What users are saying about
Cisco Meraki MX
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Top Rated
145 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.8 out of 100
Based on 145 reviews and ratings
29 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.4 out of 100
Based on 29 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- Cisco Meraki MX ranks higher in 1 feature set: Firewall
Firewall

8.4
Cisco Meraki MX
84%
7.8
SonicWall NSA Series
78%
Cisco Meraki MX ranks higher in 8/11 features
Cisco Meraki MX ranks higher in 8/11 features
Identification Technologies

8.4
84%
47 Ratings
6.1
61%
3 Ratings
Visualization Tools

8.6
86%
46 Ratings
7.0
70%
3 Ratings
Content Inspection

8.5
85%
46 Ratings
8.0
80%
2 Ratings
Policy-based Controls

8.1
81%
46 Ratings
8.0
80%
3 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP

8.1
81%
39 Ratings
8.0
80%
2 Ratings
Firewall Management Console

8.2
82%
48 Ratings
8.0
80%
3 Ratings
Reporting and Logging

7.8
78%
49 Ratings
5.0
50%
3 Ratings
VPN

8.7
87%
47 Ratings
9.9
99%
3 Ratings
High Availability

8.8
88%
44 Ratings
9.0
90%
3 Ratings
Stateful Inspection

8.6
86%
42 Ratings
8.9
89%
2 Ratings
Proxy Server

8.4
84%
26 Ratings
N/A
0 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco Meraki MX is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
- SonicWall NSA Series is rated higher in 1 area: Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend

9.0
Cisco Meraki MX
90%
73 Ratings
8.0
SonicWall NSA Series
80%
3 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

9.0
Cisco Meraki MX
90%
3 Ratings
SonicWall NSA Series
N/A
0 Ratings
Usability

8.4
Cisco Meraki MX
84%
4 Ratings
SonicWall NSA Series
N/A
0 Ratings
Availability

9.1
Cisco Meraki MX
91%
2 Ratings
SonicWall NSA Series
N/A
0 Ratings
Performance

9.1
Cisco Meraki MX
91%
2 Ratings
SonicWall NSA Series
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

8.4
Cisco Meraki MX
84%
21 Ratings
9.0
SonicWall NSA Series
90%
4 Ratings
Implementation Rating

7.0
Cisco Meraki MX
70%
3 Ratings
SonicWall NSA Series
N/A
0 Ratings
Product Scalability

8.8
Cisco Meraki MX
88%
39 Ratings
SonicWall NSA Series
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco Meraki MX
We run 30+ sites, we can easily identify when a site loses connectivity, and check the event log to see what the issue is. We have fail-over connections at all our sites and can proactively manage each of them under the portal. We had a connectivity issue in a rural area recently and were able to diagnose the fault instantly, disable the suspect device from connectivity and reboot the firewall and OT was back up and running within 5 mins.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Renewables & Environment Company, 51-200 employeesSonicWall NSA Series
SonicWall NSA is best suited for small to mid-size companies or small to medium K-12 school districts. It's less appropriate for larger businesses and schools. This is due to their ease of use and well-rounded feature set but lacks in advanced configuration, performance, and reliability.
Network System Administrator
Merrimack School DistrictEducation Management, 501-1000 employees
Pros
Cisco Meraki MX
- The appliances are very, very easy to use. You could set one up for basic use with minimal documentation.
- Intuitive menus in the Meraki Dashboard make traversing your options and finding what you need very easy.
- Good support options and a healthy knowledge base with well-written guides.
Infrastructure, Network Administrator II
Dynamic AviationAviation & Aerospace, 501-1000 employees
SonicWall NSA Series
- Relatively inexpensive compared to some of the higher-end products, like Palo Alto Networks.
- Easy to set up, as the SonicWall NSA interface is consistent across all models.
IT Infrastructure Manager
Pace SupplyWholesale, 1001-5000 employees
Cons
Cisco Meraki MX
- As soon as network equipment is seen by the MX, it labels it, making it confusing as to if a device is rogue
- The reporting in the Client window is not real-time, [it's] not really accurate until some time has passed
- Individual client bandwidth usage seems to be inaccurate in the clients window

