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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
10th
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
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.5%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios Core is 3.0%, down 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

"Meraki dashboard deserves an Oscar."
"It's a simple, functional solution."
"It is a reliable product. It provides a lot of information that is easy to read."
"It's really user-friendly."
"The initial setup process is quite simple."
"The ability to view the entire project stack, including the camera, features, and routers, which I believe are the most important or relevant components."
"It is very easy to manage. It has good security, and it is working well with our firewall."
"I would say the ease of use is the most valuable feature. It's very easy to set up and get up and running."
"The most valuable features are the reports and the way it generates the report in a graphical manner."
"Our customers like that Nagios Core is an open source solution. It can be customized to our customers' specific needs."
"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."
"The reporting structure and the feature set are valuable to me."
"The solution is quite efficient."
"The most valuable feature depends on the project. It's great if you need to check to ensure a service is running 24/7. I can use the full solution for free, and it's flexible. If I need to add a dashboard, I can integrate it with Nagios. Cloud synchronization is wonderful."
"We mostly use Nagios Core to integrate with Python and Bash Script."
"Monitoring with Nagios Core is helpful because it provides immediate alerts if something goes down, such as a server, or wireless router, or if there's a cable break. This allows us to respond promptly to any issues."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement in Meraki Dashboard is licensing management because it's a little complex. Product licensing can be made a little bit easier through license concurrency and a more straightforward approach to applying the license to products and services."
"The pricing for this solution needs to be improved."
"If I am a user and I have a seat on the fourth floor, if I move across the building, the system should be able to track me and should be able to figure out my whereabouts or my position within the building if I'm connected to the wireless. That would make the administrator's life easier in terms of reachability."
"There are some issues with the NAT configuration, it is now impossible to some operations with the solution."
"The downside to the simplicity is that you can't get as granular as you could with the Cisco APs."
"I am concerned about the fact that once your licensing expires the devices stop working and become a brick."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve the user interface by making it more user-friendly. The configuring can at times be difficult."
"The product is missing a VPN and it is a major issue when it comes to deployment."
"The UI is a little outdated and graphics could be displayed in a better way."
"Nagios Core could improve by adding a user interface. If you want the user interface you have to use Nagios XI."
"I would like to see a sensor that shows the traffic of a user and what they're doing on the network."
"The scalability needs improvement, it's not scalable at this time."
"It's not that easy to install the product itself. Also, the UI is a bit hard for regular users to navigate through."
"The initial setup process could be easier."
"The tool needs to improve the integrations."
"Bandwidth monitoring is the pain point for me because Nagios Core does not monitor bandwidth effectively like Cacti does."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing for a small setup is only a few hundred dollars a year. The fee is subscription-based."
"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."
"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."
"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."
"Meraki Dashboard is a utility and portal that's part of the Meraki solution."
"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."
"It is said to be expensive."
"We are using the open-source, unpaid version."
"Nagios Core is a cheap solution."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"It's free."
"It's free."
"Nagios Core is free to use."
"The enterprise version has technical support. The version we are using is free."
"We are using the free version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
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 dashboard should be improved. It's very simple. I don't have a very clear or specific suggestion. You can change the skin of the dashboard, however, it's good for me.
 

Comparisons

 

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: March 2025.
842,651 professionals have used our research since 2012.