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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ruckus Wireless 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN provides cost savings, ease of use, and management, though high costs may deter larger businesses.
Sentiment score
6.5
Ruckus Wireless WAN delivers strong ROI with extended lifespan and cost savings, especially valued in educational settings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.3
Meraki support is efficient and accessible, yet users note inconsistent assistance and desire enhanced knowledge base resources.
Sentiment score
6.4
Ruckus Wireless WAN support is generally positive, but users desire more experienced staff and improved communication and contact options.
I would rate Cisco support a 10, as the response time and process via the dashboard are easy, and response times are always within the SLA.
Independent Information Technology and Services Professional at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
It would be better if the SLA of technical support was less than four hours.
Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk
There are some problems with their technical support when it comes to the whole Meraki system.
Senior Network Architect at Previder
When we seek support, the service we expect is not promptly delivered, which can be time-consuming.
CEO at Netsys Solutions (Pvt) Ltd
They would thoroughly troubleshoot issues.
IT Manager at Handi Quilter, Inc.
Response time could be better, mainly.
Networks Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
4.2
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is praised for its scalable cloud-based system, despite cost and configuration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.6
Ruckus Wireless WAN is scalable and adaptable, with cloud options improving scalability despite hardware and licensing limitations.
Meraki is not scalable enough since it straightforwardly maps its products to segmented specifications.
Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk
I find the scalability quite good, with a rating of eight out of ten.
CEO at Netsys Solutions (Pvt) Ltd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
4.4
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is stable with high user satisfaction, though firmware updates and outages may occasionally cause issues.
Sentiment score
8.2
Ruckus Wireless WAN is stable and reliable, performing well in high-density areas with mostly positive user feedback.
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.
Manager, Information Technology at a performing arts with 11-50 employees
Stability is not an issue for me because it comes with Cisco's proven manufacturer quality.
Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN users seek improved error logs, advanced features, better support, competitive pricing, and enhanced third-party integration.
Improvements needed in support, documentation, UI, integration, licensing, delivery, analytics, and global coverage for competitive alignment.
The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks.
Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk
The solution supports Wi-Fi 6.
Senior Network Architect at Previder
Some of the newer models of the Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN access point have encompassed the new wireless protocols and increased the strength of their antennas.
Manager, Information Technology at a performing arts with 11-50 employees
Ruckus Wireless WAN could add a full stack to their product to make it more competitive, as they do not have security and they do not have their own cloud.
Networks Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
There seems to be no visible improvement in the Gartner positioning, which is crucial even as companies like Huawei are also entering the wireless sector.
CEO at Netsys Solutions (Pvt) Ltd
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is stable but expensive; negotiate with resellers for trials and discounts, especially for SMBs.
Ruckus Wireless offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing, seen as a worthwhile investment for performance and coverage benefits.
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is on par with other devices in that category, offering competitive pricing.
Manager, Information Technology at a performing arts with 11-50 employees
The pricing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is not competitive enough for the SMB market compared to other brands.
Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk
My experience with the pricing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is competitive with other providers offering paid subscriptions.
Independent Information Technology and Services Professional at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
The price is always on the higher side, which impacts the perception of return on investment.
CEO at Netsys Solutions (Pvt) Ltd
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN simplifies cloud management with robust features enhancing network operations, integration, and analytics for enterprises.
Ruckus Wireless WAN offers powerful performance, superior coverage, easy deployment, high user support, seamless roaming, and excellent IoT integration.
It also manages security clients and switches, providing a single dashboard to manage multiple network infrastructures.
Sr. Officer Network Managed Service Product Management at PT. Indosat Tbk
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN has helped optimize network traffic very effectively, as we do prioritization for streaming and web conferencing apps, resulting in a clear, visible improvement in performance.
Independent Information Technology and Services Professional at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
All auditing and event logs are centralized in the dashboard.
Senior Network Architect at Previder
The most valuable features are the advanced technologies like BeamFlex, which make a significant difference.
CEO at Netsys Solutions (Pvt) Ltd
Ruckus Wireless WAN appears to perform better in less than optimal situations.
Networks Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.4
Number of Reviews
122
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (3rd)
Ruckus Wireless WAN
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Wireless WAN (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is designed for Wireless LAN and holds a mindshare of 10.3%, down 13.1% compared to last year.
Ruckus Wireless WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless WAN, holds 25.0% mindshare, down 38.0% since last year.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN10.3%
Aruba Wireless13.4%
Ruckus Wireless12.4%
Other63.9%
Wireless LAN
Wireless WAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Ruckus Wireless WAN25.0%
Ubiquiti Wireless31.7%
Cambium Networks Wireless WAN11.2%
Other32.099999999999994%
Wireless WAN
 

Featured Reviews

DolfKrikke - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Architect at Previder
Centralized management has simplified remote branch control and improved network visibility
Cisco Meraki Wireless is very powerful and very easy to manage. The solution is also integrating Cisco Catalyst Wireless products into their portfolio, and they are managing the Catalyst switches as well. The seamless roaming capabilities function well. I monitor network performance with Meraki's real-time analytics. The most useful metrics to my team are the internet performance metrics, as there is a lot of information in the dashboard that I can access. All auditing and event logs are centralized in the dashboard. When I need to apply to compliance requirements or other regulatory needs, I can have my auditing in one place, which is an advantage. I use Cisco Meraki Wireless's Layer 7 application traffic shaping with the MX and the Meraki MX Firewalls.
NN
IT Manager at Handi Quilter, Inc.
Reliable Wi-Fi deployment handles extreme conditions and reduces maintenance
The only bad downside to Ruckus Wireless WAN is that the guest network is poorly conceived. This is a known issue. There are ways to make the guest network work reliably, but not as promised. That's the only downside to Ruckus Wireless WAN access points - they have a weak guest system and guest portal, but everything else is the best of the best. If I did not have access to Ruckus Wireless WAN support, I think I would have failed. One downside they have now is that you no longer have access to the support folks without a contract. That has changed over many years. That would be really unfortunate because I remember struggling. The company was very hungry at that point and they were very willing to help. Now support requires a contract. That comes with all growing companies.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business69
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise14
 

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...
Is Ubiquiti Wireless better than Ruckus Wireless WAN?
Ubiquiti Wireless is extremely easy to set up and is an excellent option for small businesses, offering enterprise features for a one-time fee and no ongoing licensing fees. Ubiquiti Wireless is ve...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ruckus Wireless WAN?
These are not cheap access points. If you want to go cheap, Ubiquiti is an option. I knew they were worth it because once deployed, they wouldn't require additional attention. They're not at Cisco ...
What needs improvement with Ruckus Wireless WAN?
Ruckus Wireless WAN is overpriced. Compared to others at the moment, Ruckus Wireless WAN does not have many valuable features. Compared to everyone else, everyone else comes self-hosted, either wit...
 

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
American University of Sharjah, Dordt College, Drew University, Lamar University, Raroa School
Find out what your peers are saying about Ruckus, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: January 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.