Remote SupportUniFi vs Cisco Meraki: the honest comparison for Australian businesses.
Both platforms put your network, Wi-Fi and more behind one cloud dashboard. The difference that matters is how you pay for it, and what happens when the bill stops.
Real Bytes installs and supports UniFi as a Ubiquiti Professional Integrator. We are not a Meraki reseller, so this is where we say plainly where each one wins.
Listed in the Ubiquiti Professional Integrator directory. Part of our UniFi installation and support service.
The headline difference
One bills you forever per device. The other does not.
Cisco Meraki requires an active cloud licence on every device to keep it managed. The licence is billed per device, per year, and if it lapses the device stops being managed. That is on top of the hardware cost, and it recurs for the life of the equipment. Cisco's own licensing documentation states that all current Meraki products require valid licensing to operate.
UniFi takes the other path. You buy the hardware once and the core applications, Network, Protect, Access, Connect, Drive and Talk, keep working with no per-device subscription. Optional paid extras exist such as CyberSecure threat feeds, Identity Enterprise, UI Care and priority support, and we tell you which, if any, you need.
Everything else, the dashboard, the hardware, the security features, flows from that one choice.
Side by side
How they compare on what matters.
Licensing model
UniFi
No per-device licence on the core software. Hardware is bought once; Network, Protect, Access, Connect, Drive and Talk keep working without a subscription.
Cisco Meraki
Every device needs an active cloud licence to stay managed, billed per device per year. Tiers run from Enterprise up to Advanced Security and Secure SD-WAN Plus.
Management app
UniFi
One app for network, Wi-Fi, cameras, door access, phones and storage, run from a cloud gateway on your site.
Cisco Meraki
One cloud dashboard for switching, Wi-Fi and security; cameras and sensors sit in the same dashboard but carry their own licences.
Hardware range
UniFi
Pro Max switching with 10G SFP+ uplinks, Enterprise Fortress Gateway, Wi-Fi 7 access points, cameras, door readers and phones.
Cisco Meraki
Broad enterprise range: MX security appliances, MS switches, MR access points, MV cameras and MT sensors.
High availability
UniFi
Shadow Mode on the Enterprise Fortress Gateway runs two gateways in step; Pro Max switches have hot-swap power supplies.
Cisco Meraki
Warm spare and HA on MX appliances, depending on model and licence tier.
Security and IDS/IPS
UniFi
Built-in intrusion prevention on the gateway (12.5 Gbps on the Fortress Gateway). CyberSecure threat feeds are an optional paid extra.
Cisco Meraki
Advanced Security licence tier adds IDS/IPS, content filtering and AMP on top of the Enterprise tier.
Multi-site
UniFi
Site Manager links up to 1,000 sites over SD-WAN hub and spoke, with no per-site licence.
Cisco Meraki
SD-WAN across MX appliances, included in the per-device licence.
Support
UniFi
Ubiquiti paid 24/7 phone plans and UI Care up to five years; day-to-day support from Real Bytes as your integrator.
Cisco Meraki
The licence includes enterprise-class Cisco TAC support for the licence term.
Who it suits
UniFi
Businesses that want owned hardware, one app for the whole building, and no recurring per-device fees.
Cisco Meraki
Enterprises already standardised on Cisco, needing carrier-grade features, Cisco TAC and Cisco-trained staff.
Where UniFi wins
Owned hardware, one app, no recurring licences.
- No per-device licence on the core software, so the bill does not compound as you add switches, access points or cameras.
- One app spans network, Wi-Fi, cameras, door access, phones and storage, with no separate camera or sensor licences.
- Hardware keeps working if you ever stop paying for optional extras; management does not turn off.
- A single integrator, Real Bytes, designs, installs and supports the lot from Brisbane.
Where Meraki wins
Carrier-grade depth and one Cisco number to call.
- True carrier-grade firewall and SD-WAN feature depth at the top end, suited to large enterprises and regulated environments.
- A single vendor TAC phone number, included with the licence, rather than an integrator as the front line.
- A broad enterprise ecosystem and tooling for teams already trained and certified on Cisco.
- Mature multi-tenant management for very large, multi-national deployments.
Which way to go
When we recommend which.
Choose UniFi if you want owned hardware, one app for the building, and no recurring per-device licence, and you are happy with a Brisbane integrator as your front line for support. It suits most Australian businesses from a single office to a campus.
Stay on Meraki, or choose it, if you are already standardised on Cisco across many sites, need a true carrier-grade firewall feature set, want a single vendor TAC phone number, or have Cisco-certified staff. For those sites UniFi is not the right replacement, and we will say so in the survey.
Not sure? We run a site survey and give you a written recommendation, UniFi, Meraki or a mix, with the reasoning. There is no charge for the first conversation.
Sources: Cisco Meraki licensing documentation, documentation.meraki.com (accessed October 2026); UniFi specifications, techspecs.ui.com (accessed October 2026) and the Real Bytes UniFi hub.
The questions buyers ask before they switch.
- Does UniFi really have no licence fees while Meraki does?
- Yes. UniFi's core network, Wi-Fi, camera, door and phone software carries no per-device subscription, so the hardware keeps working without a recurring fee. Cisco Meraki requires an active cloud licence on every device to keep it managed, billed per device per year, per Cisco's licensing documentation.
- Is UniFi as reliable as Meraki for a business?
- For most Australian businesses, yes. The Enterprise Fortress Gateway offers Shadow Mode high availability and 12.5 Gbps intrusion prevention, and Pro Max switches have hot-swap power supplies. Meraki still leads at the very top end for carrier-grade feature depth and single-vendor Cisco TAC support, which suits large enterprises already on Cisco.
- What does a Meraki licence include that UniFi does not?
- A Meraki licence bundles enterprise-class Cisco support and the cloud management platform fee into one per-device charge. UniFi's cloud management is licence-free, and paid support is optional through Ubiquiti's 24/7 plans, UI Care, or your integrator. You pay for support only if you want it.
- Which costs less over five years, UniFi or Meraki?
- Usually UniFi, because the hardware is bought once and the core software has no recurring per-device fee. Meraki's per-device licence recurs each year across every switch, access point and gateway, and devices stop being managed if it lapses. The more devices you run, the wider the gap grows.
- Can Real Bytes support a Meraki network as well as UniFi?
- We design and install UniFi as a Ubiquiti Professional Integrator. For sites already on Meraki, we can manage the network as part of a managed IT plan, and we will tell you straight whether switching to UniFi makes sense for your site or whether you should stay on Meraki.
Next step
Trying to decide between UniFi and Meraki?
Tell us your site count and device list and an engineer will give you a written recommendation.