Cisco Meraki MX vs. SonicWall NSA Series

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Meraki MX
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Meraki MX Firewalls is a combined UTM and Software-Defined WAN solution. Meraki is managed via the cloud, and provides core firewall services, including site-to-site VPN, plus network monitoring.
$595
per appliance
SonicWall NSA Series
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
The SonicWall NSA Series is the company's mid-range next generation firewall (NGFW).N/A
Pricing
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Editions & Modules
MX64
$595
per appliance
MX67
$695
per appliance
MX68
$995
per appliance
MX84
$1,995
per appliance
MX100
$4,995
per appliance
MX250
$9,995
per appliance
MX450
$19,995
per appliance
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Considered Both Products
Cisco Meraki MX
Chose Cisco Meraki MX
We come across a lot of different products in a similar space, so we run across SonicWalls all the time. We run across Fortinets all the time. We're constantly looking, evaluating our tech stack to see what would make the most sense. And every time it always comes out for the …
Chose Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX is a different product targeted at different markets, not exactly a UTM / NGFW. Centralized management and a single pane of glass add a lot of value. Again there are sites where no MX can replace a PA due to the configuration requirements and performance …
SonicWall NSA Series

No answer on this topic

Features
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meraki MX
7.9
130 Ratings
9% below category average
SonicWall NSA Series
8.3
6 Ratings
4% below category average
Identification Technologies8.0125 Ratings7.46 Ratings
Visualization Tools8.4122 Ratings8.46 Ratings
Content Inspection8.1121 Ratings6.45 Ratings
Policy-based Controls7.9120 Ratings9.26 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP7.5105 Ratings7.65 Ratings
Firewall Management Console7.4123 Ratings9.46 Ratings
Reporting and Logging7.4127 Ratings8.26 Ratings
VPN8.8121 Ratings9.86 Ratings
High Availability8.7123 Ratings9.46 Ratings
Stateful Inspection7.6117 Ratings8.45 Ratings
Proxy Server6.670 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Small Businesses
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.4 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.4 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 9.5 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 9.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(174 ratings)
8.4
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.7
(14 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(10 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(19 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(141 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Meraki MXSonicWall NSA Series
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
It's very well suited for retail locations where you have a small footprint and it's a collapsed core design and it's connecting to a larger hub. We don't necessarily use them in our data centers just because they don't have the full capability we have. We use FTDs in our data centers, so we use a different Cisco product for that. So I would say they're really good at setting up sites quickly, getting them connected, protecting the traffic, and then they're a little weak in a data center right now.
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SonicWall
This is a higher-end firewall, built for a medium to large business. It handles traffic and scanning and protection well but it would be a bit of a budget-buster and probably overkill for a small to (barely) medium sized business. SonicWall makes SoHo devices for those use cases and they would be more appropriate.
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Pros
Cisco
  • The Cisco Meraki MX series is phenomenal at allowing us to remotely manage networks. So the devices usually act as the brain behind our client's networks, which makes it really, really easy for our team to take a look at what's going on in those client network environments, resolve any issues, and make sure that our client's networks are staying secure.
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SonicWall
  • 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.
Read full review
Cons
Cisco
  • Inbuilt wireless does not support tunnel SSID mode. This has meant not all SSID in our organisation can be deployed at a MX site.
  • Whilst Inbuilt switch ports support dot1x, they do not report as well on our NAC server as on a MS switch or catalyst switch.
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SonicWall
  • Ideal with smaller businesses. Would have to examine for more complex needs of larger businesses.
  • Scalability might be an issue for super large organizations.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
The simplicity and ease of use for the Meraki Dashboard make it an easy choice for our organization to renew our Meraki Enterprise Agreement. We will likely continue using the Meraki MC67-C, MX450, and other MX models in their catalog until we shift away from Meraki completely
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
Some features simply aren't there, but the ones that are there are pretty easy to use. Sometimes it is easy to get lost when trying to find the specific device you want to work on, but that's mostly due to how rarely we have to go into the interface.
Read full review
SonicWall
There is room for improvement when it comes to learning the UI, but the UI is overall pretty good. It doesn't take long to learn if you are famaliar with firewalls.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Cisco
Meraki MX devices support high availability (HA) configurations, which ensures minimal downtime if one device goes offline. This feature has helped us maintain a stable and reliable network, even in cases of hardware failures. ince Meraki is cloud-managed, we've noticed that the cloud infrastructure is generally highly reliable, with minimal service interruptions or downtime. This makes it easier to manage the network remotely without significant availability concerns. Meraki automatically pushes firmware updates and patches, which helps maintain system stability without requiring manual intervention. These updates are rolled out in a manner that ensures minimal disruption to service.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
The interface is pretty responsive. The lower end devices are easy to overwhelm if you have a lot of throughput. Be sure the model you get is rated for the amount of traffic you will have. Overbuild if possible, otherwise you won't be fully leveraging the connection from your ISP.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
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
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SonicWall
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.
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In-Person Training
Cisco
great when they offered it, really tested your knowledge with hands on and see what your peers from other orgs know. glad to see that we were ahead of the curve of what our peers knew
Read full review
SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Cisco
it was okay as it was moderated but still better than nothing and done via semi self paced webex meeting
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cisco
Implementing Meraki MX devices in phases—starting with a pilot group or select branch offices—was invaluable. This allowed us to identify potential configuration issues, troubleshoot problems, and refine our setup before rolling it out company-wide. It also helped to get feedback from early users and adjust the deployment strategy accordingly. The SD-WAN capabilities in Meraki MX were essential for optimizing our WAN traffic and ensuring better application performance across various locations.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
The Meraki Dashboard has been a lot more intuitive than CradlePoint NetCloud. We switched from CradlePoint to Cisco Meraki MX because we were already familiar with the interface which allowed us to be familiar with a single dashboard.
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SonicWall
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.
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Scalability
Cisco
When I first started with my company we had various infrastructure and a mix of tech. Since going to Cisco Meraki MX we have noticed better network performance and our new sites are much easier to bring online. Users have noticed an improvement in VPN connection and getting into all our systems.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • From a positive impact? Basically it allows us to set up shop very quickly. It allowed us to add sites to our network very quickly. From a negative perspective, I think the only thing is that I can see from a negative perspective is I have a preference to working with ACLI in terms of how I engage with the youth tool At the moment, the only way to actually engage with a tool is on a gui and sometimes what I'd actually like is more detailed information in terms of actual configuration that you'll actually get out of ACLI.
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SonicWall
  • Was affordable, allowing for advanced routing and security.
  • Enabled us to build VPNs without purchasing additional services
  • Was simple enough to manage in house without external support.
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