1. Read the dashboard
Export the MX configuration: VLANs (the separate lanes on the network), firewall rules, NAT, site-to-site VPN peers, client VPN users, traffic shaping, content filtering. Dead rules are listed and not migrated.
Meraki Alternative
Meraki MX renewal due, or end of life?
Compare before you pay for another year.
A Meraki appliance on co-term or per-device licensing stops passing traffic 30 days after its license lapses, the MX64 is end of sale and the MX65 has reached end of support. If a renewal or an end-of-sale notice just landed, this page puts FortiGate beside the MX on the points that decide it for a small or mid-size business, and explains how we migrate a Meraki network in one after-hours window, for a fixed fee from $6,500 for the firewall; hardware and licenses are quoted separately. Last reviewed October 21, 2026.
What Changed
Meraki license expiry: shutdown or lost management depends on the licensing model.
On co-term and per-device licensing, Cisco Meraki appliances need a current license to pass traffic. When the license expires there is a 30-day grace period, after which Cisco shuts down the organization (co-term) or the unlicensed device (per-device), and that firewall stops passing your office’s traffic; on co-term the dashboard also shows little more than the license page. On the newer subscription model, devices keep forwarding traffic after the grace period, but configuration, monitoring, firmware updates and support stop. Several MX models have also reached end of support. If a renewal invoice or an end-of-support notice just arrived, this is the moment to compare, and to get a fixed-fee migration number before you pay for another year.
| Meraki model | Status | Date | FortiGate starting point |
|---|---|---|---|
| MX64 / MX64W | End of sale | July 26, 2022 (support to July 26, 2027) | 50G / 70G |
| MX65 / MX65W | End of support | May 28, 2026 | 70G |
| MX67C / MX68CW (cellular) | End of sale | November 27, 2026 (support to 2031) | 70G with FortiExtender, or 90G |
| MX67 / MX68 | Current, no announcement | as of August 2026 | 50G / 70G |
| MX75 / MX85 | Current | — | 90G / 120G |
Dates from Cisco's end-of-sale notices and Meraki lifecycle trackers linked below. FortiGate equivalents are our sizing starting points; the sizing guide has the method and the FortiGate catalog has reference prices by model.
The Comparison
FortiGate vs Meraki MX for a small or mid-size business.
Meraki is excellent at one thing: a cloud dashboard that a generalist can run. The trade is a license on every device that, on co-term and per-device licensing, stops the hardware passing traffic when it lapses, and a feature set that lives inside Cisco's cloud. Verify the Meraki figures on Cisco's datasheet for the model you are quoted. For a full, vendor-neutral comparison (management, licensing, SD-WAN, switching and Wi-Fi), see Fortinet vs Meraki.
| Decision point | FortiGate G-series | Meraki MX | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| What happens when the subscription lapses | Base firewall and routing continue; IPS and antivirus use existing signatures; expired category-based web and DNS filtering can block traffic depending on configuration | Co-term and per-device: 30-day grace, then the device stops passing client traffic. Subscription: traffic continues, management is disabled | On co-term or per-device Meraki, a missed renewal is an outage |
| How licensing is priced, MX75-class site | Sold as a UTP bundle (hardware plus security licenses); 90G with three years of UTP, list price $9,375.20, reference figure | License sold separately from the hardware; MX75 Advanced Security one-year list about $1,660 per device | The two prices cover different things; price both as hardware plus three years of licensing per site before comparing |
| Inspection hardware | Dedicated security processor on every model; the chip generation varies by model | CPU-based | Speed holds up with security inspection switched on (services-on throughput) |
| Management | FortiOS GUI; FortiManager for fleets; FortiManagement Cloud (formerly FortiGate Cloud) for small sites | Meraki dashboard, cloud only | Both work; FortiGate also runs with no cloud dependency |
| Remote access | IPsec VPN and ZTNA (per-app remote access via FortiClient); SSL VPN, the older remote-access style, is removed from current FortiOS | Client VPN (IPsec/L2TP), AnyConnect, Secure Connect (SASE) | Plan the VPN migration either way |
| Switches and Wi-Fi | FortiSwitch and FortiAP managed from the firewall; works with Aruba, Cisco, Arista | Meraki MS and MR, same dashboard, same per-device licensing | Single-vendor is a convenience, not a requirement |
We sell and support FortiGate; we do not sell Meraki. Where we name a Meraki figure or behavior, the source is Cisco's own documentation, linked below.
How We Migrate
Meraki MX to FortiGate in one after-hours window.
The same fixed-fee migration published on the firewall migration page, from $6,500 for a FortiGate up to the 90-series class and from $8,900 for 100F to 200F or an HA pair (two firewalls so one can fail); hardware and licenses quoted separately, by exact part number.
2. Size and quote
Circuit, users, switches, APs, PoE and which Meraki features are actually used decide the model; the FortiGate 70G page shows what an entry model costs. If MS switches and MR access points stay, the FortiGate works with them; if they are also license-expired, we quote FortiSwitch and FortiAP.
3. Build in parallel
FortiGate configured beside the MX: interfaces, VLANs, policies, NAT, IPsec peers, security profiles, and the client-VPN replacement.
4. Cut over with rollback
One window, usually under two hours. The MX stays cabled and licensed for a five-minute rollback until you sign off.
5. Hypercare and documentation
Hypercare means five business days of priority response after cutover, then as-built documentation (the map of what is actually installed), config backup under version control, and monitoring from $695 per site per month if you take an Edge plan.
Track Record
The numbers behind the outcomes.
We only do networks. That is not a limitation — it is why the outcomes are different.
