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Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Cisco Meraki MX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) provides value by enhancing security, increasing efficiency, and justifying investment through operational and financial benefits.
Sentiment score
5.2
Cisco Meraki MX provides significant ROI through intuitive management, reduced costs, and streamlined operations despite higher initial costs.
This is a time-saving measure because we don't need to deploy a cluster or a firewall each time; we just create a virtual system on the management server using the same appliance.
Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Not having major security incidents has been far less expensive than dealing with data that could cost us hundreds of thousands or even millions in recovery and downtime.
Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks
Incident response time has reduced significantly, and downtime due to network issues has been minimized, leading to an improved return on investment.
Ot Security Network Specialist at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
I have seen a return on investment with Cisco Meraki MX because of the time saved through cloud management.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
You can eliminate some positions because it manages itself.
Enterprise Networking Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It greatly helps out when I am moving away from the expensive MPLS circuits or MPLS hardware.
Senior Manager Networking at David Yurman
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Check Point Quantum Force support is knowledgeable but varies in efficiency, with advanced support offering priority assistance.
Sentiment score
8.3
Cisco Meraki MX support is responsive and knowledgeable, highly rated for reliability, though some advanced users face visibility challenges.
If we have an urgent security problem, it would be nice to get a faster response.
Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks
The support team we engaged was knowledgeable and well-versed with the application.
Sr. Cyber Security and Solutions Architect at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
We have escalated issues to Check Point technical support multiple times and have received timely and very good responses.
Solution Architect at Techbridge Distribution
When we raise a ticket with Meraki MX, they instantly become available to support us for configurations or troubleshooting.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Cisco's TAC support for Cisco Meraki MX is excellent because no other OEM provides support at this level.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cisco is one of the best vendors in the market.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Check Point Quantum Force offers scalable architecture for growing demands, with easy expansion and effective workload management, though costs may rise.
Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco Meraki MX is scalable, adapting from small to large deployments, with minimal management and straightforward setup.
If specified correctly, even the smaller boxes offer high session and bandwidth rates, making the solution highly scalable, even up to telco-level requirements.
Solutions Architect at NTT DATA
It is easy to scale up by adding capacity through clustering or upgrading the license, and it effectively handles spikes in remote user connections or increased east-west traffic without noticeable bottlenecks.
Assistant Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
While the performance itself scales well technically, you need to be prepared for the financial side of the growth.
Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks
When you have hundreds of thousands of people it is very difficult to scale in Meraki.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The scalability of Cisco Meraki MX is rated 10 out of 10; you can scale up and scale down with no effort.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
Cisco Meraki MX scales with my growing needs for my organization very well because they are easy to deploy.
Network Engineer at a non-profit with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Check Point Quantum Force is highly stable with minimal downtime, offering reliable performance and robust security, minor patch issues exist.
Sentiment score
8.6
Cisco Meraki MX offers high reliability and compatibility, with praised stability despite occasional content filtering and hardware issues.
We have not experienced major crashes or unexpected downtime that affected our network security.
Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks
While the solution is generally stable, there are complications, such as requiring SmartConsole for deployment and upgrades, which can be time-consuming.
Head of Technology at Techfruits
I have worked with Check Point products for 15 years and haven't found any stability or performance issues.
Solution Architect at Techbridge Distribution
There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
I have had zero downtime at all with Cisco Meraki MX.
Enterprise Networking Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
I assess the stability and the reliability of Cisco Meraki MX as good, and I have experienced no downtime, crashes, or performance issues.
Network Engineer at a non-profit with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Quantum Force NGFW needs interface improvements, simpler pricing, better support, and enhanced features for ease of use.
Cisco Meraki MX faces challenges with port control, VPN connectivity, interface usability, pricing, and integration, prompting user concerns.
AI-driven features would be highly valuable—particularly those that enable bulk operations and efficient handling of large numbers of objects or object groups.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
One thing that would help in improving Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) is having more flexible dashboards that I can tailor without relying on templates.
system administrator at Orbcom,Lda.
Other products, like FortiGate, are perceived as more intuitive because they are easier to configure from the start.
Solutions Architect at NTT DATA
It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Data is the only path, so optimization is essential.
Chief Commercial Officer at InnovAge Home Care
An improvement would be to use Cisco Meraki MX as a software solution as well, which might reduce the cost.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
 

Setup Cost

Check Point Quantum Force offers strong security, with higher costs, complex licensing, but great value for mid-to-large enterprises.
Cisco Meraki MX offers flexible licensing and high value but can involve significant initial costs and annual fees.
In comparison to Fortinet and other products, the pricing may be considered high.
Head of Technology at Techfruits
licensing is very pricey
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Compared to other solutions, the pricing of Check Point NGFW is high.
Solution Architect at Techbridge Distribution
I get it for $25,000, a device that can connect up to 75-100 users, whereas in Meraki MX, it goes to 75,000-80,000 per access point.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The price could be reduced by around 30% to make it more comfortable.
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
If Cisco can make the pricing less, customers can purchase more licenses.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
 

