Cost guide · last reviewed 30 September 2026
What SD-WAN really costs in Australia
The short answer
SD-WAN cost depends on four things: how many sites you have, the hardware at each site, the licence model, and whether someone manages it for you. For a three-site business owning its own gear, our worked example comes to about $1,050–1,390 a month over five years, all in. Get a fixed-price assessment for your sites →
The five cost components
1. Edge hardware, per site
Every site needs an SD-WAN edge device. Prices run from $185 inc GST for a small UniFi gateway (PC Case Gear, checked 30 September 2026) to $18,145 inc GST for a FortiGate 90G with three years of security services (The Tech Geeks, checked 30 September 2026). Most small offices sit at the lower end. See the full price table below.
2. Licences and subscriptions
Most platforms need a security or management subscription on top of the hardware. What matters is what happens when it lapses. On Cisco Meraki co-termination licensing, devices stop passing traffic 30 days after the licence end date (Cisco Meraki, Co-Termination Licensing FAQs, checked 30 September 2026). Meraki's Enterprise licence covers SD-WAN and basic firewalling; intrusion prevention, content filtering and malware protection need Advanced Security (Cisco Meraki, MX Security and SD-WAN Licensing, checked 30 September 2026).
3. Carrier links
SD-WAN runs over ordinary internet links. Business nbn 100 plans from the major carriers were $94–100 a month and nbn 250 plans $82–100 a month (Finder business nbn comparison, full-market view, checked 30 September 2026); that comparison does not state whether GST is included. nbn Enterprise Ethernet, with a symmetric fibre service, is $399–699 ex GST a month on a 36-month term (Swoop, checked 30 September 2026). A 4G/5G backup service is priced per carrier and data allowance.
4. Design and implementation labour
Someone has to design the network, build the configurations and cut each site over, usually after hours. Our own fees for a three-site project run from $19K (simple) to around $35K (typical). See what drives the difference →
5. Managed service fees
If a provider runs the network for you, expect a per-site monthly fee. One Australian managed service provider publishes a range of $300–800 per site per month including hardware, security subscriptions and operations (Inlight IT, checked 30 September 2026). Oramatel's Network Care support starts from $600 a month per estate, with you owning the hardware.
Component prices
Published prices from Australian retailers and carriers. Each row links to where it was published and the date we checked it.
| Item | Price | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra | $185 inc GST | each | PC Case Gearchecked 30 September 2026 |
| UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max | $1,199 inc GST | each | PC Case Gearchecked 30 September 2026 |
| FortiGate 60F hardware | $1,334 inc GST | each (sale price) | AV Firewallschecked 30 September 2026 |
| FortiGate 40F + 3-year UTP bundle | $3,885 inc GST | each | The Tech Geekschecked 30 September 2026 |
| FortiGate 60F + 3-year UTP bundle | $3,379 inc GST | each | AV Firewallschecked 30 September 2026 |
| FortiGate 60F + 5-year UTP bundle | $4,553 inc GST | each | AV Firewallschecked 30 September 2026 |
| FortiGate 90G + 3-year UTP bundle | $18,145 inc GST | each | The Tech Geekschecked 30 September 2026 |
| Meraki MX67 hardware | $533 ex GST | each | Wiretapchecked 30 September 2026 |
| Meraki MX67 Enterprise licence, 3 years | $675 ex GST | each | CloudManagedWiFichecked 30 September 2026 |
| Meraki MX67 Advanced Security licence, 3 years | $1,333 ex GST | each | BuyMerakichecked 30 September 2026 |
| Business nbn 100 (Telstra, Optus, Vocus plans) | $94–100GST not stated | per month | Finder business nbn comparison, full-market viewchecked 30 September 2026 |
| Business nbn 250 (Superloop, Optus, Vocus, Telstra plans) | $82–100GST not stated | per month | Finder business nbn comparison, full-market viewchecked 30 September 2026 |
| nbn Enterprise Ethernet 250/250 | $399 ex GST | per month, 36-month term | Swoopchecked 30 September 2026 |
| nbn Enterprise Ethernet 1000/1000 | $699 ex GST | per month, 36-month term | Swoopchecked 30 September 2026 |
| Enterprise Ethernet fibre build lead time | 50–80 business days | lead time | Swoopchecked 30 September 2026 |
| Standard nbn activation where infrastructure exists | 1–10 business days | lead time | SpinTel nbn service classes and installation timeframeschecked 30 September 2026 |
| Managed SD-WAN including hardware, FortiGuard and operations (one provider's published range) | $300–800GST not stated | per site per month | Inlight ITchecked 30 September 2026 |
Five-year worked example: 3-site business, self-owned SD-WAN
Hardware is shown ex GST, Oramatel fees have no GST, and link prices are as published (see note). Computed from the component prices above.
| Line | Five-year cost |
|---|---|
| 3 × FortiGate 60F + 5-year UTP bundle ($4,553 inc GST each = $4,139 ex GST) | $12,417 |
| Links: business nbn 250 primary + nbn 100 backup per site ($176–200 a month per site × 3 × 60 months)* | $31,680–36,000 |
| Oramatel design and cutover (simple → typical) | $19,000–35,000 |
| Total over five years | $63,097–83,417 |
| Monthly equivalent (all 3 sites) | about $1,050–1,390 |
Compare this with your current MPLS or managed-network bill × 60 months.
We don't publish MPLS or carrier-managed SD-WAN prices: carriers quote them on request, so there is no public price to cite.
* Link prices are as published (Finder business nbn comparison, full-market view, checked 30 September 2026). The comparison does not state whether GST is included, so they are used as shown.
