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Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ubiquiti Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (3rd)
Ubiquiti Wireless
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Wireless WAN (1st)
 

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 12.9%, up 12.2% compared to last year.
Ubiquiti Wireless, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless WAN, holds 40.9% mindshare, up 39.9% since last year.
Wireless LAN
Wireless WAN
 

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…
Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to set up and good outdoor accessibility but does not penetrate rooms well indoors
Ubiquiti requires more improvement in wireless penetration. It has significantly less penetration in indoor devices. When it comes to indoor devices, Ubiquiti Wireless does not have penetration power, so when we deploy it in closed rooms, it fails to connect. This is one drawback that has to improve. When indoor access points failed to penetrate into rooms, we had to deploy single access points in each room, which seemed to be really costly. Still, when compared to Fortinet, it has an outdoor access point model also. The outdoor access point is relatively stable in comparison. The solution needs to offer more scalability. It does not have traffic shaping or traffic policies in its wireless requirements. We have to completely depend on an additional firewall for traffic shaping and policies.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features include key elements like creating SSIDs, networking configurations, and the ability to manage all devices through a single console."
"Cisco provides 24/7 support"
"Cloud managed wireless LAN product that's stable and scalable. It's an easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot solution."
"The management console is valuable."
"I really don't have any problems with the stability of the product."
"The functionalities are quite professional and complete. It offers good integration with other Meraki products, like switches and the firewall. You can get an overview of all networks and the host. It's really great; nobody else can do that."
"Cisco Meraki is HIPAA compliant."
"It is cloud-based. It has a GUI rather than a command line, and it just works."
"Ubiquiti outdoor access points in particular, are really stable, and if there are no obstructions, Ubiquiti works well."
"Installation is easy with seamless integration of additional APs."
"The indoor WiFi connection works well."
"We use the solution for many of our smaller customers and the cloud management aspect of the solution is very good. If you compare it to other vendors that have a controller, it's much easier to manage the cloud-based solution because we travel a lot. It allows us to manage everything from any place."
"The failure rate is very low on these devices - I've had them installed for five years and have only lost one out of a hundred."
"The solution has an easy configuration."
"It functions properly and includes centralized management for access points and switches."
"Easy to set up and maintain and simple to configure."
 

Cons

"Some of their first level support staff does not seem to be well-versed in the solution, so support for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN needs improvement."
"The logging sometimes doesn't give us the granularity needed. Some of the rules are a bit more complicated. The switch ports on the routers are not individually addressable, in the sense that with a switch you can tell what MAC address is on what port but with the security appliances, you can't, which would be beneficial for troubleshooting."
"The technical support from Cisco is good, but they can improve themselves in some areas. Sometimes it takes a while to provide a solution or an answer to our problem."
"The biggest pain point is that they limit you through firewall throughput. I understand why they do it, but that really grates me. For instance, for 450 Mbps throughput, you're looking at £800 for a router, whereas if you look at the one gig connection, for some of us are lucky enough to have a gig connection, you could almost be spending £3,000 for the option to have one gig connectivity. That's one of the pain points I've got. I don't mind paying for throughput, but I should at least have the option to be able to update that throughput, maybe through extra licensing or something else. It is crazy expensive to jump through to the next one."
"The licensing could be a bit better."
"Licensing is, in my opinion, the least appealing component. It can be difficult to keep licenses up to date in order for the system to function properly."
"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 cost of the devices and the solution itself could be more competitive."
"Better third-party integration would be helpful because often, Ubiquity is a product that customers choose after they already have something else from another vendor like HPE."
"The strength of the routers could be improved. When it comes to serious routing, the solution doesn't measure up to the big guys like Juniper and Cisco, but we don't expect it to."
"Ubiquiti isn't as good for larger networks as any of the other wireless solutions. It lacks performance, coverage, and some of the advanced capabilities other solutions have."
"The product's user interface could be more intuitive, and sometimes, the system can be slow during peak usage times."
"The network setup could be a little easier and more straightforward."
"There isn't any technical support."
"My company has to wait for a response from the product's support team. From an improvement perspective, the product's support team should be quicker to respond."
"I would prefer if the solution offered more integration capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As is always the case, the price could be better, although I do not recall exactly how much this comes out to."
"Pricing could be better."
"We pay a yearly license fee for the solution."
"Meraki is a very good solution, but the price is quite high for small markets."
"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."
"You have to renew your contract every year, or for three or for five years. If you do not pay right away they will suspend your subscription."
"The tool is reasonably priced."
"The solution is pretty expensive."
"The price of the solution is high and could be cheaper."
"The price of Ubiquiti Wireless is affordable, we pay approximately $100 and $150 per access point."
"The price has been fair for what I have been using it for. There is no license for this solution."
"This solution is cheaper compared to others."
"The most valuable aspect of Ubiquiti is the price. Compared to competing solutions like Cisco Aironet, HP Aruba, ExtremeWireless, or Ruckus, Ubiquiti is the cheapest by far. It's not even close. That's their biggest selling point."
"Ubiquiti Wireless has reasonable pricing."
"The product is around $300 or $400 depending on the device. It's a one-time fee. There aren't ongoing licensing costs."
"We initially spent around 10,000 euros on this solution and have been running it for several years. An access point costs approximately 160 to 180 euros."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
 

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...
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...
Which is better - Cambium or Ubiquiti Wireless?
For me, Ubiquiti was easy to install, configure, set up, and maintain, while also providing solid coverage and better handoffs between APs. This is especially relevant if you are using Apple produc...
Which is better - Ubiquiti Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Ubiquiti Wireless offers a wide range of WLAN products. We tested their devices before ultimately choosing Cisco Meraki. Ubiquiti devices have good outdoor performance and the connection is very st...
 

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
NASCAR Grand-AM, Maritime Parc, Outdoor Music Festival, British Armed Forces, Arcadia School District, Moscow - Enforta
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.