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Retail Company, 51-200 employeesSonicWall NSA Series
- Ideal with smaller businesses. Would have to examine for more complex needs of larger businesses.
- Scalability might be an issue for super large organizations.
President, Principal
Klaxon IT SolutionsHospital & Health Care, 11-50 employees
Pricing Details
Cisco Meraki MX
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
$595 per appliance
Cisco Meraki MX Editions & Modules
Edition
MX64 | $5951 |
---|---|
MX67 | $6951 |
MX68 | $9951 |
MX84 | $1,9951 |
MX100 | $4,9951 |
MX250 | $9,9951 |
MX450 | $19,9951 |
- per appliance
Additional Pricing Details
—SonicWall NSA Series
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—SonicWall NSA Series Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—Likelihood to Renew
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX 9.0
Based on 3 answers
As we have it in place now, we will continue to keep it at our remote sites. Future expansion is something we are reviewing, and may well start with some of the larger switches as they seem to offer good performance and management at a reasonable price. Wireless is also something we're investing in and their devices are great for that.
IT Manager
John Robertson ArchitectsArchitecture & Planning, 51-200 employees
SonicWall NSA Series
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX 8.4
Based on 4 answers
The Cisco Meraki MX series is very easy to use. Setting up user VPN access, site to site VPN to tie multiple locations together and managing all your devices. You can even download the latest firmware and install without ever leaving the dashboard. Meraki is the very definition of easy to use
Director of Information Technology
Callaway CountyGovernment Administration, 51-200 employees
SonicWall NSA Series
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX 8.4
Based on 21 answers
I haven't ever had a bad experience with Meraki support. On the few occasions where I wasn't understanding the UI or needed some clarification about what a setting actually would do, I contacted them and they were very quickly able to provide help. Returns are simple and fast, too. We had to return a defective device one time and they shipped the replacement before we had even un-racked the one that was faulty. Unlike many other vendors, they didn't ask use to a do long list of scripted diagnostics, they just took my word for it that the device was broken and sent out a replacement immediately
Senior Systems Administrator
DRT Holdings, Inc.Aviation & Aerospace, 501-1000 employees
SonicWall NSA Series
SonicWall NSA Series 9.0
Based on 4 answers
Most of the time, calling SonicWall NSA Support, you get an expert who can help resolve your issues. RMAs are pretty easy once they determine there is an issue with the hardware. Support is available 24x7, which makes emergency calls easy. The only downside is the support engineers may have thick accents; however, their expertise more than makes up for any language barriers.
IT Infrastructure Manager
Pace SupplyWholesale, 1001-5000 employees
Implementation Rating
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX 7.0
Based on 3 answers
Good product and simple to use.
IT Manager
John Robertson ArchitectsArchitecture & Planning, 51-200 employees
SonicWall NSA Series
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco Meraki MX
We continued using Cisco Meraki MX after taking over the client since they are familiar with it and enjoy the reporting it provides. We use pfSense for most new deployments as the controls it gives us are slightly better than the Cisco Meraki MX controls. That isn't to say Cisco Meraki MX is bad; it just isn't suitable for many of our clients that are multi-tenant, which is one of the weaker offerings from Meraki. For our clients that were already using Cisco Meraki MX when we adopted them, there was no reason to change, it does the job, and it does it well.
Owner and Lead Developer
Binary CocoaComputer & Network Security, 1-10 employees
SonicWall NSA Series
We compared the FortiGate to Sonicwall and continued with Sonicwall as we were a mid-size school where the Sonicwall was performing adequately, and the learning curve was steep to switch platforms. The Sonicwall offered everything the FortiGate did, and was not as costly, both in the appliance and in licensing.
Network System Administrator
Merrimack School DistrictEducation Management, 501-1000 employees
Scalability
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX 8.8
Based on 39 answers
I've used MX devices in one location organizations, multi-building campuses, and multi-national organizations. All implementations can be easily managed with Meraki equipment thanks to the dashboard and cloud-based management features. Being able to seamlessly connect any site with any other via SD-WAN makes a large-scale deployment a straightforward project. [...] With the use of [...] virtual products, secure connectivity with cloud providers is like adding any other site.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 201-500 employeesSonicWall NSA Series
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco Meraki MX
- Previously I managed Cisco ASA equipment and enjoyed these firewalls. The need to train other admins and deployment at MSP clients were at the top of my list for switching to Meraki MX. The learning curve is much less steep for new security admins and the central dashboard allows coolabritive efforts when admins are in different locations. Built-in change management makes it easy to see who made specific changes as changes are logged on the dashboard.
- Other content filtering solutions that I have used had more bells and whistles, but given the cost, complexity, and management overhead, I am very pleased with Meraki’s solution.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Utilities Company, 51-200 employeesSonicWall NSA Series
- Saved money on implementation and administration staff.
- Covered the sophisticated needs of many organizations.
President, Principal
Klaxon IT SolutionsHospital & Health Care, 11-50 employees