Short answer: Meraki is the easier network to run. One cloud dashboard manages Wi-Fi, switches and security appliances, but every device needs a current license to keep working. Fortinet starts from the FortiGate firewall and runs switches and access points through it. It gives deeper security control, and it asks more of your engineers.
Both vendors sell access points, switches, firewalls and SD-WAN. Both can run a multi-site business. The choice comes down to what drives your network: an easy operating model, or security policy. Buyers usually land here at a refresh, when a firewall or a batch of licenses is up for renewal.
A cloud-managed platform built around one dashboard. Hardware is licensed through Cisco's subscription or co-termination models (Meraki licensing FAQ).
A security vendor first. The FortiGate firewall sits at the center and manages FortiSwitch and FortiAP gear through FortiLink. Fortinet says those controller features are included in all FortiGates with no special licensing (Fortinet docs).
| Cisco Meraki | Fortinet | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Cloud dashboard across every device | FortiGate firewall at the center |
| Pricing model | Hardware plus a license for each device | Hardware plus FortiCare support and FortiGuard security services |
| Switch and AP management | Meraki dashboard, licensed per device | From the FortiGate, no special controller license |
| If a license lapses | Hardware stops passing traffic to the Internet | The firewall keeps working, security updates stop |
| Security depth | Set by the MX license edition | ✓ Firewall, IPS and threat services at the core |
| Ease of running it | ✓ Simple, widely known dashboard | Deeper, more complex, engineer-level platform |
| Multi-site management | Same dashboard for every site | FortiManager or cloud management across many FortiGates |
| Best for | Lean IT teams that want easy, consistent operations | Teams where security policy drives the network design |
Meraki sells subscription and co-termination licensing to new customers. Its per-device model is closed to new conversions. Cisco is blunt about lapsed licenses: the hardware becomes non-operational, cannot be changed, and stops passing traffic to the Internet (Meraki). Put renewal dates in the contract calendar.
FortiGate security is sold in FortiGuard bundles: Advanced Threat Protection, Unified Threat Protection and Enterprise Protection. Each includes FortiCare Premium support (Fortinet). If FortiGuard expires, the FortiGate still works as a firewall. It just stops getting new signatures and threat updates (Fortinet docs).
Meraki's MX appliances come in three license editions: Enterprise, Advanced Security and Secure SD-WAN Plus. The edition applies to every MX in the organization, so you cannot mix them site by site (Meraki). Price the edition you actually need.
Meraki's dashboard is the reason most teams pick it. Every site, access point, switch and MX sits in one browser view. It is quick to learn, and Meraki skills are easy to find in the job market.
On Fortinet, each FortiGate manages the switches and access points at its site. Across many sites, teams add FortiManager or Fortinet's cloud management. It is powerful, but it assumes engineers who know FortiOS.
Fortinet's firewall is the core of the product, not an add-on. FortiLink applies the same policy from the FortiGate down to each switch port. Meraki covers firewalling and SD-WAN well for most offices, but security is one part of its platform, not the center of it.
We do not print a price here. Both vendors sell through partners, and the number depends on device count, license edition and term. What we can show is how to build a fair comparison for five sites, each with a firewall, a switch or two and a handful of access points.
Put both on one sheet over three or five years. Then add a fully managed NaaS option, since it removes most of the labor line. The pricing tool gives a starting estimate for that.
Many sites, few engineers, and a need for everything to look the same everywhere. Meraki's dashboard keeps day-to-day work light, and replacing a departing admin is easier.
Regulated data, audit pressure, or a security team that owns the network design. Fortinet puts the firewall and threat services at the center and pushes policy to every port.
Both leave the work with you or a partner. If that is the real problem, price a fully managed NaaS provider such as Meter or Nile. See Meter vs Cisco Meraki and Meter vs Fortinet.
Meraki and Fortinet are both networks you buy and run. Meraki wins on ease: one dashboard, common skills, fast rollouts. The catch is that a lapsed license takes devices offline. Fortinet wins on security depth: the firewall is the core, and policy reaches every switch port. The catch is complexity. Many teams also mix them, with Meraki Wi-Fi and switching behind a FortiGate. A NaaSAdvisor advisor can price all of these for your sites.
Want the full list? See the NaaS evaluation checklist, plus Meraki MX end-of-life dates and FortiGate end-of-life dates if a refresh is behind this decision.
Still deciding between these models? See how to choose a NaaS provider and the NaaS pricing guide, or estimate your price with the calculator.
Independent advisors who know both, comparing licensing, security, and true total cost, at no cost to you.