Optional add-ons (not included in the totals)
- Network Care support, from $600 a month.
- Central management licence, such as FortiManager Cloud, priced per device.
- nbn Enterprise Ethernet instead of business nbn: $399–699 a month ex GST per site, 36-month term (Swoop, checked 30 September 2026).
Hidden costs people miss
- Licence renewals and co-terming. Security subscriptions renew every one, three or five years. Adding a site mid-term can mean buying licences that line up with the existing end date.
- Lapsed-licence shutdown. Meraki devices on co-termination licensing stop passing traffic 30 days after licence expiry (Cisco Meraki, Co-Termination Licensing FAQs, checked 30 September 2026).
- MPLS early-termination fees. For Telstra Business IP services bought or recontracted from 17 June 2019, the fee is 45% × average monthly charge × months remaining (Telstra Our Customer Terms, Business IP section, clause 7.5, last changed 28 July 2026, checked 30 September 2026). For example, a $1,500-a-month service with 18 months left costs $12,150 per site to exit.
- Paying for old and new links in parallel for one to three months while sites cut over.
- Enterprise Ethernet lead times of 50–80 business days for a new fibre build (Swoop, checked 30 September 2026).
- Backup-link data costs. A 4G/5G backup plan with a small data allowance can get expensive if a primary link is down for days.
How the main vendors license
Fortinet
You buy the FortiGate hardware outright and add FortiGuard security services as a subscription. Retailers sell hardware-only units and bundles with one, three or five years of Unified Threat Protection, so a longer bundle fixes your security cost for longer (see the price table above).
Cisco Meraki
Meraki MX appliances are cloud-managed and need an active licence to operate. The Enterprise tier covers SD-WAN and basic security; Advanced Security adds intrusion prevention, content filtering and malware protection (Cisco Meraki, MX Security and SD-WAN Licensing, checked 30 September 2026). Under co-termination licensing, all devices in an organisation share one end date (Cisco Meraki, Co-Termination Licensing FAQs, checked 30 September 2026).
Others
Ubiquiti UniFi gateways are sold as hardware with no licence to renew, which suits very small or low-risk sites (see the price table). Other platforms, such as MikroTik, sit between these models; we compare them on five-year cost for your sites during the assessment.
Get a costed plan for your sites
The fixed-price assessment turns this guide into numbers for your actual sites, links and contracts, including what it costs to leave your current ones.
Get a costed planFrequently asked questions
Is SD-WAN cheaper than MPLS?
Often, but it depends on what you pay today. Carriers quote MPLS on request, so there is no public price list to compare against. Take your current MPLS or managed-network bill, multiply it by 60 months, and compare it with the five-year worked example on this page: about $1,050–1,390 a month for three sites, including hardware, links and design.
Can I buy SD-WAN without a managed service?
Yes. You can own the hardware and licences, buy internet links from any carrier, and pay for design and cutover once. The worked example on this page is exactly that model. Ongoing support is optional and can come from your existing IT provider.
What happens if I stop paying the licence?
It depends on the vendor. With Cisco Meraki co-termination licensing, there is a 30-day grace period after the licence end date; after that the organisation is shut down and the devices stop passing traffic to the internet. Other vendors handle lapsed subscriptions differently, so check before you buy.
Last reviewed: 30 September 2026
Sources
- AV Firewalls: FortiGate 60F hardware; FortiGate 60F + 3-year UTP bundle; FortiGate 60F + 5-year UTP bundle. Checked 30 September 2026.
- The Tech Geeks: FortiGate 40F + 3-year UTP bundle. Checked 30 September 2026.
- The Tech Geeks: FortiGate 90G + 3-year UTP bundle. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Wiretap: Meraki MX67 hardware. Checked 30 September 2026.
- CloudManagedWiFi: Meraki MX67 Enterprise licence, 3 years. Checked 30 September 2026.
- BuyMeraki: Meraki MX67 Advanced Security licence, 3 years. Checked 30 September 2026.
- PC Case Gear: UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra. Checked 30 September 2026.
- PC Case Gear: UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Finder business nbn comparison, full-market view: Business nbn 100 (Telstra, Optus, Vocus plans); Business nbn 250 (Superloop, Optus, Vocus, Telstra plans). Checked 30 September 2026.
- Swoop: nbn Enterprise Ethernet 250/250; nbn Enterprise Ethernet 1000/1000; Enterprise Ethernet fibre build lead time. Checked 30 September 2026.
- SpinTel nbn service classes and installation timeframes: Standard nbn activation where infrastructure exists. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Inlight IT: Managed SD-WAN including hardware, FortiGuard and operations (one provider's published range). Checked 30 September 2026.
- Telstra Our Customer Terms, Business IP section, clause 7.5, last changed 28 July 2026: Telstra Business IP early termination fee. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Cisco Meraki, Co-Termination Licensing FAQs: Meraki co-term licence expiry: devices stop passing traffic after grace period. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Cisco Meraki, MX Security and SD-WAN Licensing: Meraki MX: IDS/IPS, content filtering and AMP need Advanced Security (not Enterprise). Checked 30 September 2026.
All prices are indicative only and subject to change at any time without notice. AUD. Oramatel is not registered for GST, so no GST is added to our fees. Third-party prices are labelled inc or ex GST as published and may have changed since the date checked. Oramatel does not resell carrier services or hardware. Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiGuard and FortiManager are Fortinet products; Cisco and Meraki are Cisco Systems products; UniFi is a Ubiquiti product; Telstra Business IP is a Telstra service.