# Cisco Meraki SD-WAN: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 35 judge labels across 2 categories by 11 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/cisco-meraki-sd-wan/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD-WAN | 30% | 2 | 21% | 34 |
| Next-generation firewalls | 0% | 43 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "For most mid-sized B2B companies looking to modernize without expanding their network engineering headcount, Cisco Meraki is generally the safer, faster bet." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, SD-WAN)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, Cisco Meraki or Fortinet Secure SD-WAN are often recommended as starting points" (MiniMax M2.5, SD-WAN)
- "I'd lean toward Cisco Meraki if simplicity is paramount, or Fortinet if you want strong security" (Kimi K2, SD-WAN)
- "the best SD-WAN choice is usually Fortinet Secure SD-WAN or Cisco Meraki SD-WAN" (GPT-5.4 mini, SD-WAN)

## And against it

- "Complex enterprise routing needs | Avoid Meraki" (Kimi K2, SD-WAN)
- "Meraki appliances stop functioning entirely once the license expires, which is a risk on a tight budget." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, SD-WAN)
- "Avoid for High-Performance or Highly Complex Routing ... often critically referred to as "SD-WAN Lite."" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, SD-WAN)
- "many reviews note that licensing costs can be high, which may be a concern for smaller organizations." (Claude Haiku 4.5, SD-WAN)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.