Meraki Dashboard vs Zabbix comparison

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Meraki Dashboard

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Zabbix and Meraki Dashboard are competitors in the network management and monitoring category. Zabbix has an edge for enterprises needing in-depth monitoring customizability, while Meraki Dashboard shines with ease of use and centralized management for rapid deployment.

Features: Zabbix provides comprehensive monitoring with automated discovery, scalability, and flexible alerts, supported by extensive API integrations and community support. Meraki Dashboard focuses on simplicity with a user-friendly cloud-based interface, offering centralized management features like heat mapping, advanced analytics, and easy Cisco environment integration.

Room for Improvement: Zabbix needs to address its complex UI, limited reporting, and steep learning curve for non-technical users. It lacks predictive features and ease in template customization. Meraki Dashboard faces criticism for high costs, limited control depth, and lacking GUI documentation. Users seek more integration options and cost-effective licensing.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zabbix requires on-premises deployment with community support, demanding technical expertise but offering extensive documentation. Meraki Dashboard utilizes cloud deployment for straightforward setup across various IT skill levels and benefits from Cisco's strong support network.

Pricing and ROI: Zabbix is entirely open-source, offering extensive monitoring without licensing fees, appealing for large-scale deployments. Meraki Dashboard, with its subscription-based model, provides premium management capabilities and support justified by Cisco's reliability.

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

Meraki Dashboard vs. Zabbix

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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

20th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zabbix

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

105

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (8th), Server Monitoring (1st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.4%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 13.0%, up from 11.2% 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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ASM Naushad Alam

Network Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Allows any number of customizations but lacks functionality for finding root causes

We have not yet purchased the commercial version so have a lack of technical ability. We do not yet fully know the key points or key features of the solution. We just use what we use along with WhatsUp Gold. Based on our use only, stability is rated a seven out of ten.

Read full review

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 feature for me is the cloud dashboard."

"The most valuable feature is knowing the wireless and switch are healthy."

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

"The overall product rating is ten out of ten."

"It's a scalable solution."

"It is a reliable product. It provides a lot of information that is easy to read."

"What I found most valuable in Meraki Dashboard is that it's well-organized, easy to use, and practical."

"The solution scales well."

More Meraki Dashboard pros

"There is less computing power needed for scaling."

"The solution allows for good integration with other products."

"Health and communication links availability."

"Dashboard and the customization of the items and triggers are the most valuable features."

"Zabbix is a cost-effective solution. We're a small organization with a few dozen devices to monitor, and it was available for free. We can see what we need. We haven't done an in-depth analysis on it, but we're currently okay with the product."

"The overall functionality of Zabbix is very good. The monitoring of bank applications that Zabbix provides is great. The information is displayed on a dashboard that is easily viewed."

"The resource usage, CPU utilization, disk usage, network monitoring, network performance, and alerting features are invaluable."

"We detect problems before the customer does and before it actually happens using the predictive functions in Zabbix."

More Zabbix pros

Cons

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

"The wait time to speak with a Meraki support engineer is always long, but they get the job done."

"The solution can be expensive."

"For my purposes, I don't need to see any other features added to the Meraki Dashboard. I have no criticisms and I do like the tool. If I had a criticism for it, it would be about the pricing because it could be a little less, but again, for the service that you get, I won't complain about that too much."

"I’d like the product to allow for other solutions to be integrated with the dashboard as well."

"The cost of the solution is high and can be improved."

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

"I would like to receive decent notification alerts regarding the license's expiry. Or any help on correcting or optimizing licenses, because in certain circumstances you can add a license but it's the wrong licensing. However, the Dashboard adds the license in some way, and you do not utilize it. You can simply extend the license's expiration date."

More Meraki Dashboard cons

"The only improvement I would suggest, revolves around its AI and ML capabilities."

"My company wanted to do an exercise command to access IT from Cameroon. They wanted to access an FSS to a second host with second equipment that was on another coast but it is not possible on Zabbix to do it. They want to directly access from the front-end of Zabbix to access a prompt in Zabbix to an access terminal. In the front-end, there is no way to do that. That would be an important improvement."

"They should open an SSH session from the web interface."

"The product delivers false positives during reporting because of flapping. Other reasonably priced alternatives may have better performance."

"The integration of the product is not so easy, especially when it comes to the application database."

"Its UI needs to be improved a little bit more so that an end-user is also able to handle it. I can handle it, but others should also be able to handle it in a better way. It becomes complex when we are growing and need to add proxies. We need more scalability features and documentation for different use cases. A lot of articles are available, but they need to be in proper documentation. For example, when you have thousands of servers that have to be monitored in different regions of the world, there should be some kind of documentation to describe how you can create proxies and add them. Sometimes, when you are using the database, it can get overloaded. When the network is growing, the number of transactions becomes very high, and the database gets overloaded. There should be information about how to reduce the load on the MySQL database, which is what Zabbix is using. The market is growing a lot, and it should be enhanced for a lot more things. We are currently bringing enhancements at our end for different use cases. For example, when dockerization is going on, how can we check the logs inside the Dockers. We should also be able to monitor and check the number of logins and add features such as SSO login and two-factor authentication as a protocol. These are the security features and concerns that we have to deal with. Currently, we are developing modules to add features to Zabbix, but they should also work on these features."

"We would like to see the addition of automatic push functionality to this product. This would save time when monitoring our servers and networks as, at present, we have to manually install the Zabbix agent on any hardware to be monitored."

"Implementing Zabbix is difficult. I've deployed many solutions over the years, and Zabbix is the hardest to implement. You have to do some development to get it to work with IBM, Micro Focus, or HP products."

More Zabbix cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is said to be expensive."

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

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

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

"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."

"My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best."

"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."

"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."

More Meraki Dashboard pricing and cost advice

"Zabbix is an open-source tool, and it's free to use."

"My manager is very happy because it doesn't cost anything."

"This solution is completely open-source, so it is quite affordable."

"This is an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."

"Zabbix is open-source so if one wishes to implement it in-house, they must have qualified professionals to set up and optimize databases, Linux/Unix OS, PHP, Apache, and depending on what is monitored, a full-stack network and systems administrator may be needed."

"The solution is free. However, many open-sourced tools start out free but eventually start charging."

"We were searching for an open source solution and Zabbix fit the bill because it is free and open source under the GPL license."

"The solution is free to use but they offer support as a paid service. If you can go read the manuals and do the fine-tuning based on your needs, you do not need to pay anything and you will have a full solution."

More Zabbix pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

37%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

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?

There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high. Additionally, it would be beneficial if Meraki Dashboard could integrate more Cisco devices such a...

What do you like most about Zabbix?

The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zabbix?

The cost is minimal. It is literally free.

What needs improvement with Zabbix?

For me, Zabbix is very straightforward. I cannot think of any improvements needed. It's a very mature product. The only issue I can note is that it's Linux-based, and Linux documentation is not the...

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Product Reports

Meraki Dashboard

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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

Zabbix is an open-source monitoring software that provides real-time monitoring and alerting for servers, networks, applications, and services.

It offers a wide range of features including data collection, visualization, and reporting.

With its user-friendly interface and customizable dashboards, Zabbix helps organizations ensure the availability and performance of their IT infrastructure.

Sample Customers

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

1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba

Meraki Dashboard vs. Zabbix