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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
20th
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
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.4%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios Core is 3.0%, down from 3.0% 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

"Great visibility on the dashboard."
"An excellent dashboard that is currently unique in covering both SD-WAN and SD-LAN with built-in security."
"Easy to configure with great troubleshooting feature."
"I find it pretty straightforward and easy to use, especially compared to old, traditional methods."
"The hardware of Meraki is very good quality."
"Some of the features I have found valuable are the ease of access, simple configuration, and monitoring."
"What I found most valuable in Meraki Dashboard is that it's well-organized, easy to use, and practical."
"What I love most about the Meraki Dashboard are its user-friendly features."
"The reporting structure and the feature set are valuable to me."
"Other products are good but from the configuration point of view Nagios is really very lightweight. The price is really good in my opinion. Another important thing is that my Nagios engine still works with Dual core 8GB ram for the last 10 years."
"Alert calls occur anytime a service goes down or a matrix is difficult and that helps us to quickly restore service and transfer work."
"Our customers like that Nagios Core is an open source solution. It can be customized to our customers' specific needs."
"We use the product to monitor server applications."
"It is fairly easy to set up, and we can monitor pretty much everything we want to."
"What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services."
"The most valuable features are the reports and the way it generates the report in a graphical manner."
 

Cons

"The solution has a limited routing table and needs improvement by increasing the numbers as well as providing a summarization for the table."
"It is not appropriate for large, enterprise businesses."
"The coverage has been an issue for us."
"The cost of the solution is high and can be improved."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve the user interface by making it more user-friendly. The configuring can at times be difficult."
"They can improve the landing page in Meraki Dashboard. When I go into an organization, they can include a lot more infographics. They can also simplify it a bit and consolidate it. For example, if I've got five branches and I go into customer A's profile or organization, I'd like to see an infographic on the landing page providing a snippet of the entire network layout, that is, all branches in one snapshot. From there, I would like to go into the network that I want to work on or view."
"We would like to be able to test the health of WAN connections."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in the graphics."
"It is a bit slow due to latency."
"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."
"Cloud monitoring is an area for improvement because there aren't too many plugins available."
"The tool needs to improve the integrations."
"Nagios Core can improve the graphical interface, it would make things a little easier."
"The initial setup process could be easier."
"Bandwidth monitoring is the pain point for me because Nagios Core does not monitor bandwidth effectively like Cacti does."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You don't have to pay for the dashboard."
"The pricing of the tool is relatively high compared to other solutions. It comes with a premium that exceeds that of its competitors by approximately 25 percent."
"It is said to be expensive."
"The pricing for a small setup is only a few hundred dollars a year. The fee is subscription-based."
"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."
"Typically, the license model is for one, three, and five years. They can just be a bit more flexible around it and look into providing an option for 24 months."
"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."
"Nagios Core is an open source solution, and there are no licensing fees."
"It's free."
"The product is cheaply priced."
"We have saved a lot of time, money, and effort in reducing disaster times, which is owed to Nagios quick alerting."
"Lessening the price point would be an improvement."
"It's free."
"We are using the open-source, unpaid version."
"Most the plugin features are free."
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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.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.