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Meraki Dashboard vs Nagios Core comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 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

Meraki Dashboard
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Nagios Core
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.7%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios Core is 3.4%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Bilal-Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless connectivity and comprehensive control over network devices
All of the features we are looking for are already in control. I think those features, which we are not currently utilizing, are already there. For example, the control for the cameras and everything else. The cameras are not connected through Meraki, but all other devices are on Meraki networks.
Nishith-Vyas - PeerSpot reviewer
Valuable reporting and alert system with room for PDF export improvements
The NetEase reporting structure needs improvement, especially the availability report, which is weak. It should be generated automatically with minimal human intervention and should be exportable as a PDF. Besides that, an integrated PDF export feature for reports is necessary. Also, the alert mechanism and graphing mechanism need to be integrated properly into Nagios Core. Currently, integrating these requires advanced Linux knowledge. Integration of more visualization tools like Grafana and Prometheus for better graphing and visualization is also recommended.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's really user-friendly."
"The dashboard itself is very simplified and easy to navigate."
"It is a reliable product. It provides a lot of information that is easy to read."
"It's a simple, functional solution."
"The ease-of-use and the analytics are really effective tools."
"It is very easy to manage. It has good security, and it is working well with our firewall."
"The overall product rating is ten out of ten."
"There are some whitelist blacklist capabilities in the MX dashboard, which is very helpful."
"Alert calls occur anytime a service goes down or a matrix is difficult and that helps us to quickly restore service and transfer work."
"I like that it's very simple to install, easy to manage and deploy, and easy to use for monitoring."
"It has made the life of the network operations staff more proactive in managing the resources of the infrastructure. It prevents disasters long before they can take place."
"Nagios monitors our servers, so we know if anything goes wrong and can solve the problem before it happens."
"Provides timely notifications."
"The solution's most valuable feature is that it offers proper alerting capabilities."
"We mostly use Nagios Core to integrate with Python and Bash Script."
"Our customers like that Nagios Core is an open source solution. It can be customized to our customers' specific needs."
 

Cons

"The product is missing a VPN and it is a major issue when it comes to deployment."
"More integration would be an improvement."
"Lacks an alert notification when there are IP or DNS issues."
"The initial setup is complex and can be made more straightforward."
"The wait time to speak with a Meraki support engineer is always long, but they get the job done."
"The one issue that we have had is that the VPN tunnel would go down unless you worked out with the ISP that you would be using a static IP address on the WAN interface."
"It would be helpful to have the ability to create a floor plan based on an existing PDF or JPEG, which is automatically converted into a usable network map."
"The MDM, however, is bad. We're using another MDM now because Meraki was so bad."
"The UI is a little outdated and graphics could be displayed in a better way."
"There is room for improvement in the graphics."
"It would be nice if the company offered a sales or contract manager that was dedicated to our company so that we would have some sort of link to Nagios, and if we had issues or questions, we'd be able to contact them directly."
"Bandwidth monitoring is the pain point for me because Nagios Core does not monitor bandwidth effectively like Cacti does."
"The dashboard and monitoring features could be improved."
"We're using the free version, which limits us in terms of the things that we can do. If we had the paid version, a lot of our issues would probably go away. For example, we can't isolate instances that are being built or updated with the production ones. When they're being built, on Nagios, they're showing in red. It'd be nice to be able to partition those off until they're all green, and then we can bring them into the environment. This is probably because we've got the free version and not the paid version. If we went for the paid version, it would probably allow us to do exactly what we want to or remove the restrictions that we have, but if we are able to isolate instances in the free version, it would make life much easier."
"The core version is no match for the XI version."
"It is a bit slow due to latency."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing for Meraki Dashboard is paid every year, and it's on a per-device model that costs roughly $300 to $400 per device, but that comes with full support and troubleshooting, etc. Compared to similar products, Meraki Dashboard is quite high-end, but the costs you pay are all-in."
"The licensing fees are $180 USD, per AP, for three years."
"The solution is currently the most expensive on the market."
"Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"Licensing is around under 1000 pounds. The licensing is either one year, three years, five years or ten years and during the licensing, we can choose to renew it per year or per every three years. We've got a license for three years. It's about 160 or about 200 pounds each."
"I’m not sure of the exact cost, however, it’s my understanding the Meraki WiFi is around $800. That’s for a three-year license. It’s about $150 a year."
"My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The Nagios Core (PNP4Nagios + Core) is free and can be setup by Netadmin within a few hours. The only additional cost is the cloud server."
"We are using the open-source, unpaid version."
"Most the plugin features are free."
"We are using the free version of Nagios Core."
"The enterprise version has technical support. The version we are using is free."
"Nagios Core is an open source solution, and there are no licensing fees."
"Nagios Core is a cheap solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Meraki Dashboard?
We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it al...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki Dashboard?
The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high. Additionally, it would be beneficial if Meraki Dashboard could integrate more Cisco devices such a...
What do you like most about Nagios Core?
What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios Core?
Nagios Core is a free and open-source product. We don't charge for the product itself, but we charge for the man-hour costs related to installation, configuration, ongoing operation, and maintenance.
What needs improvement with Nagios Core?
The NetEase reporting structure needs improvement, especially the availability report, which is weak. It should be generated automatically with minimal human intervention and should be exportable a...
 

Comparisons

 

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, FanDuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. Nagios Core and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.