Engineering
20+
Years of network-only practice. Architecture, security, and operations — not IT generalism.
Delivery
300+
Sites delivered. Healthcare clinics, law offices, financial branches, multi-site operations.
Availability
99.99%
Design target for fully redundant builds with HA firewalls, diverse ISPs, and backed-up power.
Ownership
100%
Senior engineer–led. No junior handoffs. No ticket queue. No escalation chain.
Career aggregate. The 20+ years and 300+ sites span the operator’s full network-only practice, including prior-employer engagements. 99.99% availability, about 53 minutes of downtime per year, is an architecture design target for engagements that fund full redundancy. It is not a service guarantee or uptime SLA. Contracted response times and service levels are defined in each customer agreement.
Where We Work
Sacramento, the Bay Area, and remote across California.
Pre-staging and configuration happen remotely; cutover is on site or remote-hands guided, your choice. Local clients: see our Fortinet MSP in Sacramento and Fortinet MSP in San Francisco pages. Replacing a non-Fortinet firewall? See firewall migration; leaving SonicWall or Sophos instead? See the SonicWall alternative and Sophos alternative pages. Want it watched afterward? See network monitoring, from $695 per site per month.
Keep Reading
Comparing platforms before you decide?
FAQ
Meraki Alternative questions.
What happens when a Meraki license expires?
It depends on the licensing model. On co-term licensing, Cisco's documentation gives a 30-day grace period after expiry; when it ends the organization is shut down, devices cease passing client traffic, and the dashboard is restricted to license and device-status pages. On per-device licensing, only the unlicensed device shuts down after 30 days. On the newer subscription model, devices keep forwarding traffic after the grace period, but configuration, monitoring, firmware updates and support stop until licensing is restored.
Is the Meraki MX64 end of life?
Yes. End of sale was July 26, 2022 with support ending July 26, 2027. The MX65 reached end of support on May 28, 2026. The cellular MX67C and MX68CW go end of sale on November 27, 2026. The base MX67 and MX68 had no announcement as of August 2026.
What is the FortiGate equivalent of an MX67 or MX68?
For a small office, a FortiGate 50G or 70G; the 70G-PoE replaces the MX68's PoE ports. An MX75 or MX85 site starts at a 90G or 120G. The sizing guide compares them on services-on throughput (how much traffic each can inspect with security on) and ports.
Will our Meraki rules move to a FortiGate?
VLANs, addresses, firewall rules, NAT and site-to-site VPN definitions carry over through a line-by-line rebuild and review. Meraki traffic shaping and content filtering map to FortiGate traffic shaping and FortiGuard web filtering. Meraki Insight and dashboard analytics are replaced by FortiManagement Cloud or FortiAnalyzer, or by our monitoring.
Can we keep our Meraki switches and access points?
Yes, as long as their licenses are current; the FortiGate does not care what switch is behind it. You can replace the MX first and the MS switches and MR access points at their next license renewal.
What does a Meraki to FortiGate migration cost?
From $6,500 for a FortiGate up to the 90-series class and from $8,900 for 100F to 200F or an HA pair; the assessment sets the fixed fee. That includes full policy migration, VPN tunnels, test plan, after-hours cutover and five days of hypercare. Hardware and the FortiCare/UTP bundle are quoted separately, by exact part number. If you want the whole network reviewed before you buy anything, the Network Risk Assessment is $3,500 for a single small site and the report is yours to keep.
Does FortiGate have a cloud dashboard like Meraki?
FortiManagement Cloud manages small fleets from a browser, and FortiManager handles larger ones on-premises or in the cloud. The difference is that a FortiGate keeps working when the cloud or the subscription is unavailable; the subscription affects security updates, not the base firewall, although expired category-based web filtering can block web traffic depending on configuration.
How long does it take?
Hardware lead time, two to four weeks, is the longest step. Build runs in parallel. The cutover is one window, typically under two hours, with rollback to the MX until you sign off.
Sources
Checked against primary sources.
Last reviewed October 21, 2026. Vendor documents and prices change; confirm against the linked pages before you decide.
- Cisco Meraki documentation: General licensing FAQs (30-day grace period and shutdown behavior)
- Cisco: End-of-sale and end-of-life announcement for the MX67C and MX68CW
- Cisco: Meraki cloud managed security appliances, end-of-life and end-of-sale notices
- Meraki EOL tracker: MX67 and MX68 status (checked August 8, 2026)
- Reseller listing: Meraki MX75 Advanced Security license, 1 year (list price reference)
- Fortinet FortiGate 50G / 70G / 90G series datasheets
- Fortinet Americas end-user price list, effective September 7, 2026 (partner portal; FG-90G-BDL-950-36 $9,375.20)
Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard and FortiCare are trademarks of Fortinet, Inc. Other vendor names are trademarks of their respective owners, used to identify the products discussed. Ambio Edge Networks is an independent Fortinet partner and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any vendor named here.
Replace a Meraki MX
Send us your MX model and renewal date.
Get a FortiGate model and a fixed-fee quote.
Tell us the MX model, when the license renews, whether MS switches and MR access points stay, your internet speed and user count. We size the FortiGate, quote by exact part number, and run the migration as a fixed-fee project with rollback. Not sure the MX is the only problem? A Network Risk Assessment maps the whole network first: $3,500 for a single small site; larger networks are priced on the assessment pricing page. See a sample report (PDF).
What Happens Next
Response from a senior engineer within 1 business day.
A direct conversation — no sales team, no runaround.
An honest assessment of whether we are the right fit.
Clear next steps if we are — no pressure if we are not.