Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs D-Link Wireless comparison

Cisco and D-Link are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.4, while D-Link is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.2. Cisco holds a 12.7% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to D-Link’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of D-Link users who would recommend it.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Read 119 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN reviews

14,622 Views
11,932 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

D-Link Wireless

Read 17 D-Link Wireless reviews

2,662 Views
2,208 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

D-Link Wireless

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and D-Link Wireless are prominent competitors in the wireless networking solutions category. Cisco Meraki appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced cloud management capabilities and extensive feature set that supports diverse organizational needs.

Features: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers centralized cloud management with an intuitive dashboard, robust performance managing multiple networks, and comprehensive access point configurations including RADIUS and SSO. D-Link Wireless provides solutions with good speed and wide coverage, and its controllers manage the system centrally, integrating with VLANs and multiple SSIDs.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could improve its logging capabilities and simplify complex features and licensing models which some users find challenging. D-Link Wireless needs to enhance its central management features and improve its support services to remain competitive, as well as advance its technology to match more sophisticated competitors.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless offers flexible deployment options, including cloud and hybrid setups. Its customer service is generally well-regarded, although some users experience varying support quality. D-Link provides consistent support mainly for standard on-premises setups but could benefit from improved technical support responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is noted for its comprehensive feature set but is often criticized for high pricing and complex licensing which can hinder service continuity. However, many users still report a good ROI through enhanced operational efficiency. D-Link Wireless stands out with competitive pricing and no additional licensing fees, appealing to cost-conscious buyers looking for value in basic functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless

April 2025

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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 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

D-Link Wireless

Ranking in Wireless LAN

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.7%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta

Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk

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…

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NadirShahzad

System Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Wireless projects run smoothly with more access point support and competitive pricing

D-Link Wireless offers more supported APs to the WLC with the default license compared to other brands like Cisco. With Cisco, only four to five APs are connected with the default license, but D-Link Wireless provides more flexibility. Local support in Pakistan is necessary for those with limited budgets, creating a reach in the market.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Provided reliability and a good price."

"The management and upgrades are very simple and straightforward."

"For Meraki, the ease of deployment and management is most valuable."

"The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage."

"The captive portal feature is my favorite. It allows us to keep track of how many people are entering our client's businesses."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the application visibility, which is one of the main features."

"The emailing of statuses is the most valuable feature."

"I really don't have any problems with the stability of the product."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"This is an affordable product that offers good performance. This is why it is popular with our customers. It offers good speed and bandwidth."

"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."

"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."

"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."

"I like the product's signal continuity and range. We can receive the signal up to 20-30 meters from the wireless antenna."

"The system simplifies network management."

"The solution is extremely easy to install. You just add them and in a few clicks, they are ready to go."

More D-Link Wireless pros

Cons

"Cisco Meraki must improve the integration between its own family of products."

"It would be useful to have a service management platform integrated within this solution where we can measure the customer experience."

"It is super expensive for what you get. I just wish it was less expensive."

"In the next release, I would like to see a third-party high tech center to connect multiple users to a particular network."

"Cisco offers pretty expensive devices."

"The annual maintenance is something that needs to be changed."

"Quality of technical support varies."

"Despite being enabled, I've encountered an issue where the alert main dashboard fails to detect when any of the devices go down. Hence, the tool's notification feature should improve. We have also faced issues with integration."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"Password restriction: Sometimes we set a password and it uses that password but, after some days/months, the password gets changed and a few laptops still use old the password while a few use the new password. The password restriction option needs to improve."

"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."

"D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points."

"The tool's technical support can get difficult sometimes. We got a technician only after complaining for 10-15 days. The tool's technicians need to be made available everywhere."

"The solution doesn't have hotspots. Users can't set it up so that visitors can log in via Facebook or social media as they can at, for example, airports. D-Link should include hotspots that offer integration with social media. That way, visitors don't need to be asking people for passwords. They can just use Facebook."

"It would definitely help if we had more advanced features for distributing bandwidth."

"D-Link has some catching up to do in terms of advancing and improving its technology."

"Sometimes we configure the SSID with a password but the same AP shows two WiFi connections with the same SSID name (one is protected by a password and another one give access without a password)."

More D-Link Wireless cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay licensing fees."

"The solution is pretty expensive."

"There are multiple licensing options including three months, six months, and one year."

"Negotiate the deal put in front of you!"

"This solution is quite costly and there are costs in addition to the licensing fees."

"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."

"I haven't conducted a price comparison yet, but based on information, it appears to be more affordable than the current environment. Therefore, I consider the price to be reasonable."

"The price of the product could be cheaper."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"There is no licensing fee for the solution."

"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."

"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."

"The product is affordable."

"The cost can range from $100 to $400."

"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."

"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Educational Organization

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

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...

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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...

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Which wireless solution would you choose - Huawei or D-Link?

Huawei wireless is a strong and solid product that has a lot of features - and for all that it offers, it happens to be very cost effective. As a wireless solution, it is simple and its user interf...

See all answers

What do you like most about D-Link Wireless?

The tool supports new technologies.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for D-Link Wireless?

D-Link Wireless is notably more affordable than Cisco and Juniper. It suits SMB needs without the financial burden of purchasing additional licenses for extended APs.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 32% of the time

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 15% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 7% of the time

Mist AI and Cloud vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Huawei Wireless vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 57% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 11% of the time

Omada Access Points vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 8% of the time

More D-Link Wireless Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

May 2025

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

D-Link Wireless

May 2025

Download D-Link Wireless product report

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN

D-Link WLAN

Overview

Cisco Meraki access points are built from the highest grade components and carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls. The Cisco Meraki dashboard gives visibility into the network users, their devices, and their applications. Armed with rich analytics, administrators can quickly create access control and application usage policies, optimizing both the end-user experience and network security.

Cisco

D-Link Wireless offers a wide range of robust wireless Access Points (APs) operating in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands, supporting the latest wireless standards including 802.11ac and 802.11n. These access points can be managed independently as standalone devices, or collectively by using Central Wi-Fi Manager, a free centralized controller software that can be installed on a Windows server or PC.

D-Link

Sample Customers

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

Metropolitan Public Defender, Mission Motorcycles

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless

April 2025

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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