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Juniper Session Smart Router vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Juniper Session Smart Router
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Routers (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (14th)
Meraki SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Juniper Session Smart Router is designed for Routers and holds a mindshare of 3.0%, up 0.6% compared to last year.
Meraki SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), holds 12.6% mindshare, down 23.2% since last year.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Juniper Session Smart Router3.0%
MikroTik Routers and Switches17.4%
Cisco Enterprise Routers14.2%
Other65.4%
Routers
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki SD-WAN12.6%
Cisco ACI9.6%
Juniper Contrail Networking7.7%
Other70.1%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

VK
Network Implementation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Session-based routing has transformed branch failover and now optimizes application paths
Juniper Session Smart Router is a very good cloud integration router, with very strong application visibility, and WAN path optimization is also present. It has very good simplified branch connectivity, particularly strong automation and API support, and better SaaS performance. Session-based routing instead of tunnel-heavy architecture is one of the best features. Session-based routing and API support in Juniper Session Smart Router have helped me in my work. It helps in session-based routing changes from route-based packets only on destination IP to application session awareness. This can help with a better application experience, and voice or video traffic automatically takes the best WAN path based on latency, jitter, and packet loss. Faster failover occurs; instead of waiting for routing protocol convergence, sessions can dynamically move to healthier links. Additionally, there is improved SaaS performance. In terms of APIs, I have had a very good experience integrating it with automation platforms like Terraform and Ansible. It has reduced manual errors, and my team has been using the API to automate deployment and dozens of other tasks with branch SSR devices. Another feature I can think of regarding Juniper Session Smart Router is that there is no traditional overlay tunnel overhead in many scenarios, which is one of the best features. Dynamic path selection based on latency and jitter makes this one of the standout features.
Mageshwaran S - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at airtel
Experienced streamlined network management with enhanced usability and room for improved security features
On the security features, when compared to Fortinet, they have more patterns and AI-generated ones. Meraki SD-WAN is slowly implementing AI, but it is not yet full-fledged. If AI comes into the picture, it will be helpful. I work with Fortinet where with a single command you can deploy the entire SD-WAN along with FortiGuard within minutes. For AI, it can discover and connect, but currently, we are doing it manually. In Meraki SD-WAN, some features require additional licenses and subscriptions. If these were bundled together, such as 10 or 20 licenses, it would be very helpful for a mini branch or small campus area coverage.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature is the easiest way to deploy configuration and also back up them, and also to roll back quickly if there's an incident."
"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."
"As compared to the other major vendors in the SD-WAN market, such as VeloCloud, Cisco, and others, the tunnel-free and secure vector routing technology is its major USP, which gives plenty of room to discuss with the customer why IPSec from 1998 is a bit outdated."
"I can share specific numbers; we achieved a 30 to 60% WAN cost reduction by reducing MPLS usage."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."
"Because we are talking directly to engineers in the US, the support is usually the best you can possibly get."
"For telecom companies, I think zero-trust segmentation is the way to go because if you allow anything that you do not understand, then it becomes a problem."
"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."
"The most valuable feature is the firewall capability."
"The most valuable feature of Meraki SD-WAN is the Auto VPN."
"Meraki Solutions setups make it one of the best products I have ever worked with."
"The product's most valuable features include templating, central administration, single-pane remote administration, and integration with other Cisco products."
"It is very user-friendly, and it doesn't take much time to configure the simple dashboard."
"In my experience, Meraki is very easy, simple, and clear to set up and use."
"I like the entire set of features and the analytics."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of setting up Meraki SD-WAN."
 

Cons

"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks."
"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can be improved by simplifying onboarding for traditional network teams and providing better documentation for complex deployments, as well as improving the GUI for operational workflows and better migration tooling."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in several areas such as the steep learning curve because the session-based model is different from traditional networking."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could improve its documentation to become more competitive. It has very little documentation, and you have to rely mainly so much on support to do something, which I feel should not be that way."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."
"I found some weaknesses on their hardware. They are sometimes breaking very often."
"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"There is a point in a very large organization where you hit the VPN limit, or tunnel limit."
"The only area for improvement in Meraki SD-WAN is its licensing model, as well as its cost structure."
"Meraki SD-WAN has to significantly improve the company's network performance."
"Meraki SD-WAN had trouble prioritizing traffic for VoIP calls."
"The VPN client could be improved."
"If Meraki obtains the technology to provide network assistance, then it can implement it manually in Meraki SD-WAN."
"Regarding the integration part, the VPN connection for third parties needs to be elaborate."
"There should be a few more options for security parameters. It is currently not very customizable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."
"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."
"Our clients pay Meraki an annual licensing fee and the pricing is not too bad when compared to other products in the Cisco portfolio."
"If you purchase a Meeraki box, you have to purchase a license, and it's already the basic license, you will have you SD-WAN included."
"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."
"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."
"The tool is costly. I rate the tool's price as a ten out of ten since it is very expensive."
"From the perspective of the customer, the price is not terribly cost-effective."
"The solution is a bit expensive when compared to other products."
"The pricing is fair, but if they can make it less it would be even more attractive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?
Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in several areas such as the steep learning curve because the session-based model is different from traditional networking. The UI could also be more fu...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Session Smart Router?
I use Juniper Session Smart Router to connect branch offices to cloud apps like AWS where the router dynamically selects the best path such as MPLS, broadband, or LTE connections based on applicati...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Session Smart Router?
My advice for someone considering Juniper Session Smart Router is to invest in learning early and understand the session-based routing because it is different from traditional WAN. I also recommend...
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?
When compared for the long run, it is reasonable, but for the short term, such as one year, it is costlier, especially compared to other OEMs such as FortiGate. If the license expires in FortiGate,...
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN depends compared to which vendors, because it's a bit pricey, so not all retail would go for it unless it's a big retail company, but it depends on your comparison. I u...
 

Also Known As

128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Revation Systems
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, MikroTik, Juniper and others in Routers. Updated: May 2026.
895,990 professionals have used our research since 2012.