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Cradlepoint NetCloud vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 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

Cradlepoint NetCloud
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
6th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (15th), WAN Edge (16th)
Meraki SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Cradlepoint NetCloud is 5.5%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki SD-WAN is 23.2%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Robert-Gardner - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy to setup solution, but it is missing useful configuration options
I use this solution to manage Cradlepoint wireless routers It lets us know whether it is online or not, and lets us do a speed test to see how quick the speed is. These are valuable features. They should change some of the configuration settings to enable it to act more as an SD-WAN box to view…
Martyn Walker - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables productivity in terms of users and has ease of management
Scalability could be improved. Yes, you can add more than 300 or 400 sites onto it, but because it's not a true SD-WAN and, effectively, it's just a Multi-VRF, it's all hub and spoke at that point. That's the nature of the design, but that's what keeps it simple to administer. So, it's a trade off.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easy to set up and requires a single administrator to maintain it."
"Cradlepoint NetCloud is very stable."
"Cradlepoint provides real value in its focus on wireless WAN connectivity."
"I rate the overall solution as ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the automatic failover."
"The features of SD-WAN are very appealing because you have a centralized dashboard and multiple options to terminate. You have an internet leased line, which means that you can connect your broadband and 3G and 4G cellular networks on the same router. This makes it easy for us to manage everything on a single dashboard. That is, you can integrate multiple stacks in such a way that you do not have to maintain any other dashboard. You get single-pane-of-glass accessibility with Meraki."
"The most valuable feature is application performance monitoring and being able to browse packets dynamically based on priorities."
"The best feature we're using is the packet shaping."
"Having to set up a closed system singlehandedly and a lifetime guarantee on the equipment is a valuable part of this solution."
"It's made managing our client's networks extremely easy, regardless of my location. Being able to hop on my cell phone to see what's happening on a client's network makes everything much more manageable."
"Zero touch configuration onsite based on the manager system's pre-configuration and the VPN automation set."
"The most valuable feature is the firewall capability. It's also got a very good graphical user interface and is very easy to manage."
"The solution is stable."
 

Cons

"In our situation, the initial setup was complex."
"There are areas for improvement, particularly at the lower end of the medium enterprise market."
"It is missing important settings options."
"Cradlepoint's portfolio is lacking budget-friendly options."
"The performance of group-based clouds should be enhanced."
"This vendor has issues with the supply chain that need to be improved."
"The product should be able to support more than three internet lines."
"Some systems use some applications with the wrong data application. It bypasses the network, and you need to block that application on Meraki. We first try to put in passwords to do it and the network is not really safe. It's not 100%, the network can be bypassed."
"The security integration in Meraki SD-WAN is not as good as the competition, such as Fortinet."
"I would like improved stability in Meraki SD-WAN."
"The port density should be improved because this solution is limited to two."
"Technical support could be more knowledgeable and responsive."
"The configuration from the firewall side could be improved a little bit more."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Yearly licenses are available."
"Cradlepoint's prices are on par with similar solutions."
"The annual cost is less than $200,000 yet more than $150,000.00."
"The tool offers term licenses. You have the same term licensing model available for all of your equipment, which is good for management."
"They have a baseline software license, and then they've got an SD-WAN software license, and then they've got an advanced security software license. They're low cost, and they'll provide any amount of flexibility that you want from a modeling perspective for payment. Typically, it's either annually or multi-year, but they are a lower-cost company. They're not the most expensive by far."
"Meraki solutions come with a choice of several different subscription options including one year, three years, five years, seven years, and ten years."
"Pricing is a significant concern for me. Amongst all the firewall brands, Cisco is one of the most expensive options. Despite its reputation and security features, many customers opt for other brands, such as SonicWall because of their lower prices. These other brands offer similar features to Cisco but at a lower cost. Cisco's pricing is something that could be improved to attract more customers. The brand has a good reputation, but when it comes to budgeting and pricing, it is not always the first choice."
"The solution's pricing is in line with what we expected."
"The tool is costly. I rate the tool's price as a ten out of ten since it is very expensive."
"For a pure SD-WAN solution, the pricing is competitive. However, our clients are on the lower tier in terms of budget, viewing IT more as a necessary expense rather than integral to their business. While Meraki's solution might be pricey for them, there aren't many cheaper, reliable options."
"I don't have information on the exact cost of Meraki SD-WAN, but I'd rate it a three out of five just because the licensing model is very much associated with the Meraki solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
9%
Retailer
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cradlepoint NetCloud?
It is easy to set up and requires a single administrator to maintain it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cradlepoint NetCloud?
Cradlepoint's pricing is viewed as market competitive, offering good value for the money invested. While some customers are price sensitive, others recognize the efficiency and smooth operation as ...
What needs improvement with Cradlepoint NetCloud?
There are areas for improvement, particularly at the lower end of the medium enterprise market. Cradlepoint's portfolio is lacking budget-friendly options. The company realizes that there's a need ...
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
The price is a little bit higher than local vendors, for example, Huawei ZTE or H3C. However, some customers require the best quality and performance, thus needing solutions and products from Cisco.
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
They have to ask us many questions about configurations. It could be improved with some automation to trigger, for example, telemetry data, so we can determine the state of the deployment as of day...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of San Antonio, Statue Cruises, Tour Dubai, St. David's Foundation, JBT, DSC Dredge
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cradlepoint NetCloud vs. Meraki SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.