I have been using this solution in my house for testing security devices.
Head of Digital Solutions at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Useful dashboard, remote configuration, and easy device control
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the dashboard very useful, you can configure all of your devices at the same time by just changing some menus."
- "You need to have internet access to configure the solution. You cannot do it locally, there should be a local option."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I have found the dashboard very useful, you can configure all of your devices at the same time by just changing some menus. It is configurated virtually on the cloud and it can send the information to the device when it connects to the internet.
What needs improvement?
You need to have internet access to configure the solution. You cannot do it locally, there should be a local option.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
When comparing this solution to Fortinet, the firewall and reports that you can deliver and control relating to blocking and access are better on Fortinet. Additionally, you can only have two WANs on this solution and with Fortinet, you can have at least six. However, I prefer this solution.
Buyer's Guide
Meraki SD-WAN
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about Meraki SD-WAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Meraki SD-WAN an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Global Client Partner for Philips at a government with 10,001+ employees
Suitable for any business, reliable, and priced well
Pros and Cons
- "Meraki SD-WAN is stable and the performance is good."
- "Meraki SD-WAN could improve on the lead time, but this is not a problem only with Cisco. there's a global shortage of chipsets. Additionally, the solution has limited features. It's quite a standard product and not very easily upgradeable or stackable."
What is our primary use case?
What we do is, we sell Meraki SD-WAN to our customers as a service and they use it for multiple purposes. For example, they use it for data, voice traffic, video, and services that are now in their data centers.
What needs improvement?
Meraki SD-WAN could improve on the lead time, but this is not a problem only with Cisco. there's a global shortage of chipsets. Additionally, the solution has limited features. It's quite a standard product and not very easily upgradeable or stackable.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have not been using Meraki SD-WAN very long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Meraki SD-WAN is stable and the performance is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Meraki SD-WAN is limited, it could improve.
I typically work with large business accounts which use Meraki SD-WAN. However, I have colleagues who have many accounts with smaller businesses that use Meraki SD-WAN. The solution is suitable for small to large businesses. We sell to small and medium businesses when they demand less complexity.
How are customer service and support?
We have used the support from Cisco for our clients and they are very good. We know them quite well.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation of the solution is rather standard. It is not difficult.
What about the implementation team?
We do the implementation and support of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
One of the most valuable aspects of Meraki SD-WAN is the price. It is highly cost-effective.
What other advice do I have?
Meraki SD-WAN is a perfect fit for those customers who want to implement SD-WAN with competitive pricing. There is not much demand when it comes to complexity and additional features. If customers want a standard SD-WAN solution, Meraki SD-WAN is a perfect fit for those customers.
I rate Meraki SD-WAN an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Buyer's Guide
Meraki SD-WAN
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about Meraki SD-WAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network and Cyber Security Presales Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Offers good optimization, load balancing, and auto VPN features
Pros and Cons
- "The Meraki SD-WAN solution is simple to deploy."
- "They stopped doing WAN optimization as a feature set, which is lacking. They need to relook at that and consider WAN optimization as an option."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of this solution is for optimization, load balancing, and the different end links. We have a variety of customer enterprises that consist of small, medium, and large-size enterprise customers. More of our clients are moving to direct internet access, so we are getting rid of the current MPLS solutions.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the traffic shaping, the security that is built into the routers on MX, they have a lot of customer performance classes, the visibility, and the auto VPN features.
What needs improvement?
They stopped doing WAN optimization as a feature set, which is now lacking. They need to relook at that and consider WAN optimization as an option.
I know that they have improved the security and have taken that off and that to me is critical on the MX. That's where they lack.
The reporting needs to be looked at. It needs to be more granular. The reporting on the actual solution isn't what the customers are wanting to get.
Scalability could improve to accommodate a larger enterprise.
In the next release, I would like to see the WAN optimization.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for twelve years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable and I have not found any issues in particular.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is scalable. It is not complex. On the Mx side, it could be a room for a high-end device and the highest you get is MX 450. It is scalable but it could improve for a larger enterprise.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of this solution is easy. It is very intuitive when it comes to setups.
The deployment is very quick. We managed to roll out one hundred and sixty branches in a matter of a couple of months.
What was our ROI?
I don't deal with technical support directly, as I am on the design and retail side of things. As far as I understand, the technical support has been fairly competent. There haven't been any issues.
What other advice do I have?
The Meraki SD-WAN solution is simple to deploy.
You have to plan well and look at creating policies and create your templates prior to the installation.
What we found, was that while we were doing the implementation we were doing a lot of work. If we had planned before the actual implementation, then the entire rollout would have been much simpler.
The setup is simple but it terms of deployment, it is better to create your policies and the planning needs to be done prior to the actual deployment.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Good performance, great for smaller business, with excellent user interface
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the single management plane dashboard. Our organization has a global site, we have separated the area, and we have more than five hundred small sites around the world."
- "I would like to see more flexibility in our choices of customization for our needs."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is to break out the traffic at the local location and for the center line management. We want to have these two main objectives, breakout traffic, local traffic, and single management.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the single management plane dashboard. Our organization has a global site, we have separated the area, and we have more than five hundred small sites around the world.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see more flexibility in our choices of customization for our needs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for several years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There is definite stability with good performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There is good scalability. We have a variety of users. Generally from five to two hundred.
