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Meraki Dashboard vs Nagios XI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
Organizations struggle to quantify ROI but report time savings and efficiency from Meraki Dashboard, anticipating future returns.
Sentiment score
6.6
Nagios XI enhances efficiency and time management but concerns about increased costs affect ROI perception across organizations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Meraki Dashboard's customer service is praised for quick, knowledgeable support, though occasional delays occur; users rate it highly.
Sentiment score
6.5
Nagios XI support is mixed; praised for responsiveness but criticized for high cost, complex licensing, and delayed responses.
When our site went down, Cisco's technical support was very responsive and effective, so I would rate them nine out of ten for their support.
System Analyst II at IT solutions consultings
The support response time can be slow, sometimes taking up to fifteen hours.
Senior Assistant Director Information Technology at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
They are instantly available for technical support from Meraki Dashboard.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
4.8
Meraki Dashboard is scalable, supporting diverse environments, easy expansion, global networks, and receives high user satisfaction ratings.
Sentiment score
7.1
Nagios XI is scalable for small to medium environments but faces challenges in large infrastructures and cloud adaptability.
If the user interface isn’t presenting data well, it becomes difficult to manage when scaling.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
5.8
The Meraki Dashboard is highly stable with minimal disruptions, offering reliable performance and quick resolutions for occasional issues.
Sentiment score
7.3
Nagios XI is stable, but large deployments may experience performance issues, database problems, and minor network dependencies.
We have not encountered any downtime related to the Meraki cloud feature in the last five years.
Senior Assistant Director Information Technology at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
It is very stable.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Meraki Dashboard requires improvements in licensing, user interface, scalability, support, third-party integration, and enhanced AI capabilities.
Nagios XI's interface is outdated, lacks scalability, needs better cloud integration, APIs, automation, and improved documentation.
I appreciate the security that has been provided by Meraki, but they specifically require port 80 which is highly vulnerable towards Meraki domain itself, so I would like to remove it.
Network Technology Project Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It provides many insights out of the box without any need to search for them.
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I would like to enhance my expertise on Cisco Umbrella and Cisco M, which is an endpoint security management tool.
System Analyst II at IT solutions consultings
Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
The GUI could be improved. It's a bit too basic.
Site Duty Manager at Assw
 

Setup Cost

Meraki Dashboard pricing is high but valued for quality and management ease, with costs varying by duration and features.
Nagios XI provides cost-efficient enterprise-level monitoring with reasonable pricing, appreciated for its features and open-source options.
The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.
Senior Assistant Director Information Technology at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
If we involve a third-party vendor, the price will definitely go up.
IT Manager at Fawaz
I would rate the pricing for Meraki Dashboard as one.
Network Technology Project Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We are using the free, open-source version.
Site Duty Manager at Assw
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Meraki Dashboard is favored for its user-friendly management, efficient device control, insightful analytics, and seamless scalability for businesses.
Nagios XI provides customizable, flexible, and scalable IT infrastructure monitoring with real-time alerts and extensive plugin support.
Meraki Dashboard positively impacts my organization by enabling live monitoring. If someone unplugs the power cable, if the switches are down, if there is an outage, or if there is any misconfiguration, we get an alert from Cisco in our mailbox.
System Analyst II at IT solutions consultings
Substantial security can be achieved within Meraki Dashboard itself, eliminating the need for additional firewalls to protect your network.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
It summarizes everything in one place, which is very important for our organization.
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
The alerting system is very effective.
Site Duty Manager at Assw
 

Categories and Ranking

Meraki Dashboard
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Nagios XI
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (13th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (25th), Cloud Monitoring Software (25th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 0.8%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios XI is 2.3%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Meraki Dashboard0.8%
Nagios XI2.3%
Other96.9%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

MURALI NIDAMANURI - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Dashboard provides comprehensive network security and management capabilities
I don't have specific handy names. Meraki Dashboard uses multiple functions where we can configure SSIDs, firewall policies, DHCP, multiple VLANs and DHCP configurations, VLAN configurations, access control policies, MAC binding, client access based on MAC authentication and certificate-based authentication. We have configured SSO for Windows Active Directory by configuring the RADIUS services. We have implemented many customer requirements in Meraki Dashboard. With the detailed visibility feature of Meraki Dashboard, I get connected clients information, including how much data each client downloaded and what applications they accessed. I can obtain detailed data including ISP links level monitoring and speed. I can perform speed tests, generate analytics reports, convert to Excel based on each user for each department, create dashboards, monitor and limit bandwidths, and restrict specific URLs. The advanced security configuration in Meraki Dashboard is useful for network security. Substantial security can be achieved within Meraki Dashboard itself, eliminating the need for additional firewalls to protect your network. You can configure WAN monitoring, users' ACLs, URL filtering, web filtering, and department-wise access configuration for specific client applications. It's completely cloud-managed, and in a simplified way, you don't need to visit any physical infrastructure to monitor activities. Apart from access points, everything is in the cloud. We have monitored IoT solutions, CCTV monitoring, and can detect and control intrusions. When people connect IoT devices to your network, Meraki Dashboard can detect what device it is and control those access controls, even with different operating systems.
Emmanuel Appiah Boateng - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Simplifies setup and requires user interface enhancement
Nagios XI is easy to install, which sets it apart from other open-source solutions I've tried. Typically, setting up a monitoring system on Linux involves cloning files from GitHub, building it, and installing many dependencies, but with Nagios XI, it wasn't like that. Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools.
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Meraki Dashboard?
We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it al...
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
Regarding the functionality part, I would appreciate clarification on what core functionality means. I appreciate the security that has been provided by Meraki, but they specifically require port 8...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions. I would give it a four or five.
What needs improvement with Nagios XI?
The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
What is your primary use case for Nagios XI?
I normally use Nagios XI for our servers. It's not particularly used for network equipment, however, I use it for monitoring our server performance, including CPU, memory, data, and services runnin...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. Nagios XI and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.