UniFi vs Cisco Meraki for small offices

The short version

Cisco Meraki and Ubiquiti UniFi both run Wi-Fi, switches, and a firewall. The difference that changes the bill over the years is the license.

Novaj Tech installs new office networks on UniFi. We are not a Ubiquiti partner, and we are not a Cisco partner. We have also brought Meraki online when that was the gear already chosen. This is the comparison we use with offices of 5 to 50 people.

Licensing

Cisco’s licensing FAQ says every Meraki hardware component requires a cloud license to be managed. The license is not a one-time key in the box. You renew it for as long as you want that hardware managed in the Meraki dashboard. Cisco documents subscription licensing, co-termination licensing, and an older per-device model that is closed to new customers. A Meraki license includes Cisco's support.

If the license lapses, the result depends on the model. Cisco's FAQ says hardware on the co-termination and per-device models becomes non-operational when the organization stays out of compliance, and those products stop passing traffic to the internet. Subscription licensing is a separate model on that same page. Do not assume the shutdown rule applies to it. Read the FAQ for the model on your dashboard before you treat a renewal date as optional.

UniFi does not work that way. Ubiquiti’s Cloud Gateway page says there are no fees or licenses to use a Cloud Gateway, including remote management. Site Manager, at unifi.ui.com, is how Ubiquiti describes reaching sites you already run, without a license. The architecture note is Understanding UniFi Cloud Architecture.

There is one paid option to know about. Official UniFi Hosting is Ubiquiti hosting the controller for people who do not want a gateway or a server doing that job. The setup guide is Getting Started with Official UniFi Hosting. A single office with a Cloud Gateway does not need that plan. We do not put offices on it by default.

Management

Meraki is managed in Cisco's cloud dashboard. Configuration lives there, and the license is what keeps the organization in compliance.

UniFi keeps the controller on site. A Cloud Gateway in the rack runs it. A Cloud Key or a server you host can run it instead. Site Manager connects you to that local controller, so the configuration stays on the gear in the office. That is the model in Ubiquiti's architecture article.

Cost of ownership

We are not going to invent a dollar comparison. Vendor prices change, and a real office needs a written estimate.

With Meraki you buy the hardware, and you keep buying the license. Years in, the license is still part of the cost when you are not replacing boxes. If you stop renewing, you are out of compliance. On the co-termination and per-device models, Cisco says the network can stop passing traffic to the internet.

With UniFi you buy the hardware. A Cloud Gateway does not have a license to renew to keep working. You still pay for design, cable, and someone to look after it, and you still replace gear when it is old. If you choose Official UniFi Hosting instead of a local controller, that hosting is a separate paid service. We are not quoting Ubiquiti's hosting prices here. Their page is the source.

We have seen a hosted controller in the field, and it was not a UniFi license. A Tribeca loft was paying a monthly fee for a cloud-hosted controller, and nobody in the office had admin access. We moved the controller on site. The write-up is the Tribeca core upgrade.

On an office near Union Square, Meraki was already in the rack and the client asked about Meraki licenses. We priced UniFi and Meraki in the same estimate. For that office we recommended UniFi, and they chose it. The reason is on the Union Square project page.

What we charge to install a network, and to look after it afterward, is on the networking page and the pricing page.

When Meraki fits

Meraki fits when the office already owns it and the licenses are current. It fits when a parent company or an out-of-state IT partner already standardizes on Cisco's dashboard. It also fits a group of sites that already share one Meraki organization and do not want a second system.

It is a poor fit when nobody has budgeted the renewal, or when the office wants the gear to keep working without a license that can take the network offline.

We did this as local hands, not as a Meraki seller. A Midtown office was splitting from its parent company. The new Cisco Meraki gear was on site in boxes, and the office's IT partner handled the configuration from out of state. We swapped the firewall, the switch, and the access points in one night. That job is the overnight cutover in Midtown.

When UniFi fits

UniFi fits a single office that wants Wi-Fi, switching, and a firewall without an ongoing license. It fits when cameras and door access should sit on the same controller. It fits when you want the controller in the rack, where you can still reach it if a cloud login is the thing that broke.

This is what we install for a new office network. Recent jobs include a Chelsea move on a UniFi Dream Machine Pro, a Hudson Square office on a Cloud Gateway Ultra, and a Paramus medical office with a UniFi gateway, ceiling access points, and cameras. More of the work is on the projects page.

After the install, watching the network can be part of a managed plan. That choice is separate from the brand of the gear. The plan comparison is managed IT or hourly IT support, and both notes are on the guides page.

What we will not say

We will not tell you UniFi is always cheaper. Meraki you already own can cost less this year than new UniFi gear. We will not tell you Meraki is the safer name on the box. We are not a partner of either company. We will say which one fits after we see what is in the closet and who has to administer it.

The first virtual call is free. On-site visits are paid.