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Meraki Dashboard vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Network Device M...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
30th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.2%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Bilal-Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Vijay Samant - PeerSpot reviewer
Monitor network utilization and manage bandwidth efficiently with live monitoring and reliable fault management capabilities
I use SolarWinds Network Device Monitor for monitoring network utilization, bandwidth utilization, uptime, and downtime. It also assists in incident management SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides live monitoring capabilities, which are very useful. Its fault management capabilities are…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I found most valuable in Meraki Dashboard is that it's well-organized, easy to use, and practical."
"For us, it serves as a single pane of glass."
"We find that Meraki has all the features you need to be able to enable complex network protocols for AV equipment. We deal with a streaming product over IP, and Meraki is fantastic at that."
"The most valuable features are the ease of use and a single-pane-of-glass that allows us to identify issues across the entire network from one dashboard."
"The most valuable feature of Meraki Dashboard is we can manage our switches and access point in one place."
"We've been spending a lot less time on tickets and deployments, so we have more time to do other things."
"Meraki Dashboard centralizes control of all our equipment into one cloud-based console, so we can manage it from anywhere. We can resolve problems remotely outside of business hours because it is on the cloud. You can use the dashboard to change security settings or configure routers and switches."
"The ability of the product to perform with simplicity of deployment make it a valuable solution."
"I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process."
"Link monitoring is the most valuable feature of this solution."
"The alerting functionality in SolarWinds Network Device Monitor helps us stay informed during off-hours by sending alerts if our main links or devices are impacted, allowing us to quickly address any issues."
"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor are the reports. We are configuring the reports, and the first reports are only about the devices. We are configuring the thresholds in order to monitor all the devices."
"The alerts we are getting when we start losing connection access have been helpful."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is monitoring."
"There are vital features of auto-plugin core ports"
"The product is useful for switches and IP phones."
 

Cons

"One area that could use improvement in the Meraki Dashboard is user-friendliness when navigating to port configurations."
"They could improve the product by providing enhanced utilization reports and more detailed independent access reports."
"The product is missing a VPN and it is a major issue when it comes to deployment."
"What we would like from the IT perspective is a lot more granular control, more visibility into the packets, into the routing, and things of that nature."
"This solution can be quite complicated to configure and manage, unless you have a technical person with specific knowledge working on it."
"The price could be lower because the license for access points is expensive."
"Price could be reduced."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve integration with non-Cisco platforms."
"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."
"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could improve by being more user-friendly. The network has so many features which make it difficult to find how to configure how to use it. It is not simple to customize."
"The way they are presenting the map of our devices needs to be improved."
"SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects."
"The solution lacks in performance monitoring."
"The initial setup of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could be easier. It took us approximately one month to complete the implementation."
"The security could always be improved."
"If everything were in the package so that everything was ready to go out of the box, that would be ideal."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best."
"Typically, the license model is for one, three, and five years. They can just be a bit more flexible around it and look into providing an option for 24 months."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"It is said to be expensive."
"The solution is currently the most expensive on the market."
"You don't have to pay for the dashboard."
"The pricing of the tool is relatively high compared to other solutions. It comes with a premium that exceeds that of its competitors by approximately 25 percent."
"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."
"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."
"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."
"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."
"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."
"Well, we had a perpetual license and the renewal was $20 to $25,000."
"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."
"The product is expensive."
"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
8%
 

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 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?
I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?
SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor should include automatic diagrams in its network solutions. Additionally, there is a challenge with having to add an additional polling engine after 10,000 element...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Network Device Monitor
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Air Rarotonga
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.