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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
4.1
Number of Reviews
7
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

worksoft757854 - PeerSpot reviewer
Worksoft Certify Sr.Consultant at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Session-based routing has reduced WAN costs and delivers faster failovers with app-aware paths
The best features of Juniper Session Smart Router that offer me value are the ones I use daily, including session-based routing and core features that route traffic per session instead of tunnels, giving better performance, seamless failovers, and application-aware path selection. It selects the best link, whether MPLS, broadband, or LTE. It also has built-in zero-trust security which means it controls segmentation without needing a separate VPN setup and advanced visibility and analysis, providing strong insight into traffic, session, and performance. This provides simple branch management. Juniper Session Smart Router has positively impacted my organization by achieving a 30% to 40% reduction in WAN cost, which means less reliance on MPLS. There is also a 40% faster failover with near-zero user impact during link issues, and 20% to 30% less time spent on troubleshooting. Additionally, I experience fewer outages due to dynamic path selection, which facilitates fast branch deployment.
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

"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."
"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."
"Customer service is very prompt."
"Because we are talking directly to engineers in the US, the support is usually the best you can possibly get."
"Juniper Session Smart Router has positively impacted my organization by achieving a 30% to 40% reduction in WAN cost, which means less reliance on MPLS, with a 40% faster failover with near-zero user impact during link issues, and 20% to 30% less time spent on troubleshooting, along with fewer outages due to dynamic path selection, which facilitates fast branch deployment."
"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."
"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."
"Zero touch configuration onsite based on the manager system's pre-configuration and the VPN automation set."
"Meraki SD-WAN is a very stable and scalable solution with good technical support."
"I have found the dashboard very useful, you can configure all of your devices at the same time by just changing some menus."
"The solution is pretty reliable."
"The solution is a whole vertical solution, so it doesn't need any other components in order to provide basic features."
"I have found the dashboard very useful, you can configure all of your devices at the same time by just changing some menus."
"Meraki SD-WAN provides a very stable environment."
"The administration in the cloud that Meraki offers is great."
 

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."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."
"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"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 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."
"I found some weaknesses on their hardware. They are sometimes breaking very often."
"Some systems use some applications with the wrong data application. It bypasses the network, and you need to block that application on Meraki."
"The solution sometimes drops VoIP calls, which is a nuisance."
"Meraki has a limitation in the number of links that it can work. For example, in Cisco, we can work with many, many links if you link with Viptela, however, in Meraki, we just get to work with two links or a maximum number of three links including the LAN link."
"Additionally, the solution has limited features. It's quite a standard product and not very easily upgradeable or stackable."
"Some systems use some applications with the wrong data application. It bypasses the network, and you need to block that application on Meraki. We first try to put in passwords to do it and the network is not really safe. It's not 100%, the network can be bypassed."
"This vendor has issues with the supply chain that need to be improved."
"People are struggling a little bit with the lead times right now. It’s hard to actually get the hardware."
"The advanced license is expensive. Part of the cost involved is high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."
"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."
"One of the most valuable aspects of Meraki SD-WAN is the price. It is highly cost-effective."
"like everything else, it's negotiable."
"The solution's pricing is in line with what we expected."
"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 offers term licenses. You have the same term licensing model available for all of your equipment, which is good for management."
"This solution is more expensive than competitors."
"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."
"The price of this solution is good, it is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing 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 Enterprise5
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 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 fe...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Session Smart Router?
I have not tested Sophos on a larger scale, as I use Sophos in a very office environment and Juniper in telecom. Because we have Juniper switches and Juniper firewalls, we have not centralized them...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Session Smart Router?
Juniper Session Smart Router is a controller for managing devices. We have real-time analytics through the IBA Probes. For troubleshooting, we have direct access to them. As we use other vendors, w...
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: April 2026.
893,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.