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Cisco ACI vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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
6.4
Entities report time and cost savings with Cisco ACI, despite challenges in implementation and varied financial benefit assessments.
Sentiment score
6.8
Meraki SD-WAN ensures strong ROI through cost savings, easy management, reduced support needs, and secure global network efficiency.
Efficient utilization leads to cost savings and efficiency gains.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco ACI support is praised for responsiveness and resolution speed, but inconsistencies exist, especially with newer staff and regions.
Sentiment score
6.8
Meraki SD-WAN customer service is fast, effective, and reliable, though occasionally faces integration challenges and slight response delays.
The technical support from Cisco is satisfactory.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
When issues occur, the TAC is not able to provide much support, leading to difficulties in finding RCAs.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
We raised it in TAC, and they were very approachable and supportive.
Solution Architect at airtel
Their technical support is responsive.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco ACI offers excellent scalability, enabling easy network expansion and integration, while supporting extensive device numbers and multi-site setups.
Sentiment score
7.6
Meraki SD-WAN is scalable for SMEs, ideal for retail and educational sectors, but may need improvements for complex networks.
Expanding your network or your data center with Cisco ACI is not an issue; scalability is a good feature.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
The scalability of Cisco ACI supports our organization's growth effectively.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
The solution offers high performance and scalability with connectivity options up to 100 GS.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
Scalability depends on the model number of each switch, but generally, it is scalable according to need.
NOC Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
It's scalable with extensive features for Meraki SD-WAN.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco ACI is stable and reliable, with resolved bugs and improved support, offering minimal downtime despite occasional minor issues.
Sentiment score
8.2
Meraki SD-WAN is reliable, consistently performing well with minimal disruptions and high stability ratings, praised for its user-friendly interface.
For stability, Cisco ACI rates a nine or 9.5 because I've seen three customers using Cisco ACI and once deployed, the solution is very stable.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Sometimes it is not working in Azure or GCP as it has interoperability only with some clouds, so that part needs work.
Solution Architect at airtel
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ACI needs user interface, configuration, integration, and support improvements to enhance usability and scalability in hybrid environments.
Meraki SD-WAN requires improved security, cost-effectiveness, WAN optimization, cloud integration, customization, VPN capabilities, scalability, and user interface.
We do not make use of its visibility and analytics features, as we are mostly using it for the networking part only.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
Their lack of on-ground offices can result in business losses.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
VeloCloud provides much more detail and many more tabs for troubleshooting everything, such as ARP, IPv4, IPv6, TCP dumps, routing, and switching.
NOC Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Meraki SD-WAN is not fit for enterprise-grade customers or big deployments.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
I work with Fortinet where with a single command you can deploy the entire SD-WAN along with FortiGuard within minutes.
Solution Architect at airtel
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ACI is costly but valuable, offering quality and support; best for large operations despite complex licensing.
Meraki SD-WAN offers flexible subscription terms, considered fairly priced, with discounts for longer commitments and additional related costs.
In general, Cisco ACI is on the higher side; it's not a cheap solution.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Cisco's pricing tends to be on the higher end compared to other vendors.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
If the license expires in FortiGate, the basic functionality will work, but in Meraki SD-WAN, the entire system will shut down.
Solution Architect at airtel
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ACI enhances data center efficiency with seamless integration, automation, scalability, micro-segmentation, robust security, and user-friendly management.
Meraki SD-WAN offers seamless cloud management, enhances security, and reduces costs with real-time analytics and centralized control.
Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
The current tool is adequate for day-to-day operations, but we want to explore more on AI Ops and hope future versions of OpenText can support that.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
Its features, like easy application deployment, short deployment time for new applications or software, and eliminating the hassle of STP, are appreciated.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
The product is easy to use, and I think its interface and centralized management are good.
Senior Consultant - International Business at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
The SD-WAN features of Meraki SD-WAN include the overlay setup that can connect between the switch and the Viptela device or between the VCE of another vendor without needing to be vendor-specific.
NOC Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The architecture allows us to see whether the physical cable is connected or disconnected.
Solution Architect at airtel
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco ACI
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (7th)
Meraki SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 11.7%, down from 13.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki SD-WAN is 15.8%, down from 24.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Meraki SD-WAN15.8%
Cisco ACI11.7%
Other72.5%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Enables streamlined data center management with automation and application-centric design
The main features of Cisco ACI that I really appreciate are the application-centric and network-centric designs, allowing you to create your network according to your application. That's helpful, and it's good for one-time implementation. The automation capabilities are really helpful. We deployed one data center using Terraform, and after deployment, many automation features are available, which can be very helpful. Based on my experience, Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure. Many organizations are actually using the old traditional Nexus infrastructure or some old data center devices. It gives you significant control and one-time implementation capabilities, and it also provides better performance and security. Functionality-wise, Cisco ACI provides integration using automation. We implemented it through Terraform, which was easy. Those features are available, so I don't think any new features are needed right now; something new could come up, but they have implemented many improvements over the years.
Mageshwaran S - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at airtel
Experienced streamlined network management with enhanced usability and room for improved security features
On the security features, when compared to Fortinet, they have more patterns and AI-generated ones. Meraki SD-WAN is slowly implementing AI, but it is not yet full-fledged. If AI comes into the picture, it will be helpful. I work with Fortinet where with a single command you can deploy the entire SD-WAN along with FortiGuard within minutes. For AI, it can discover and connect, but currently, we are doing it manually. In Meraki SD-WAN, some features require additional licenses and subscriptions. If these were bundled together, such as 10 or 20 licenses, it would be very helpful for a mini branch or small campus area coverage.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise87
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about Cisco ACI?
The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution.
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
When compared for the long run, it is reasonable, but for the short term, such as one year, it is costlier, especially compared to other OEMs such as FortiGate. If the license expires in FortiGate,...
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN depends compared to which vendors, because it's a bit pricey, so not all retail would go for it unless it's a big retail company, but it depends on your comparison. I u...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco ACI vs. Meraki SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.