No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Meraki vMX vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 vMX
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
16th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (21st)
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
WAN Edge (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki vMX is 1.2%. The mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 2.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN2.1%
Cisco Meraki vMX1.2%
Other96.7%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Mansukh Bhesania - PeerSpot reviewer
MD and CEO at Aster Networks
Have worked confidently across large deployments and ensured long-term reliability for critical sectors
I have used Cisco Meraki vMX dashboard's orchestration feature with this product. The Meraki dashboard helps manage our network effectively because it is quite easy; we manage ourselves very well. Performance-wise, there is no problem with Cisco Meraki vMX's integrated analytics for network performance, as my 70 to 80 customers use Cisco only. We do business with semi-enterprise customers, and there is no competition against Cisco except for the wireless solutions from Aruba. We find it easy to promote Cisco Meraki vMX because the centralized dashboard is there for management, and the customers accept it without any problem. From a sales point of view, it is easy to integrate, and nowadays, the 93 is also part of the Meraki desktop.
YR
Product Manager, Network Solutions at Layer3
User shares extensive expertise and suggests enhancements based on long-term deployment experience
I was wondering if it would be acceptable to ask you a few questions about your experience with Juniper solutions. I would be interested to know your relationship with Juniper, whether you are a customer, end user, reseller, implementer, partner, or MSP. The reviewer rated Juniper Contrail SD-WAN 11 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features in Cisco Meraki vMX are easy deployment, an easy-to-read dashboard for information, and automatic load balancing for two circuits in the MX, which are the most important key features for our small business customers."
"The Meraki dashboard helps manage our network effectively because it is quite easy; we manage ourselves very well."
"Cisco Meraki vMX offers sufficient features for most customers; it is very easy to handle and proves very efficient, with the main advantages being the visibility it provides and the ease of administration."
"The support is very good from Juniper and from the local distributors."
"The solution is more specific about what's happening since it explains where the problem may lie and points out areas where there is a problem. So, we like that it provides more visibility."
"JUNIPER CDWAN ROI is excellent as product has long life cycle and therefore supported with no need to buy replacement products."
"My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH."
"I would appreciate your thoughts about the security capabilities of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, particularly its built-in features."
"It supports desktop management, network management, and SD-WAN policies."
"Juniper has layer four to seven protection; it gives you that level of visibility to understand what's going on between layer four and layer seven and helps us reduce bandwidth compared to competitors' MPLS circuits while providing a strong platform for cloud migration to AWS and GCP without any sort of extra bandwidth from the MPLS circuits."
"It gives you that level of visibility to understand what's going on between layer four and layer seven."
 

Cons

"In comparison with Aruba, I find Aruba to be far better in terms of deployment, ClearPass, and everything, which is all very easy."
"It is not the strongest security solution, so if you want to have next-generation firewall features, you always need an additional component."
"Cisco Meraki vMX needs to improve its ability to configure complex policy-based routing."
"The training could be better. When it comes to the demo dashboard capability, I feel like it could be much easier for our customers to use. Our last customer complained about this."
"The solution is expensive. Its support can be better."
"The solution installs similarly to competitors. It is not more difficult or easier. However, it could be easier and take less time for the installation."
"The only issue was the switch we got, which was a little problematic because it was PoC equipment, and we had a little problem with that."
"Implementing new branches or changing existing ones in Juniper Contrail SD-WAN wasn't as straightforward as with other solutions like Meraki SD-WAN, which is almost plug-and-play with its zero-touch provisioning. In Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, it was more challenging."
"Areas for improvement in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution include the on-premises deployment process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The cost of the solution is a little expensive. The hardware is a one-time purchase fee and the software is purchased on an annual basis. There are additional costs for other software features that are available which are on an annual basis, such as extra capacity."
"They are neither very expensive nor cheap. So, we can consider its pricing somewhere in the middle."
"The licensing structure is very flexible."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
24%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Healthcare Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Meraki vMX?
Cisco Meraki vMX needs to improve its ability to configure complex policy-based routing. The product can only be set up via the GUI interface and cannot perform complex tasks like a Cisco router wh...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Meraki vMX?
I am an architect planning for our customers to plan their enterprise connectivity via Cisco Meraki vMX and SASE. This is for internet access for mobile users, and I am a reseller, not using the pr...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Meraki vMX?
I have no idea about additional features that I would like to see in the next release to make it better. My customers will buy it from the AWS Marketplace and Azure. In my opinion, Cisco Meraki vMX...
What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
There might be additional features that would be beneficial to have in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution, including potential design improvements and UI/UX issues that have been observed.
What is your primary use case for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
Some time back, I conducted research on our website, PeerSpot.com, about IT solutions, specifically about Huawei Wireless and Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points. I am not selling anything or worki...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
I was wondering if it would be acceptable to ask you a few questions about your experience with Juniper solutions. I would be interested to know your relationship with Juniper, whether you are a cu...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Contrail SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Allied Pinnacle
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki vMX vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.