Meraki Dashboard vs Nmap comparison

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Meraki Dashboard

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nmap and Meraki Dashboard operate in the network management and security domain. While Nmap offers attractive pricing and basic support, Meraki Dashboard's extensive features provide more value despite its higher cost.

Features: Nmap features network exploration, security auditing, and diagnostics tailored for system administrators focused on network discovery. Meraki Dashboard offers real-time monitoring, network insights, and advanced security controls, appealing to businesses needing comprehensive network management.

Room for Improvement: Nmap could enhance its user interface, improve automation capabilities, and expand its customer support options. Meraki Dashboard could benefit from reducing setup complexity, enhancing customization features, and offering more competitive pricing options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nmap requires manual deployment needing technical expertise. Meraki Dashboard provides a cloud-based solution, simplifying installation and updates, with extensive customer service aiding efficient problem-solving.

Pricing and ROI: Nmap offers free installation leading to lower initial costs, attractive to budget-conscious buyers but may require investment in expertise. Meraki Dashboard, although with a higher setup cost, delivers high ROI through improved network management and reduced operational issues.

To learn more, read our detailed Meraki Dashboard vs. Nmap Report (Updated: July 2025).

Meraki Dashboard vs. Nmap

July 2025

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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

Meraki Dashboard

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

19th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Nmap

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

12th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.1%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nmap is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bilal-Ahmed

IT Manager at Fawaz

Seamless connectivity and comprehensive control over network devices

All of the features we are looking for are already in control. I think those features, which we are not currently utilizing, are already there. For example, the control for the cameras and everything else. The cameras are not connected through Meraki, but all other devices are on Meraki networks.

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AntoSebastin

Cyber Security Consultant - APAC at Logon Software

Scans the network and identifies vulnerabilities on each machine

Nmap is mostly helpful during compliance checks. We run the scanner to see how many devices are on our network and find vulnerabilities in those that aren't compliant. We also use it monthly to scan our network and identify devices that aren't connected properly. This helps us detect any issues related to the operating systems of these devices. The tool's most valuable feature is its vulnerability scanning. It allows us to scan a specific range of IP addresses and discover devices within that range. This makes it easy to identify devices and view their details. Port scanning is crucial for network management tasks. It helps us identify vulnerabilities by finding open ports that may be unused or misconfigured. This tool makes it easy to detect such issues. The OS detection feature is great. Unlike other tools, Nmap provides accurate information about asset vulnerabilities, helping us easily detect and address them. Using Nmap provides value to the company, especially during compliance audits. It helps generate reports on assets, updates on workstations, and insights into network activities and potential attacks. Additionally, Nmap detects vulnerabilities and provides port details, allowing us to close unused ports on the client machines.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that Meraki Dashboard is a user-friendly product."

"The most valuable feature of Meraki Dashboard is we can manage our switches and access point in one place."

"The most valuable feature is its simplicity in navigating through the dashboard. It's well set out, and the layout is nice and user friendly. A lot of clients enjoy seeing layer 7 visibility. They get a good indication and insight into what is happening in their network and what applications are being used the most. They can then customize and give preference to business-critical applications."

"It has improved my organization in the way that we've got a much better wireless coverage than we had before, and secondly, we have the visibility of all the users."

"Meraki Dashboard offers an exceptional centralized management solution that allows easy updates and monitoring of various network features, including bandwidth usage and content filtering."

"It can analyze the traffic that it is picking up from what may be a rogue access point, and it is able to identify those and send relevant notifications."

"The user-friendly interface facilitated a quick and efficient setup process."

"It's a scalable solution."

More Meraki Dashboard pros

"The most important function, according to me, is the capability to use some arguments in the scanning. The solution's capability to go figure and do a deep dive, discovering information on specific aspects."

"The solution detects the operating systems, which makes testing the software much easier before making the payload."

"The best feature of Nmap is that it lets me see useful information about each endpoint in my entire network environment. For example, I can see every single connection of the network as well as each and every port."

"It helps us secure the network infrastructure."

"Nmap has a powerful command line tool and a set of diagnostic features."

"The initial setup was simple."

"The scanning procedure includes UDP ports which sets it apart from competitors."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its scripts. These scripts prove beneficial when security features may obscure or block connections. Nmap helps identify vulnerabilities across different systems, including web servers and various server types."

More Nmap pros

Cons

"More integration would be an improvement."

"There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high."

"The one issue that we have had is that the VPN tunnel would go down unless you worked out with the ISP that you would be using a static IP address on the WAN interface."

"It would be nicer if the dashboard was lighter."

"It would be helpful to have the ability to create a floor plan based on an existing PDF or JPEG, which is automatically converted into a usable network map."

