Cisco Meraki Pros and Cons: Is Meraki Worth It?

Meraki’s biggest strength is management: every firewall, switch, access point and camera across every site runs from one web dashboard, and new sites set themselves up when they’re plugged in. Its biggest drawback is the license: every device needs one, and when licenses lapse the equipment stops working.

The short verdict: Meraki is worth it for businesses with several sites and a small IT team. It’s a poor fit for teams that want command-line control or don’t want a recurring cost.

Meraki pros and cons at a glance

Pros	Cons
One dashboard for every device at every site	Every device needs an active license
Zero-touch setup: plug in, and it pulls its configuration	No command line for deep configuration or troubleshooting
Guest Wi-Fi, site-to-site VPN and rogue AP detection built in	Fewer advanced settings than Cisco Catalyst
Firmware upgrades scheduled from the dashboard, with rollback	Management depends on Meraki’s cloud being reachable
Full API for automation and reporting

The pros

One dashboard for everything

Firewalls (MX), switches (MS), Wi-Fi (MR), cameras (MV) and sensors (MT) all live in the same dashboard. You can find which switch port a laptop is on at a store three states away, see which access point a complaining user is connected to, and push one change to every site at once.

Zero-touch deployment

You add devices to the dashboard by serial number before they ship. At the site, someone plugs them in; they reach the cloud and download their configuration. No engineer on site and no console cable.

Features that are add-ons elsewhere are built in

• Auto VPN: MX appliances build site-to-site VPN tunnels to each other with a few clicks.
• Guest Wi-Fi: sign-in or terms pages, guest isolation and per-user bandwidth limits.
• Air Marshal: detects rogue access points and can contain them.
• Application visibility: see and limit traffic by application, not just by IP address.
• Troubleshooting tools in the browser: packet capture, cable tests and ping from the dashboard.

Firmware without the hassle

Meraki releases firmware through the dashboard. You schedule upgrades per network, for example overnight, and if an upgrade causes trouble you can roll it back to the previous version within 14 days.

An API for everything

Everything in the dashboard is available through Meraki’s API, so larger teams can automate changes and pull reports into their own tools.

The cons

Licenses are mandatory

Every Meraki device needs an active license, which covers the dashboard, firmware and Meraki support. If licenses expire, Meraki gives a 30-day grace period; after that the devices stop passing traffic. Over five or ten years the license is a real share of the total cost, so price it in from the start.

No command line

Everything is done in the dashboard. That’s the point for most users, but engineers used to Cisco IOS lose fine-grained control and some low-level troubleshooting. The dashboard’s packet capture and diagnostic tools cover most day-to-day problems.

Fewer advanced settings

Meraki deliberately exposes fewer knobs than Cisco Catalyst. Most offices never miss them. Complex routing designs or unusual switching setups can hit the limits, so check any must-have feature against Meraki’s documentation before you buy.

Management needs the cloud

If a site loses internet, its network keeps running on the last configuration. Your traffic never goes through Meraki’s cloud. What you lose is the ability to see or change anything at that site until it’s back online.

Is Meraki worth it?

Choose Meraki if:

• You run several sites, especially without IT staff at each one.
• Your team is small and would rather manage from a browser.
• You want firewall, switching, Wi-Fi and cameras from one vendor in one place.

Look at Cisco Catalyst, Juniper or HPE Aruba Networking instead if:

• Your engineers want command-line control and advanced routing and switching features.
• You’d rather buy the hardware once without a recurring license.

For what each Meraki product line does, see what Cisco Meraki is used for.

Meraki FAQ

Do Meraki devices work without a license?

Only during the 30-day grace period after licenses expire. After that the devices stop passing traffic until licenses are added.

Can you roll back Meraki firmware?

Yes, within 14 days of an upgrade, from the firmware upgrades page in the dashboard.

Does Meraki work if the internet goes down?

Yes. The network keeps running on its last configuration; you just can’t manage it until the connection is back.

Get a quote

We sell new and refurbished Meraki firewalls, switches and access points, with the condition labeled on every listing and our 90-day warranty. Send us your part numbers and we’ll quote them the same business day.