Valuable Features

Check Point Quantum Force offers advanced cybersecurity features, enhancing network protection, user productivity, and threat management through AI-powered intelligence.
Cisco Meraki MX provides cloud management, SD-WAN, advanced security, and ease of use, making it ideal for scalable networks.
The firewall's default behavior of blocking all traffic, including a cleanup rule that blocks everything from external to internal sources, is highly valuable for protecting our network.
Cyber Security Analyst at airtel
The most valuable features in my experience include perimeter firewalling, cloud and mobile security, application control, URL filtering, DLP, threat prevention, intrusion protection, and safeguarding against malware, botnets, and zero-day attacks.
Solutions Architect at NTT DATA
Since implementing it, we have noticed a lot less getting through that maybe other antivirus within firewalls had failed to catch.
Network Administrator at POET, LLC
Meraki MX is among those top solutions in their exceptional approach towards VPN-less, Zero Trust client access to office private networks.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Advanced security is the second tier of Cisco Meraki MX. It brings you the main next-generation firewalling features such as URL filtering, advanced malware protection, and threat protection.
Presales System Engineer at Logicom Sales Inc
Cisco Meraki MX API makes it really easy for me to automate a lot of changes over several thousand devices.
Technology Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Quantum Force (...
Ranking in Firewalls
6th
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
346
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Meraki MX
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category, the mindshare of Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) is 8.6%, up from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 8.2%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Threat Management (UTM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)8.6%
Cisco Meraki MX8.2%
Other83.2%
Unified Threat Management (UTM)
 

Featured Reviews

DS
Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks
Advanced threat prevention has protected our perimeter and simplifies daily security operations
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) can be improved in several areas. First, the interface could be a little more intuitive for new users. The Smart Console is powerful, but it has a steep learning curve when you start using it. Some simple functions for common tasks would help. Second, the initial setup and configuration take quite a bit of time and expertise. It would be helpful if there were more guides, wizards, or templates to speed that up. Third, the price model could be more transparent and flexible. The license cost can add up quickly, specifically when you want to add more advanced features. Finally, I would appreciate seeing better integration with some third-party security tools we use. Right now, we have to do a lot of manual work to make everything talk to each other. Overall, these are minor things. The core product is really solid and does what it is supposed to do very well. The documentation could be more comprehensive in some areas. When we run into issues, the documentation does not have clear answers, so we end up contacting support. Speaking of support, the response time could be faster sometimes. We have had cases where we need help with a certain security issue, and it takes longer than we would prefer to get a response. As for features, it would be nice to have more general reporting options so we can customize reports for different teams and stakeholders without having to do manual work afterward. One more thing, better mobile access to the dashboard would be helpful. Sometimes we need to check on security alerts when we are away from the office, and the mobile experience is not as smooth as it could be. Again, these are improvements that would make it even better, not issues with the core product itself.
SG
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cloud-based solution simplifies network management with excellent support
There have been no issues with stability after deployment. There have been no complaints. For stability, I would suggest that Cisco Meraki MX is the most stable device from the security processor. Regarding content filtering features, we are using content filtering and malware access, along with all security features in Cisco Meraki MX9500. We have received good feedback from customers because since installing Cisco Meraki MX9500, we have not received any complaints. There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits. It is compatible with all different OEMs, and for VPN, site-to-site VPN has been configured with other firewalls as well. We are getting very good responses from customers as there have been no complaints where we have deployed Cisco Meraki MX9500.
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908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business164
Midsize Enterprise94
Large Enterprise198
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

How does Check Point NGFW compare with Fortinet Fortigate?
I have experience on both from Disti and channel experience. Please find below my comments (nothing new as such). -Check Point GUI is a bit complicated, -Application and Web filtering are better t...
Which would you recommend - Azure Firewall or Check Point NGFW?
Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include integration into the overall cloud platform, autoscaling, and the ability for users to create virtual IP addr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point NGFW?
Our experience with pricing for Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) has been mixed. The initial setup costs were fairly significant because we needed to buy the hardware appliances and then pay for th...
Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL Inspection, Granular Firewall rules (Block only, no allow setting), client vpn re...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports network security and firewall options. We researched both Meraki and ASA. We liked t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MX?
I don't even look at the cost of Cisco Meraki MX; I let the accountants deal with that.
 

Also Known As

Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall
MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Control Southern, Optimal Media
Hyatt, ONS
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs. Cisco Meraki MX and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.