a higher investment but justifies it with superior security features, beneficial for businesses focused on advanced security.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

July 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

4.5

Number of Reviews

120

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Ranking in Wireless LAN

23rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.3%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta

Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk

Streamline network management with a unified dashboard for seamless device integration

The primary use case for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is mostly for enterprise wireless, including guest Wi-Fi and enterprise Wi-Fi. I use it across various industries with a focus on retail Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers a single pane of glass management. It only comes with a controller on the…

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WarrenWilliams

Senior Account Manager at Bralin Technology Solutions

A solution that offers excellent support and makes it easy to manage networks

To utilize the solution properly, you need some training and guidance on that. Getting it working is easy, but if you're going to use it with feature sets that make WatchGuard worthwhile to use, it's probably not the easiest to set up. I'd rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. The time taken to deploy the solution depends on the project scope you're doing. Do you need ten WiFi access points or one? You could deploy the solution in an hour. We need one person to deploy the solution. But the number of people required for deployment depends on where the access points are deployed. Like, if it's the ceiling or whatever. The way we do it, we usually have an on-site technician who sets up the backend. We usually have two people when deploying the solution, but you can do it with one person. We have a team that manages the solution. But if you have ten people on a site to manage the solution, 15 minutes daily is enough.

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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 most valuable feature is cloud management."

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

"The most amazing part is that their Access Points have the ability to connect to multiple conference devices at different times, and it shows you the very in-depth Wi-Fi analytics through their dashboard."

"I really love their cloud-based dashboard which allows me to see all my locations from one location."

"The automatic VMware update is very useful because you don't have to worry about outages and planning for VMware updates. It is very advantageous from a management point of view. The ability to restrict and review the clients connected to each of our segments. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."

"The product's most beneficial feature impacting network security is the ability to provide centralized security management."

"Cloud management, wireless infrastructure, and implementation are all valuable features."

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

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."

"The configuration part of WatchGuard is very flexible."

"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."

"The solution has been stable."

"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."

"They're very easy to set up and get running."

"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."

Cons

"Overall the solution needs to have more time to mature."

"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's management tools need enhancement."

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

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

"The solution should be more secure."

"If they could work on the Meraki firewall hardware, and add SSL decryption as well as more application control and deep packet inspection, that would be ideal."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"I would like to see more cybersecurity. I would like the ability to go in and enhance security. Because WPA2 is becoming obsolete, many devices are now WPA3, but the challenge is that a lot of devices are not yet there. I would like to be able to go in and do monitoring, similar to ASPM. ASPM has the ability to monitor who's joining and who's active. It supports two-step monitoring. The stability of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN can also be improved."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"Inability to import a user with one click."

"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."

"The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention."

"I don't think they're available at the best price."

"If a client device had issues with authentication due to out of date browser or similar difficulties, it would be nice to have the ability to migrate the client onto the portal via one click."

"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."

"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could be improved, it is too expensive. We pay for the solution on an annual basis."

"The price is negotiable."

"This solution is reasonably priced."

"At this price point, I would not mind seeing a four-way channel, instead of a 3x3 or a 4x4, like they do in the Cisco Aironet system with their other brand. For the same price point in this other Cisco brand, it is a lot cheaper, and you can get a slightly better throughput than you can with these."

"The box itself is very cheap. The question here is about the subscription because this is what you will pay every year. In the initial year, for purchasing, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN gives you an attractive price. While during renewal, we are not given much discount."

"The platform is expensive."

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

"This solution is quite costly and there are costs in addition to the licensing fees."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"The solution is priced high compared to competitors. However, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."

"WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing."

"Your licensing and cost, as would be required for many other solutions, being considered for eighty to two hundred and eighty different physical locations, is just about the same amount per access point."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Non Profit

11%

Government

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

What do you like most about WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?

We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?

WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?

The support response can be time-consuming because sometimes issues are very sensitive and require instant attention. Also, when an incident occurs, the impact can be significantly huge. A recent p...

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 13% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless 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

Ruckus Wireless vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 34% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 32% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 22% of the time

Fortinet FortiWLM vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Compared 12% of the time

More WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

July 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

June 2025

Download WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi 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

WatchGuard is a global leader in network security, secure Wi-Fi, and network intelligence products and services for SMBs and Distributed Enterprises worldwide. Our mission is to make enterprise-grade security accessible to companies of all types and sizes through simplicity, making WatchGuard an ideal solution for distributed enterprises and SMBs. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

WatchGuard

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

Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

July 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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