No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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 (9th)
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 3.1%, up 0.6% compared to last year.
Meraki SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), holds 11.7% mindshare, down 22.7% since last year.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Juniper Session Smart Router3.1%
MikroTik Routers and Switches17.2%
Cisco Enterprise Routers15.1%
Other64.6%
Routers
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki SD-WAN11.7%
Cisco ACI9.1%
Juniper Contrail Networking7.6%
Other71.6%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Vkundawa Vkundawa - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Implementation Engineer at Cisco
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

"Because we are talking directly to engineers in the US, the support is usually the best you can possibly get."
"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Customer service is very prompt."
"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."
"Meraki can react fast to emerging trends."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of maintenance."
"It is very user-friendly, and it doesn't take much time to configure the simple dashboard."
"Customer support is very good."
"Meraki SD-WAN is scalable."
"Zero touch configuration onsite based on the manager system's pre-configuration and the VPN automation set."
"I can manage it very well and in a very easy way."
"Using Meraki just solves a lot of problems."
 

Cons

"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."
"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"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."
"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 could be better in terms of software performance."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."
"The solution must provide more security features."
"The product could be improved by being made more simple to use. We had some issues integrating our MPLS with Meraki SD-WAN."
"It's a matter of cost and expenses that we may take some issue with."
"It should be easier to install BGP and it should have a better backup."
"There is still some work to do when it comes to AI."
"The granularity could be improved."
"The licensing is very expensive. The fact that it does not recognize our cost from the previous licenses is a big drawback."
"The scalability is okay, but the solution is much more suited to small and medium-sized companies and isn't really suited for large ones."
 

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."
"The product's price falls under the mid-range category, especially if we consider the new licensing model. The tool is not cheap anymore."
"The price of this solution is good, it is not expensive."
"Any license you buy until January 2021 gets you an extra year for that purchase."
"The license model may need improvement."
"The licensing fees are approximately $1,000 USD annually."
"Meraki solutions come with a choice of several different subscription options including one year, three years, five years, seven years, and ten years."
"Pricing is a significant concern for me. Amongst all the firewall brands, Cisco is one of the most expensive options. Despite its reputation and security features, many customers opt for other brands, such as SonicWall because of their lower prices. These other brands offer similar features to Cisco but at a lower cost. Cisco's pricing is something that could be improved to attract more customers. The brand has a good reputation, but when it comes to budgeting and pricing, it is not always the first choice."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Routers solutions are best for your needs.
896,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
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 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...
What is your primary use case for Meraki SD-WAN?
For Meraki SD-WAN, I always go with retail companies.
 

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.
896,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.