How are customer service and support?
When we consider technical support I would rank them an eight out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward and easy. The deployment could take anywhere from one day or longer depending on the integration that was necessary.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation through the in-house or internal team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is reasonable and we can choose the software or the feature.
What other advice do I have?
I think Meraki SD-WAN is good for five hundred end users or smaller. If they are larger than this I would recommend other solutions for enterprise scenarios. I would rate Meraki SD-WAN an eight on a scale of one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
ACT Solutions Architect at a venture capital & private equity firm with 51-200 employees
Simple to configure and good for the automatic creation of services
Pros and Cons
- "This product has a simple configuration that can be accessed through a web interface or the API."
- "It should be easier to install BGP and it should have a better backup."
What is our primary use case?
This is a software-defined networking solution in a wide area network.
What is most valuable?
This solution is good for the automatic creation of services.
This product has a simple configuration that can be accessed through a web interface or the API.
What needs improvement?
I think that it is the right time to research features such as IPsec IKEv2 and SSL decryption.
I would like a faster installation time in the next release.
It should be easier to install BGP and it should have a better backup.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for about two years.
We use the latest version in production environments. However, in the laboratories, we use the beta version to learn about the new features that we want to use in the future.
I focus on the technical aspects, configuration aspects, and monitoring aspects between the products to assist our customers.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Meraki SD-WAN is a scalable solution. We have implemented between 120 and 150 PCs.
What other advice do I have?
We are looking forward to using some of the features that we are currently testing in the beta. Some of these include data suppression options and an IPsec solution with IKEv2.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Simple and clear to use, and the technical support provides quick assistance
Pros and Cons
- "In my experience, Meraki is very easy, simple, and clear to set up and use."
- "There is a point in a very large organization where you hit the VPN limit, or tunnel limit."
What is our primary use case?
We are a reseller and Meraki SD-WAN is one of the products that I design and offer to my customers.
Meraki SD-WAN is used to connect office branches.
How has it helped my organization?
When I design solutions for my customers, I prefer to offer them a Meraki product to use in their environment.
What is most valuable?
In my experience, Meraki is very easy, simple, and clear to set up and use.
From my clients, I've heard that the most valuable feature is the simplicity.
What needs improvement?
There is a point in a very large organization where you hit the VPN limit, or tunnel limit.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Meraki SD-WAN over the course of approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The feedback that I have received is that it's a pretty stable solution.
How are customer service and support?
When you log a support case with Cisco, they provide quick assistance.
I have not dealt with technical support myself but from the technical staff that we have, it sounds like the support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The feedback that I have received is that it's pretty easy to deploy.
The orchestrator is hosted by Cisco and the platform is hosted by Meraki.
What about the implementation team?
We have an in-house team that is responsible for deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing model is a fair one, although having the hardware means nothing without the license. You need to continue to pay licensing fees.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is considering this product would vary depending on the environment. I would make sure that if the customer is using a more mature firewall capability, to verify that Meraki can address some of those features. I would want to see what the customer is accustomed to in terms of functionality and that they don't downgrade.
I would rate Meraki SD-WAN and eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Vice President Of Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Simple and stable but only offers basic connectivity
Pros and Cons
- "We have found the product to be quite scalable."
- "With Meraki, it's more of a basic connectivity. It doesn't have all the feature sets that a Cisco SD-WAN solution has. It's limited."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for basic connectivity. That's about it at this time.
What is most valuable?
The simplicity of getting connected is the solution's most valuable aspect.
The solution has been stable so far. It's reliable and the performance is good.
We have found the product to be quite scalable.
What needs improvement?
With Meraki, it's more of a basic connectivity. It doesn't have all the feature sets that a Cisco SD-WAN solution has. It's limited.
The product needs to offer connectivity in the major clouds due to the fact that everybody has at least part of their workloads in the cloud.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have found the solution to be stable. There are no bugs or glitches. The performance is good. We don't worry about it crashing or freezing. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution has been scalable so far. A company needing to scale should have no problems expanding it.
How are customer service and technical support?
Meraki support is very similar to Cisco support. It's fine. I don't have any issues with them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are also familiar with other Cisco solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I'd advise those considering the solution to first understand what they are buying before making the purchase.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
As far as connectivity goes, Meraki does what it promises. However, it's basic connectivity.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
IT Manager at a hospitality company with 201-500 employees
Stable with a straightforward setup and a quick deployment
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very stable."
- "The solution needs to enact more advanced protections."
What is most valuable?
The cloud management is the solution's most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs to enact more advanced protections.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using the solution for a few months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability the solution offers is very good.
Currently, we have 100 users on the solution in our company. I'm not sure if our organization plans to increase usage in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. We've been very satisfied with the level of service they offer.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did previously use a different solution. It was a solution for an on-premises environment and we wanted to move to the cloud, which is why we switched.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was extremely straightforward.
It only took us one day to deploy the solution.
What other advice do I have?
The service provided by the solution is very good.
I'd rate it eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: May 2025
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