Compare Tools
Side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right tool for your organisation.
Cisco Meraki
Cisco
Fortinet FortiGate
Fortinet
Tagline
Cloud-managed networking — switches, Wi-Fi, firewalls, cameras
Next-generation firewall and unified threat management
Category
Network Security
Network Security
Importance
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
UK Pricing
Hardware purchase + annual licence. MX Firewall licences from ~£350/yr (small business). Wi-Fi licences from ~£80/AP/yr.
Hardware from ~£800 (small office). Unified Threat Protection bundle from ~£500/yr for SMB. Significant TCO advantage over Meraki long-term.
Target Size
50–1000 employees across 1–20 sites
20–1000+ employees
Pros
- Single dashboard for all network infrastructure
- Excellent visibility with built-in traffic analytics
- Auto-VPN connects sites in minutes with no manual config
- SD-WAN capabilities built into MX firewalls
- Strong integration with Cisco security portfolio (Umbrella, ISE)
- Excellent NGFW capabilities at competitive price point
- SD-WAN built in at no extra cost
- FortiGuard threat intelligence updated continuously
- FortiManager provides centralised policy management at scale
- Strong UK partner ecosystem and support
Cons
- Hardware is locked to Meraki ecosystem — licences required forever
- Premium pricing vs. traditional Cisco or Fortinet
- Limited advanced firewall features vs. dedicated NGFW
- Licence expiry means hardware becomes non-functional
- Less suitable for very complex enterprise network topologies
- Steeper learning curve than Meraki
- FortiOS upgrades require planning — occasionally introduce bugs
- GUI less intuitive than Meraki dashboard
- Requires networking knowledge to configure correctly
- Support quality varies by partner/tier
Cyber Essentials
Boundary FirewallsSecure ConfigurationNetwork Filtering
Boundary FirewallsSecure ConfigurationNetwork Filtering
Integrations
Cisco UmbrellaCisco ISEMicrosoft Intune (via Cisco ISE NAC)SplunkServiceNow
FortiManager (centralised management)FortiAnalyzer (SIEM/logging)FortiClient (endpoint VPN/ZTNA)Microsoft SentinelSplunk
Why Use It
Meraki is ideal for UK SMBs with multiple sites that lack dedicated network engineers. The dashboard-first approach makes network management accessible to IT generalists, and Auto-VPN eliminates the complexity of connecting branch offices.
FortiGate gives you enterprise-grade firewall capabilities at mid-market prices. For UK businesses that need serious NGFW features (IPS, SSL inspection, sandboxing) without Palo Alto pricing, FortiGate is the most popular choice among IT resellers.