We performed a comparison between Meraki MX and WatchGuard Firebox based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, both solutions received similar ratings in all categories.
"The solution is scalable."
"The tool is a nice product and easy to handle. The software's user interface is also good. You can easily implement remote access in the solution."
"This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."
"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."
"We use a lot of function on the IPS and it works well for us."
"Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
"Its user interface is good, and it is always working fine."
"The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"We work also with domain control (DC) from Microsoft or Amazon. We use a whole virtual appliance with Meraki."
"It prevents us from being hacked and delivers information about who and where the attack came from."
"In a week, we can make new policy and view what all our users did."
"We switched to Meraki because it lets you see what's happening in your LAN and WAN in a graphic and web environment."
"A strong, reliable solution for small companies with little or no dedicated IT department."
"The features we have found most valuable are the firewall and the monitoring tools."
"Real Auto VPN with load balancer without needing a public IP. It is simple and functional."
"To me, the analytics feature is one of the most valuable in Meraki MX. I also find that it has good usability as it's cloud-based. Another valuable feature of Meraki MX is that it's simple to use and it's user-friendly."
"I like that this product has very few issues."
"It also provides us with layered security. It has onboard virus scanning features that allow it to scan before something gets to the host. It will also stop a person from going to a site that is known to be bad."
"There are many fantastic features."
"The policy monitoring and allowing different traffic flows are the most useful features for us; regulating which traffic comes in and out."
"I like their management features a lot. Their System Manager server as well the System Manager software make managing them, and tracking changes, very easy and complete."
"The set up was quite straightforward and we handled it in-house. It took a few hours to deploy the product."
"HostWatch makes it so I can see, in real-time, activity in the event that there is something weird happening on the network. This simplifies my job."
"I like the High Availability features of the newest ones I'm using because they allow a firewall to fail and still be up and running."
"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."
"It should provide better visibility over the network and more information in the form of reports for the end users. Its installation should also be easier."
"From a reporting perspective, there's room for improvement. They're providing FortiAnalyzer through which one can get some enhancements, but the visibility and reporting still need slight improvement."
"Bandwidth usage in reporting could be improved for Fortinet FortiGate."
"Technical support for this solution can be improved."
"I would like reporting to be improved and should offer a lot more tools to monitor the products."
"I think there could be more QoS features"
"We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."
"Could possibly use deeper configurations."
"More detail needed for configuration of the VPN."
"It can be hard to get a hold of the solution’s technical support team."
"MX can only be managed via a web interface, but I'm accustomed to using a CLI or a graphical interface. I would also like to see more reporting features. It doesn't provide enough information for me to know precisely about some clients."
"The whole Cisco Meraki range requires easier access for cameras. For a security center, it would be helpful to have easier access to cameras through the portal. Its licensing cost could also be better."
"I need more UTM protection security features."
"It is very expensive."
"I do not have the kind of feature I need for SSL decryption in Meraki MX. It would be great to see the SSL decryption feature in Meraki MX."
"I'm not really impressed with the reporting side of it. It may be something I just haven't figured out very well, but it's hard to filter down on reporting of the actual valuable information that you would want. There is a lot of information out there so you have to have some kind of tool capture it and then filter through. So far, I haven't found the reporting side of the WatchGuard to be that user-friendly."
"One other shortcoming is that there is no backup for it. We really haven't figured out how we might solve that problem. We may want to put a duplicate in... With WatchGuard, we just have the one box. If that were to fail, we'd probably be really hurting."
"I would like to see more training become available for us."
"The few issues that we have had, such as not knowing where to go, they have been answered quickly."
"It's sometimes not easy to understand and can require specialist assistance."
"Sometimes I would like to copy a rule set from one box to another box in a direct way. This is a feature that is not present at the moment in WatchGuard."
"What could use some significant improvement in WatchGuard Firebox would be its interface and policy management. An additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of WatchGuard Firebox is the ability to modify an existing policy instead of having to recreate a policy when changes are necessary. At the moment, there's no possibility to modify the policy. You have to delete the policy and recreate it."
"This is a great product and offers great protection but they don't hear the customers' needs. They don't make improvements as per the customers' requests."
Meraki MX is ranked 2nd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 59 reviews while WatchGuard Firebox is ranked 3rd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 79 reviews. Meraki MX is rated 8.2, while WatchGuard Firebox is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Meraki MX writes "Cost-effective, simplified, easy to manage, and reliable with advanced security features and granular visibility". On the other hand, the top reviewer of WatchGuard Firebox writes "Offers a streamlined deployment, intuitive interface and robust security features". Meraki MX is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG, SonicWall TZ and Juniper SRX Series Firewall, whereas WatchGuard Firebox is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, OPNsense, SonicWall TZ and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Meraki MX vs. WatchGuard Firebox report.
See our list of best Unified Threat Management (UTM) vendors and best Firewalls vendors.
We monitor all Unified Threat Management (UTM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.