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

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs D-Link Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 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 Wireless LAN
Ranking in Wireless LAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
123
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
D-Link Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 10.2%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN10.2%
D-Link Wireless2.4%
Other87.4%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2847906 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Wireless management has become efficient with rich client visibility for troubleshooting
In terms of specific challenges with hybrid environments, I face no issues. I assess the operational efficiency of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN in my IT environment as pretty efficient for the most part. I would rate it at approximately 80%. I have had some issues with the dashboard itself and as far as switch management goes, but that is not necessarily on the wireless side of things. The wireless side has been quite good. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN optimizes the experience in a hybrid or distributed enterprise setup. My impression of the end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is quite good. I function as an admin. What stood out to make me choose Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that I already leverage many products with Cisco. I have Catalyst switching, ACI infrastructure, and use them for my core and edge routers. I would give this review an overall rating of 8 out of 10.
NadirShahzad - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most amazing part is that their Access Points have the ability to connect to multiple conference devices at different times, and it shows you the very in-depth Wi-Fi analytics through their dashboard."
"The Dashboard, with its centralized cloud interface, is the most valuable feature of Meraki and provides the perfect solution for smaller organizations, those with a small IT staff, and those with basic wireless needs."
"It makes the process much easier by providing visibility and centralized control over the network."
"The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage."
"The most valuable feature is the stability. It works and doesn't stop."
"I like the status page Cisco added that shows you the health of the wireless connection."
"The user interface is very simple and easy to use — our customers are very satisfied."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a stable and reliable solution."
"This is an affordable product that offers good performance, which is why it is popular with our customers, and it offers good speed and bandwidth."
"I like the product's signal continuity and range. We can receive the signal up to 20-30 meters from the wireless antenna."
"This product is user-friendly and we can manage it as per the requirements of the user."
"For small businesses, this is definitely a product that I recommend."
"We have 200 to 250 users and the solution can scale without any problem."
"Overall, I rate D-Link Wireless nine out of ten as a solution."
"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."
"The system simplifies network management."
 

Cons

"It is not a budget-friendly solution."
"Its licensing is the most painful."
"Although Layer-7 helps, it could still be improved."
"Recently I have seen that the Meraki access point, maybe due to congestion, just kicks off my customers, mostly when they are in Zoom meetings or Teams meetings and they have to reconnect."
"The customization needs to be improved because it's pretty locked down."
"It would be nice to have licensing that stays in place while the system is being renovated or changed."
"In a future release, they should offer a next-generation UTM, where you can manage all items and the network, and have it include a lot of security features like fingerprinting functionality."
"I would like to see integration with sensors."
"The performance offered by D-Link Wireless can be a bit problematic at times, owing to which it is an area that can be considered for improvement."
"We've had issues with the 150MG and 300MB dongles. The 300MB works okay but the 150MB is not working well for us."
"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."
"D-Link has some catching up to do in terms of advancing and improving its technology."
"The solution has been mostly stable; it sometimes fluctuates, however, largely, it is good."
"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."
"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."
"The stability could be a bit better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."
"Meraki is a very good solution, but the price is quite high for small markets."
"We are on a SmartNet contract. All of our Cisco products are licensed under one contract. I do not think there are any additional costs."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is an expensive solution."
"The cost is not so much for Wireless LAN, but when you have to get the security license, it costs a lot."
"The cost of both the hardware and licensing is high, and it is more than what I would prefer to spend currently."
"Its price is high and should be reduced."
"This solution is reasonably priced."
"The product is affordable."
"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."
"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."
"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."
"There is no licensing fee for the solution."
"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."
"The cost can range from $100 to $400."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Construction Company
13%
University
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business69
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise2
 

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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
What needs improvement with D-Link Wireless?
D-Link Wireless should include the 'cleaner' feature similar to Cisco's APs. This feature reduces signal interference with access points. Working on this functionality for APs and WLC could be an i...
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
D-Link WLAN
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. D-Link Wireless and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.