# Fortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Cisco Meraki SD-WAN: which do AI models recommend for SD-WAN, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, SD-WAN. Nine of fourteen models named Fortinet Secure SD-WAN first on the direct prompt; three named Cisco Meraki SD-WAN. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/sd-wan/fortinet-secure-sd-wan-vs-cisco-meraki-sd-wan/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortinet Secure SD-WAN | 50% | #1 of 10 | 3% | 64 | 14 of 14 |
| Cisco Meraki SD-WAN | 19% | #2 of 10 | 19% | 43 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Grok 4.20: both first (first choices: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: both first (first choices: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: both first (first choices: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, FatPipe SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect)
- GPT-5.4 mini: fortinet secure sd-wan first (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: fortinet secure sd-wan first (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN)
- Perplexity Sonar: fortinet secure sd-wan first (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: fortinet secure sd-wan first (first choices: Cato SASE Cloud, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- Kimi K2: fortinet secure sd-wan first (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- GPT-6 Luna: fortinet secure sd-wan first (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Cato SASE Cloud) (alternatives: Aryaka, Comcast Business, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, MetTel, Windstream)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN) (alternatives: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Cato SASE Cloud) (alternatives: Barracuda SecureEdge SD-WAN, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named

## What the models said about Fortinet Secure SD-WAN

- "Requires more configuration expertise for advanced features, has a larger upfront learning curve, higher hardware footprint" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "warns about vendor lock-in and limited third-party integrations" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Fortinet Secure SD-WAN is frequently highlighted as the "budget champion,"... If you need both networking and security in one, Fortinet may be the best fit." (Mistral Small, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Fortinet Secure SD-WAN (Best Overall Value & Security Integration) ... widely considered the market leader for mid-market organizations" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "If your primary goal is consolidating security and networking onto a single cost-effective firewall appliance, choose Fortinet." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Cisco Meraki SD-WAN

- "Unlike competitors (like Cisco Meraki or VeloCloud), you do not need to pay a premium bandwidth-based or SD-WAN-specific license" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Great for ease of use and unified Wi-Fi management, though slightly less granular control than the dedicated players above." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, scale prompt, soft negative)
- "there is no escape valve. Once you commit to Meraki licenses, you will pay their price increases indefinitely" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "I would generally recommend Cisco Meraki SD-WAN if you want the best balance of simplicity, fast deployment, and reliable midmarket fit" (Perplexity Sonar, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "Cloud-managed, dead-simple setup (zero-touch provisioning), great for distributed B2B sites... Meraki/Fortinet shine for ease/cost" (Grok 4.20, direct prompt, first choice)
- "If your budget is tight right now and you cannot afford large upfront hardware purchases, Meraki is arguably the best option." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.