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Aruba Instant On Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 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

Aruba Instant On Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN
Ranking in Wireless LAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Access Points is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.3%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Ricardo Quintero - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable and offers an easy setup phase
I was working on the on-premises solutions, like IronNet, Aironet, and some other tools from Cisco, but not with Meraki. The last Aironet model that we have here in Mexico, in the corporate office, and in some of the other regions of Mexico is Cisco Aironet 3700 and Cisco Aironet 3800, so it is just two or three devices. Aruba Instant On Access Points was working with Aruba 2540 and Cisco 3850 In Cisco, I found some issues. I was working well with a vendor. I was working with Cisco Catalyst 9200 and Cisco Catalyst 9300, along with Cisco Catalyst 2916M XL Switch. With all devices, we got a report. During the immigration, we choose another vendor, which Aruba. We have some issues with Aruba Instant On Access Points in iOS that are targeting the devices, and I have seen some problems with the DHCP solution.
RezaPradipta - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamline network management with a unified dashboard for seamless device integration
The primary use case for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is mostly for enterprise wireless, including guest Wi-Fi and enterprise Wi-Fi. I use it across various industries with a focus on retail Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers a single pane of glass management. It only comes with a controller on the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its technical support is excellent."
"The product is scalable. It has 20 users."
"The advantages of Aruba Instant On Access Points include using a mobile application to control various aspects, making it a user-friendly solution for home use."
"The app and the provisioning are the best features of the product. It was really impressive that I was able to just provision it remotely. I didn't have to be on-site with my friend, and we were just able to get everything up and operational. So, the app is great. It sends me notifications when things are down, and it tells me how everything is doing."
"It's super user-friendly."
"Aruba Instant On Access Points are almost enterprise-level equipment but designed for end users who might not have an IT specialist on staff. They can be used in scenarios similar to those in enterprises. The security features, like easily deploying with RADIUS and dot1x, are efficient and satisfactory, providing enterprise-class security. The solution is future-proof and adapts well to changing connectivity needs. It is easy to extend the network, although there are some limitations. For large buildings, you can separate the network into floors or areas, each containing up to fifty access points, and give them one SSID and password. There might be a small gap when switching between sites, but overall, it can be extended effectively."
"With a variety of switches in their setup, they find that Aruba's online monitoring tools and configuration options for applications effectively manage most of their requirements, all while keeping the process straightforward and user-friendly."
"The solution's most valuable features include a simple deployment phase, easy management, and scalability."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a user-friendly solution that has good performance and stability."
"This product has allowed us to easily create custom SSIDs for clients and carve out the necessary bandwidth for clients needs."
"The most valuable feature is the technology of the security that is offered."
"The stability of the Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is very good."
"Its ease of use and flexibility are most valuable. It is cloud-based software."
"The dashboard to keep track of 30 or so APs, switches, routers and logs, is invaluable. I liked the UX on this."
"I really don't have any problems with the stability of the product."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the application visibility, which is one of the main features."
 

Cons

"The solution can be more integrated with other brands."
"The solution should include higher speed and lesser cost."
"It is suitable for smaller organizations, but it may not be the best choice for large enterprises."
"When there are a lot of people connected, especially during video streaming demonstrations, the connection can get a bit choppy."
"Improvement as per customer requirements."
"When I first deployed the solution, I couldn't use a tagged VLAN for the management. It might already have been fixed in a recent firmware upgrade."
"In terms of financial benefits, the Aruba project is a high-cost solution, and I haven't seen specific financial returns."
"The setup is not very easy. It requires some experience with Wi-Fi, especially with cloud connection and security."
"We have used technical support for some issues but not many times."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could improve by having more granularity in terms of the data displayed. However, I understand that with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, you need to have a compromise point to what are the functions that you're going to provide to the users versus ease of use. More granularity in terms of the data and the things that you can do to the devices would be helpful. For example, when we wanted to make a change, restriction, or segregation within Palo Alto, we can go to the level of detail that we want. The amount of detail provided is amazing, it is very granular. However, it comes with much more difficulty, it requires a technical understanding of the environment compared to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN."
"The price could be slightly lowered to make it more competitive in the market."
"In the future, I would like to see IP telephony in Saudi Arabia."
"Quality of technical support varies."
"If there are advanced features that you can have enabled, they should allow users access to that in an easier manner."
"When it comes to switching, Meraki lacks categories of features."
"The product's pricing needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It needs a license."
"You buy it for $165 an AP, which is what we paid."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the standard licensing charges associated with the product. There are some additional costs associated with the product since I have seen customers who purchase three-year or five-year plans."
"The price of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable. They are competitively priced. I've even used it in my home at one time because of the low price."
"Aruba Instant On Access Points are license-free. It's a very good and cheap solution for wireless networks. It can be compared with solutions from Ubiquiti and TP-Link, but it is in a different class. Aruba Instant On Access Points are cheaper than those from Cisco, Ruckus, and Motorola. It's perhaps the cheapest one. They do not use licenses, so it is a solution from the box. You don't need to pay extra money or deal with hidden payments."
"It is expensive."
"The product's price falls on the cheaper end of the spectrum. The price of the product is one of the biggest benefits that it offers."
"I rate the product's pricing a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"This solution is slightly more expensive than others, such as Ruckus Wi-Fi."
"We pay licensing fees."
"The price is on the high side when compared to Aruba."
"Since it's been acquired by Cisco, it's an even higher cost."
"Negotiate the deal put in front of you!"
"We pay a yearly license fee for the solution."
"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Real Estate/Law Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Access Points?
It's really easy to set up. And, you don't have to pay for the cloud solution. That's really interesting for our clients. And the other thing is, the roaming is also quite good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Access Points?
The cost of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable; however, I do not have information on the exact pricing, such as cost per user or annual license fees.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Access Points?
We can improve Aruba Instant On Access Points by tuning some of the parameters of the radio. The default configuration can be overridden to enhance performance beyond the default settings.
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Access Points vs. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.