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Cradlepoint NetCloud vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 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

Cradlepoint NetCloud
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
6th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (15th), WAN Edge (16th)
Meraki SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Cradlepoint NetCloud is 6.0%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki SD-WAN is 23.9%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Robert-Gardner - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy to setup solution, but it is missing useful configuration options
I use this solution to manage Cradlepoint wireless routers It lets us know whether it is online or not, and lets us do a speed test to see how quick the speed is. These are valuable features. They should change some of the configuration settings to enable it to act more as an SD-WAN box to view…
Martyn Walker - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables productivity in terms of users and has ease of management
Scalability could be improved. Yes, you can add more than 300 or 400 sites onto it, but because it's not a true SD-WAN and, effectively, it's just a Multi-VRF, it's all hub and spoke at that point. That's the nature of the design, but that's what keeps it simple to administer. So, it's a trade off.

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 of this solution is the automatic failover."
"I rate the overall solution as ten out of ten."
"Cradlepoint provides real value in its focus on wireless WAN connectivity."
"Cradlepoint NetCloud is very stable."
"It is easy to set up and requires a single administrator to maintain it."
"Meraki SD-WAN is user friendly."
"As long as the LAN is well structured, installations and setup can be complete within forty-five minutes."
"The most valuable feature for me is the security functionality."
"The dashboard is the solution's most valuable feature."
"It is easy to monitor and manage."
"Tech support is willing to go the extra mile to resolve issues."
"This is a high availability solution that is easy to configure and has a nice GUI."
"Having to set up a closed system singlehandedly and a lifetime guarantee on the equipment is a valuable part of this solution."
 

Cons

"Cradlepoint's portfolio is lacking budget-friendly options."
"In our situation, the initial setup was complex."
"The performance of group-based clouds should be enhanced."
"It is missing important settings options."
"There are areas for improvement, particularly at the lower end of the medium enterprise market."
"We'd like features that provide more transparency when there are issues. Right now, it's hard to get clarity on problems. We need more visibility."
"This solution can only support up to two WAN ports."
"If Meraki obtains the technology to provide network assistance, then it can implement it manually in Meraki SD-WAN."
"From the vice perspective, they just are not as robust as some of the other vendors. They have limitations in throughput and the number of circuits that they can support on a wide area network. Their higher-end security is all cloud-based. They have some capability with the premise-based solutions, but the higher ends are all cloud-based, and that's via Cisco Umbrella."
"We have a lot of problems with distribution. The late deliveries likely have to do with the time it takes for the fabrication of components. It is a principal problem at this moment."
"The only problem occurs when users are not paying attention and turn on the wrong switches, like power switches, in places they should not."
"Meraki SD-WAN could improve by adding wireless access time-scheduled and overall capabilities."
"In Meraki SD-WAN, we have some limitations with the traffic shaping capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cradlepoint's prices are on par with similar solutions."
"Yearly licenses are available."
"The annual cost is less than $200,000 yet more than $150,000.00."
"The price of this solution is good, it is not expensive."
"I don't have information on the exact cost of Meraki SD-WAN, but I'd rate it a three out of five just because the licensing model is very much associated with the Meraki solution."
"I am not aware of the licensing fees."
"For a pure SD-WAN solution, the pricing is competitive. However, our clients are on the lower tier in terms of budget, viewing IT more as a necessary expense rather than integral to their business. While Meraki's solution might be pricey for them, there aren't many cheaper, reliable options."
"This solution is more expensive than competitors."
"They have a baseline software license, and then they've got an SD-WAN software license, and then they've got an advanced security software license. They're low cost, and they'll provide any amount of flexibility that you want from a modeling perspective for payment. Typically, it's either annually or multi-year, but they are a lower-cost company. They're not the most expensive by far."
"The price can vary depending on the challenges that you need to address. When you look at the stability and reliability against the price, you absolutely get the value for the price."
"Meraki solutions come with a choice of several different subscription options including one year, three years, five years, seven years, and ten years."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cradlepoint NetCloud?
It is easy to set up and requires a single administrator to maintain it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cradlepoint NetCloud?
Cradlepoint's pricing is viewed as market competitive, offering good value for the money invested. While some customers are price sensitive, others recognize the efficiency and smooth operation as ...
What needs improvement with Cradlepoint NetCloud?
There are areas for improvement, particularly at the lower end of the medium enterprise market. Cradlepoint's portfolio is lacking budget-friendly options. The company realizes that there's a need ...
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
The price is a little bit higher than local vendors, for example, Huawei ZTE or H3C. However, some customers require the best quality and performance, thus needing solutions and products from Cisco.
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
They have to ask us many questions about configurations. It could be improved with some automation to trigger, for example, telemetry data, so we can determine the state of the deployment as of day...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of San Antonio, Statue Cruises, Tour Dubai, St. David's Foundation, JBT, DSC Dredge
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cradlepoint NetCloud vs. Meraki SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,253 professionals have used our research since 2012.