"The tool is useful for managing devices and monitoring their current state, but it falls short in troubleshooting network issues, particularly with access points. It does not provide a complete understanding of the root causes of the issues. As a result, network engineers have had to use additional tools to complement it and conduct assessments. The only way to improve the tool would be to enhance its capability to identify and resolve network issues effectively."

"They can improve the landing page in Meraki Dashboard. When I go into an organization, they can include a lot more infographics. They can also simplify it a bit and consolidate it. For example, if I've got five branches and I go into customer A's profile or organization, I'd like to see an infographic on the landing page providing a snippet of the entire network layout, that is, all branches in one snapshot. From there, I would like to go into the network that I want to work on or view."

"When users are trying to roam from one location to another location, geographical tracking would be helpful."

More Meraki Dashboard cons

"Nmap major operates through the CLI; there's no GUI component, and that's where the challenge is."

"The solution should increase the number of features under a free license."

"Customization is not very user-friendly in Nmap."

"There is room for improvement in the design, the GUI. It looks a bit odd. Maybe Nmap should improve it or add more widgets to make it more attractive, but the basic functionality is good and provides what we need."

"There could be a specific option to check non-pingable endpoints for the product."

"They should deliver Playtech's username and password."

"The solution is not that easy for a beginner to learn."

"The tool's license limits the number of scans it can perform. Improving the license model could benefit customers by allowing more scans for compliance and other purposes."

More Nmap cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From a pricing perspective, they are still expensive."

"Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."

"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."

"The pricing for a small setup is only a few hundred dollars a year. The fee is subscription-based."

"Licensing is around under 1000 pounds. The licensing is either one year, three years, five years or ten years and during the licensing, we can choose to renew it per year or per every three years. We've got a license for three years. It's about 160 or about 200 pounds each."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The licensing fees are $180 USD, per AP, for three years."

"Licensing for Meraki Dashboard is paid every year, and it's on a per-device model that costs roughly $300 to $400 per device, but that comes with full support and troubleshooting, etc. Compared to similar products, Meraki Dashboard is quite high-end, but the costs you pay are all-in."

More Meraki Dashboard pricing and cost advice

"The solution is open source so it is free."

"It's an open-source solution. Commerically, only the support service is available."

"It's an open-source product, and I haven't seen any premiums. Options are available for those who purchase, but for my use case, everything I need is available in the community and forums."

"Nmap is open source software, which suits us well because we are a manufacturing company and not an IT company, for example. If we were an IT company, we would probably need to pay for extra support or instead go for another software solution. But as it is, we don't have any need for high-end troubleshooting tools."

"The product's pricing is fine. The licensing options for Nmap include perpetual licenses and volume-based licenses. For perpetual licenses, once you purchase it, there's no need to invest in renewals. And for volume-based licenses, enterprise companies can use it multiple times based on the number of users or devices they need to scan. It's a pay-as-you-go model, similar to how you pay for what you use."

"Nmap is an open-source and free product."

"I am using the standard free version of Nmap."

"The solution is free of cost."

More Nmap pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

Retailer

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki Dashboard?

The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.

What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?

The aspect I find challenging about this solution is that it is too extensive and complex. For example, when comparing Meraki Dashboard to Juniper Mist, the latter is quite simple. Mist is a very a...

What do you like most about Nmap?

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nmap?

I am using the free version of Nmap.

What is your primary use case for Nmap?

Nmap is used for network scanning to map the network, identify devices, and assess their status. It helps determine open ports and services running on a particular endpoint or server within an ente...

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Product Reports

Download Meraki Dashboard product report

Meraki Dashboard

August 2025

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August 2025

Overview

Meraki Dashboard is a comprehensive cloud-based platform that offers centralized management and control for all Meraki networking and security products. It provides a user-friendly interface, allowing administrators to easily monitor and configure their network infrastructure from anywhere. With real-time visibility, troubleshooting becomes effortless, ensuring optimal performance and minimizing downtime.

The intuitive dashboard offers a holistic view of the network, enabling quick identification of potential issues and proactive measures. It simplifies network deployment and scaling, with zero-touch provisioning and automatic firmware updates. The robust security features include advanced threat protection, content filtering, and VPN connectivity.

Meraki Dashboard also offers powerful analytics and reporting capabilities, providing valuable insights into network usage, application performance, and user behavior. With its seamless integration and scalability,

Meraki Dashboard is the ideal solution for organizations of all sizes, ensuring efficient network management and enhanced productivity.

Cisco

Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source (license) utility for network discovery and security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, but works fine against single hosts. Nmap runs on all major computer operating systems, and official binary packages are available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. In addition to the classic command-line Nmap executable, the Nmap suite includes an advanced GUI and results viewer (Zenmap), a flexible data transfer, redirection, and debugging tool (Ncat), a utility for comparing scan results (Ndiff), and a packet generation and response analysis tool (Nping).

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe

Lockheed Martin, Eastern Bank Boston, Perspecta, Harris Corporation, Discovery Communication