Juniper Session Smart Router vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

The compared Juniper and Cisco solutions aren't in the same category. Juniper is ranked #6 in R , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 0.7% mindshare in the category. Cisco is ranked #1 in SDN , with an average rating of 8.7, and holds a 22.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Juniper users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Juniper Session Smart Router

Read 4 Juniper Session Smart Router reviews

1,392 Views
70 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Meraki SD-WAN

Read 79 Meraki SD-WAN reviews

3,590 Views
1,364 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Juniper Session Smart Router

Meraki SD-WAN

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Juniper Session Smart Router and Meraki SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about MikroTik, Cisco, Juniper and others in Routers.

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Buyer's Guide

Routers

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

Juniper Session Smart Router

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Routers (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th)

Meraki SD-WAN

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

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 0.7%, up 0.3% compared to last year.
Meraki SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), holds 22.5% mindshare, down 24.8% since last year.

Routers

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Featured Reviews

SRI GANESH PHANIYAPPA

Sub Divisional Engineer NOC Bangalore at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Delivered tailored features and meets requirements effectively

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed Everything has been fine. Although we did not explore much about the solution, they provided us with a…

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Mageshwaran S

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.

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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 solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."

"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."

"Customer service is very prompt."

"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."

"The solution has many features available."

"I can manage it very well and in a very easy way."

"The advantage you have with Cisco Meraki is that they take a lot of that complexity out of the backend."

"Meraki SD-WAN is a scalable solution because changes are being made to the solution, enabling it to work in different environments."

"I appreciate the cloud-based management feature the most. It's a crucial aspect for me because it allows me to manage the configuration remotely without having to visit the on-premise location. The ability to do this from my home is a major benefit. Additionally, security is good."

"It is secure, and some features, like work device management, are very useful."

"Meraki SD-WAN is user friendly."

"This is a high availability solution that is easy to configure and has a nice GUI."

More Meraki SD-WAN pros

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. 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."

"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."

"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."

"There is still some work to do when it comes to AI."

"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."

"The port density should be improved because this solution is limited to two."

"People are struggling a little bit with the lead times right now. It’s hard to actually get the hardware."

"With Meraki, it's more of a basic connectivity. It doesn't have all the feature sets that a Cisco SD-WAN solution has. It's limited."

"The integration with other tools must be improved."

"I would like to see more flexibility in our choices of customization for our needs."

"Meraki is lagging behind in using a single pipe from service providers. That is, it would be good if they could use both the internet leased line and broadband connectivity."

More Meraki SD-WAN cons

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."

"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 pricing is fair, but if they can make it less it would be even more attractive."

"The tool offers term licenses. You have the same term licensing model available for all of your equipment, which is good for management."

"Any license you buy until January 2021 gets you an extra year for that purchase."

"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."

"The price of this solution is good, it is not expensive."

"The price of Meraki SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive when compared to other solutions on the market, such as Aruba."

"The license model may need improvement."

More Meraki SD-WAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper Session Smart Router?

The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Session Smart Router?

Juniper Session Smart Router is not significantly cheaper than, for example, Cisco.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?

I did not find any problem with Juniper. Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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,...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 26% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 15% of the time

NFX Series Network Services Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 14% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 12% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 5% of the time

More Juniper Session Smart Router Competitors

Omada Cloud SDN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 22% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 19% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 15% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 13% of the time

Masergy vs Meraki SD-WAN

Compared 1% of the time

More Meraki SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Routers

July 2025

Download Juniper Session Smart Router product report

Buyer's Guide

Meraki SD-WAN

June 2025

Download Meraki SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series

No data available

Overview

The 128T Networking Platform (128T) natively provides network-based security, control, and insight across data centers, wide-area networks (WAN), and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. 128T is reshaping the way organizations design, deploy, and operate real-world networks by making them dramatically simpler, smarter, and more secure — it’s going to fix the router — and ultimately the network — as we know it.

Juniper

Software-defined WAN is a new approach to network connectivity that lowers operational costs and improves resource usage for multi-site deployments, allowing network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and ensure the highest possible level of performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data privacy. For more information on deploying and configuring SD-WAN on the Meraki MX Security Appliance, see the Meraki SD-WAN Deployment Guide.

Cisco

Sample Customers

Revation Systems

École Jeannine Manuel

Find out what your peers are saying about MikroTik, Cisco, Juniper and others in Routers. Updated: July 2025.

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