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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Fortinet FortiAP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

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
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 12.3%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 5.8%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

RezaPradipta - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Room for improvement in customer support as overall satisfaction remains low
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also. That requirement has been covered. Currently, I cannot see any areas for improvement because it fulfills my requirements, and I can do everything I need with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The monitoring device enables you to see the network health."
"Integrating with the router, firewall, and Wireless Controller is advantageous."
"It's easy to manage and provides a clear network view, allowing efficient navigation down to the network details."
"Cisco Meraki is HIPAA compliant."
"The most valuable features in Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN are that we were able to see all the registered users for each particular WAP, which is a big help. The roaming allows us to have continuous wireless throughout the building. The signal can carry over from one WAP to another. Which is probably the most important feature."
"The solution ensures seamless connectivity as users move within the office. Six installed Meraki APs provide excellent coverage for around three hundred users, offering reliable speeds. Additionally, the system allows guests and users with priority devices to connect using their SAP ID. The traffic is managed through D and G controllers to meet the specified requirements for continuous connection and speed."
"The tool's most valuable feature is report generation. Its dashboard helps me a lot with user analytics."
"Multiple access ID capabilities, meshing, and the quality of the product itself are all valuable features."
"I would give FortiAP a rating of ten out of ten so far."
"Fortinet FortiAP provides value for money, and I can quantify the savings at about 80%."
"Fortinet FortiAPs are useful for small to medium-scale companies where there are budget concerns."
"The solution supports recent security components like encryption or hashing algorithms. We can control the APs from FortiGate Firewalls and integrate those APs into FortiGate. You don't have to purchase a separate controller for it."
"The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall."
"The pricing is reasonable for what it offers."
"If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it."
"The setup was straightforward."
 

Cons

"The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks."
"In the next release, I would like to see a third-party high tech center to connect multiple users to a particular network."
"I would like to see integration with sensors."
"Concern when there are a number of concurrent users."
"The dashboard could be a bit better. I'd like to see more information about the whole controller and APs. It should be as simple and convenient."
"Overall the solution needs to have more time to mature."
"The stability could be better. We have experienced many instances where we have experienced a lag in our network, and I am not sure if it is due to their devices or our network."
"The integration options with third-party applications need enhancement."
"FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment."
"The improvement factor could be in APs. Also, it could have a control, like MAC address."
"The wireless functionality is not the best."
"I would like to have automation capabilities that would help us reduce the configuration steps."
"The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"FortiAP could be a little cheaper."
"There is nothing that particularly comes to mind for improvement."
"The product fails to offer default access points to deal with the areas revolving around configurations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."
"At this price point, I would not mind seeing a four-way channel, instead of a 3x3 or a 4x4, like they do in the Cisco Aironet system with their other brand. For the same price point in this other Cisco brand, it is a lot cheaper, and you can get a slightly better throughput than you can with these."
"This solution is quite costly and there are costs in addition to the licensing fees."
"As is always the case, the price could be better, although I do not recall exactly how much this comes out to."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution's pricing is a little higher."
"It could be more affordable than other solutions."
"I would say that they have adequate pricing."
"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six."
"The devices under Fortinet are not expensive. The solution's licensing part is expensive."
"Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point."
"We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet."
"If I compare it with the other enterprise products, the price is good."
"The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet."
"FortiAP is more expensive than some other options."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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...
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...
What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
We earlier expected that Fortinet FortiAP could be managed through the cloud, which would be very good, but nowadays, FortiNet is providing FortiAPs with cloud management also. That requirement has...
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
No data available
 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Fortinet FortiAP and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.