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Cisco Meraki MR Wireless vs Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

Cisco Meraki MR Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
17th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Wireless 9100 Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

SG
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cloud-based management transforms branch network operations efficiently
The most useful feature of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is its cloud-based management. Configuring Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is easy because it's a cloud-based solution. Once you connect it, it gets registered on the cloud. You can configure it through there itself, and you don't need to be at the site while configuring. Layer 7 traffic shaping helps with bandwidth management, and now you have the five gigabit port on the AP itself, so the bandwidth increases. No other wireless OEM provides a bandwidth of five gigabits. I have worked with the Network Analytics feature in Cisco Meraki MR Wireless, and it's used on the cloud. The Meraki controller, which is a cloud-based controller, allows us to manage multiple Cisco Meraki MR Wireless APs and monitor their performance, user connectivity, signal, and the AP performance itself. Regarding security features such as Air Marshal and WIPS, the Meraki 1700 series has the WIPS feature. We have used the WIPS feature to prevent rogue APs and to enable the security features in the wireless itself. You don't need to buy any other separate security devices, making it a very effective and useful feature.
Bharath _Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Velocis Systems
Wireless has delivered advanced analytics and remote troubleshooting for diverse use cases
Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is valuable because of Cisco's Wi-Fi integration with Cisco Spaces, previously called DNA Spaces. When you bundle Cisco AP with Cisco Spaces, the complete wireless story comes into the picture. The first major advantage is the hardware, the chipset, the processor, and the IOS. There is unified licensing and unified iOS, and once you have DNA advantage, you can get a separate AVIX and the Wi-Fi 6 or 6E dashboard in DNAC. These advantages provide basic throughput support, OFDMA, multi-MIMO architecture, and the latest 4K QAM in Wi-Fi 7, previously 1024 QAM, and MLO in Wi-Fi 7. These functionalities exist for every OEM, but the Cisco advantage is the integration with Wi-Fi Spaces. Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points includes one AP that can operate in dual mode. You can onboard it in Meraki or Catalyst, meaning on-premises or cloud controller. Single hardware can be dual OS, either Meraki OS or Catalyst OS. For IoT and industrial wireless, Cisco has a different technology called CURV. The APs are different from the Catalyst 9000 series APs. There is a different set of series with different models working on fluid mesh architecture of Cisco CURV. Remote troubleshooting is a basic functionality of any SDN controller these days. Engineers do not need to manually log in to the end device, which could be either a switch or an AP. From DNA Center itself, you can get visibility from the assurance. You can get client 360, network 360, and application 360 where the health scores of each individual client are clearly visible in DNAC Center. The assurance data provides visibility and highlights the issues that a particular user or particular network node is facing. You can access the device without any challenge. Similar to how SD-WAN came into the picture seven to eight years ago where you could remotely log in to the WAN edge devices and troubleshoot it, the same principle is being applied in DNAC Center for the campus, whether it is switching or WAN. If the RTT latency has been met from the branch to the place where DNAC Center is deployed, you can easily access those devices without needing an engineer to visit that particular location for troubleshooting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most useful feature of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is its cloud-based management."
"As a user of the product, the biggest advantage for me is that it works seamlessly; users can switch between access points, and it works great."
"We benefit from using Cisco Meraki cloud as it makes manageability easier—two people can manage 200 locations efficiently."
"The Meraki controller, which is a cloud-based controller, allows us to manage multiple Cisco Meraki MR Wireless APs and monitor their performance, user connectivity, signal, and the AP performance itself."
"Some of the best features with the wireless solution are that you have a cloud console, so you don't have to create or manage your own instance of a controller."
"Cloud management is something I appreciate; it's an easy product to manage in comparison to many others."
"Cisco is technically superior to competitors."
"I assess the stability and reliability of Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points as very solid, it is tried and true, it has been tested, and we have had no problems whatsoever with that particular platform."
"The features in Catalyst 9100 Access Points that I have found most valuable include that it's a complete solution; we go with Cisco because you have access points, you have a controller, you have Cisco ISE, and you have Cisco DNA Center."
"My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that pricing is more expensive, but it is worth it."
"In terms of return on investment with Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points, there is an initial deployment cost, but a client indicates they have not replaced a single access point in 10 years since installation."
"There is not much in terms of potential improvement for Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points; the product is good on wireless."
"The biggest benefit from Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points for me and my clients is that it has many options for tuning the configuration and the radio profile for wireless."
"I really liked the 9162 because it has Meraki integration and is essentially plug and play; once you get it on the network, it sees Meraki Cloud, appears as a new device, and all you need to do is put in the license key to register it and you are done."
 

Cons

"My main concern is that Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is overpriced, has limited functionality, and the hardware is not prepared for any further improvements in terms of features."
"To do that effectively, I really need accurate floor plans, which I don't yet have. Without having the full picture, I'm operating somewhat blind and have to be careful."
"The challenge with Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is that for any Meraki device, you require internet connectivity to get it registered on the cloud."
"Overall, Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is a bit pricey; that's the main and probably only disadvantage."
"Regarding service support, Cisco Meraki does not provide direct support. When raising incidents or support tickets, the support is not always effective."
"The navigation tools of the GUI could be more user-intuitive in certain areas."
"Theoretically, you can connect up to 100 clients simultaneously, but practically, this is not feasible. There will be bandwidth deterioration, and 100 clients using the same bandwidth will impact the quality of service."
"I have had some issues with some of the lower-end devices where I needed to do RMAs. For some reason, the devices either had an issue with the power supply or they got bricked after a firmware update."
"The deployment process itself is complex because we need to ensure that software requirements are running."
"Cisco is always expensive. In terms of pricing, it is very tough because I have lost many RFPs because of the pricing where Ruckus is much less expensive."
"Apart from that, the security measures of Cisco have not provided us with great help in reducing network vulnerabilities."
"Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points are expensive. They are definitely expensive."
"What I dislike about Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is that controlling multiple APs is not centralized."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Healthcare Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Meraki MR Wireless?
The cost of Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is high; the price of one AP to the end customer is approximately 50,000 INR.
What needs improvement with Cisco Meraki MR Wireless?
I have utilized Meraki's RF Optimization to some extent. To do that effectively, I really need accurate floor plans, which I don't yet have. Without having the full picture, I'm operating somewhat ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Meraki MR Wireless?
My use case for Cisco Meraki MR Wireless is in automotive retail. I work with a dealership ownership group that currently operates 95 locations.
What needs improvement with Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
I want to diagnose and troubleshoot these issues with Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points, but in the end, I restart the AP and access point, and then the session timeout expires. The new user then c...
What is your primary use case for Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
My usual use cases for Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points include shutting down the respective AP, restarting it, and performing a hard restart. I use it for restarting, specifically to power on and...
What advice do you have for others considering Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
I use it as an end user. I like that, as a whole, the controller of Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is performing much better, although there are connectivity issues at the AP end. Specific APs d...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Catalyst 9100 Access Points
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MR Wireless vs. Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.