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

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs SonicWall SonicWave Access Points 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
SonicWall SonicWave Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
4
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 SonicWall SonicWave Access Points is 1.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN10.2%
SonicWall SonicWave Access Points1.3%
Other88.5%
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.
Winsley De Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at ANOC
An industry-leading security and wireless solution packaged in one box
We make our customers SonicWall clients. We have a solution package: If you have a contract to network with us, we will deliver SonicWall firewalls, access points, VPN clients, and all the other equipment with the SonicWall solution. We have been selling this solution for the past 30 years. We had a customer three months ago struggling with a Fortinet solution. We convinced them that the Fortinet solution would not work perfectly during renewal. We made a bet and delivered SonicWall equipment for free for one week, and if they had no more issues, they would buy it. That's precisely what happened. The customer ended up purchasing an $80,000 SonicWall solution. The SonicWall SonicWave Access Points are a good product compared to Cisco, Sophos, and Fortinet. In Brazil, Ruckus is taking market share in some key areas, such as hotels and hospitals. They are into big solutions with thousands of access points. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I liked about these is that they worked."
"I love the ease of deployment and the dashboard, which are the main selling points of this solution."
"Their support is perfect. They're there 24/7, 365 days a year. Whether you email or phone in, there is always someone there to help you."
"For small to medium-sized businesses, I think it's the best."
"In summary, this is a good product and one that we recommend."
"You can scale the solution easily."
"The product's cloud controller is easy to use."
"It is cloud-based. You can manage it remotely from anywhere in the world, and you don't have to be on-site, which is a very big advantage."
"The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to provide cloud access to configure and manage devices."
"This is a very good management option that can be managed through the cloud or firewall, is a very good solution for controlling or managing the device, and offers good integration with many capabilities."
"The security features of SonicWall are highly valued."
"Unlike the Cisco solution that needs a dedicated wireless controller outside of a firewall, SonicWall has everything in one box. Fortinet is close to it."
"I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten."
"A good management tool that can be managed through the cloud or firewall."
 

Cons

"Cisco offers pretty expensive devices."
"The product's pricing needs improvement."
"Our only concern at this stage is how it's licensed."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could improve by having more granularity in terms of the data displayed."
"The product's coverage area could be expanded. It would help ensure better connectivity."
"The only thing that always causes problems with Meraki is the license. It's a bit of a bugbear with Meraki, and it remains today. So it's an unusual concept compared to the other products in the marketplace, but then it does cause a bit of a nuisance from time to time."
"The price of Meraki Wireless should be reduced to make it more affordable."
"Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's management tools need enhancement."
"We have a lot of overlapping wireless networks with a lot of cheap equipment that does not run on any rules or regulations. The best way to improve the wireless network, like in SonicWaves, is to defeat these networks by isolating, preventing them, or overcoming their wireless signal. We try to do that, but I live near an airport, and the AirPortRadar glitches my wireless network every nine seconds."
"The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration."
"The product's pricing is high and could be improved."
"Integrating with the firewall and management console was a little complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of both the hardware and licensing is high, and it is more than what I would prefer to spend currently."
"When compared to other vendors, Cisco's pricing is higher."
"The cost is not so much for Wireless LAN, but when you have to get the security license, it costs a lot."
"The price/benefit ratio is great."
"Cisco Meraki requires either a one year or three year license for a standard enterprise license."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It can be for three, five, or ten years. I'm happy with the pricing. You basically pay for what you get. It is that simple. When you look at Ubiquiti or Aruba, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN far outweighs what you get. If you're in the UK, Ubiquiti gives a three-year or five-year warranty, whereas here in the UAE, they only give a one-year warranty, which is no good to me. Who buys a piece of equipment with only one year warranty on it? It doesn't make sense."
"Its price is okay for an enterprise. Its licensing is the most painful. If you hear anything bad about Cisco, it's about that. We're supposed to be one of the resellers but had to come back down to become a user. It's really bizarre."
"The platform is more expensive than other solutions."
"The platform offers yearly licenses."
"The pricing of the SonicWave Access Points solution is different in the US and Brazil. In the US, the solution is priced more competitively than other vendors. In Brazil, the exchange rate is a problem. To address this, SonicWall managers in Brazil are running several sales promotions and improving the price of new units."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
908,858 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%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business69
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise33
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration.
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
I am using the SonicWall SonicWave Access Point for our Proof of Concept (POC) to our customers.
What advice do you have for others considering SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten. It should provide training to end users to enhance their knowledge.
 

Also Known As

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
SonicWave 200 Series, SonicWave 200 Series Access Points, SonicWave 400 Series, SonicWave 400 Series Access Points
 

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
St. Dominic's School for Girls
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. SonicWall SonicWave Access Points and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.