Cisco Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Routers and Switches comparison

Cisco and MikroTik are both solutions in the Routers category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while MikroTik is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 19.7% mindshare in R, compared to MikroTik’s 24.7% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of MikroTik users who would recommend it.

Cisco Enterprise Routers

Read 101 Cisco Enterprise Routers reviews

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2,388 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

MikroTik Routers and Switches

Read 67 MikroTik Routers and Switches reviews

4,689 Views
2,896 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Cisco Enterprise Routers

MikroTik Routers and Switches

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Cisco Enterprise Routers and MikroTik Routers compete in the enterprise networking hardware category. Cisco seems to have an edge with greater protocol support and security features, while MikroTik's affordability and ease of installation are attractive to small and medium enterprises.

Features: Cisco Enterprise Routers are well-regarded for service virtualization, high-performance WAN services, and inbuilt security features, accommodating protocols like MPLS and BGP. They provide flexibility with diverse interfaces. MikroTik Routers and Switches are known for affordability, delivering extensive routing features and versatile operation, which cater to cost-sensitive users or small enterprises.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Enterprise Routers could enhance themselves with more competitive pricing, simpler scalability, and better cloud management solutions. The existing pricing and licensing can be limiting due to the high cost of advanced features. MikroTik Routers could improve their user interface, technical support, and enhance the security measures and documentation provided, as users find the support less responsive and the interface less intuitive.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Enterprise Routers are primarily on-premises or hybrid cloud deployments, noted for comprehensive technical support, although some variability in service quality is reported. MikroTik Routers are praised for their ease of installation and user-friendliness but face criticism over support consistency and complexity in configuration management without significant technical knowledge.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Enterprise Routers are often viewed as expensive, with complicated licensing and high costs possibly deterring smaller businesses, despite justifications in documentation for performance. MikroTik offers cost-effective solutions with a one-time purchase model without recurring licensing fees, appealing to budget-conscious users, demonstrating satisfactory ROI particularly for smaller enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Enterprise Routers

Ranking in Routers

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

MikroTik Routers and Switches

Ranking in Routers

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Ethernet Switches (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 19.7%, down from 26.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 24.7%, down from 31.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Routers

Q&A Highlights

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Nov 22, 2021

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?

Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is very intuitive and the command line interface is very simple to handle, at least for the tech-savvy crowd. Technical support is also very good. Cisco Enterprise routers can be very expensive. You do have to have some knowledge to configure, and that can be a dissatisfaction for some. A graphical interface would be helpful for those with less expertise and would make setup, scaling, and overall management easier. They could also integrate better with other products and solutions. Their Firewall and VPN options should be improved to stay more competitive with other products. MikroTik Routers and Switches are very good with multi-routing, multi-dwelling, multi-tenant units. Their bandwidth is amazing - we have experienced zero downtime. We found the solution to be very stable and flexible. They deliver the same performance as the top brands for a significantly lower price. The initial setup can be tricky. The user interface is a bit dated and the support could use improvement. They only warranty their product for one year, where others offer three, five, or more. This could be a concern for some. We feel that this product is not suited for high-end projects. Conclusion MikroTik offers a very usable stable product for smaller organizations that are not looking to grow exponentially quickly. They do not scale beyond 3 gigs of traffic. For a smaller organization, they would be a very good fit. Cisco is the go-to solution for larger organizations. They have the brand recognition that clients like They offer a solid product that they will stand behind, and it performs well. They can easily meet the needs of large enterprises and growing organizations.

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Featured Reviews

Hafiz Umar Farooq

Founder & CEO at ITGAT

Allows us to configure NAS through Cisco activities and to create GRE channels with different sites

You cannot configure internet policies or other options on Cisco routers. If you have a very limited budget, you can't afford two different pieces of equipment, and you can't afford yearly licensing. I would like Cisco to launch a small business router that has firewall capabilities as well. It would be a great initiative for small businesses. I would like to see two additional features: a remote access VPN with the MFA, multifactor authentication capabilities. At the moment, the ISR series only supports MFA, but not every company likes to use that tool. I think Cisco needs to consider MFA for the remote access VPN and should incorporate other MFA solutions as well. I would also like there to be some firewall features included in the routers. I'm not talking about a full-fledged firewall feature, but a limited set of features that can be used on the small and medium-sized enterprise level. These two features would be a great initiative. I would also like to recommend the licensing feature. Previously, the Cisco licensing model was either a perpetual or annual smart license. Now, Cisco has totally shifted over to the smart licensing feature, and perpetual licenses are about to be eliminated from Cisco. The licensing feature is a bit costly if we compare it to other vendors. The licensing features of the F5 are perpetual, but the support has periodic renewal. The license to use Cisco features like a firewall or the routers are actually yearly based and not perpetual. The lead times are extremely high. Normally, it's six to eight months initially, and they prolong it to up to one year for new device delivery by Cisco. If you say you need a brand new router, switch, or fiber from Cisco within one month, you will never get it, unless some stock is readily available with your vendor. Otherwise, it will initially take six to eight months, and then that will be prolonged to one year. This is what we're experiencing with our clients right now.

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AnikIslam

Senior Executive at Lakdhanavi Limited

Cost-effective protocol support and a straightforward setup with room for login enhancements

In the network operations center, I manage our client's bandwidth. We connect with our clients through BGP and OSPF based on client demands. We also manage routing protocols, policies, internal firewalls, and other details like QE bandwidth, client manage bandwidth management, PoE, PPPoE, and DNS…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We achieve good performance in our data center."

"The performance of the devices is very reliable."

"The solution provides the best security available and simplifies the process for branches and networking."

"The stability of the solution's router is its most valuable feature."

"I extensively used site-to-site VPNs, access control, etc., linking remote sites to the central location to create a highly distributed organization."

"The most valuable features are stability and the initial setup wizard."

"Provides good capabilities and performance."

"I am pleased with the technical support."

More Cisco Enterprise Routers pros

"I rate MikroTik Routers and Switches nine out of ten overall."

"This is a good solution."

"We make use of a script that will automatically re-route traffic when connections are slow."

"MikroTik routers are very user-friendly and easy to manage"

"The most valuable aspect of this solution is the combination of value for money. They're extremely cost effective, yet they provide you with an extensive feature set of things you can do across the board. Also, they're pretty reliable, as far as equipment goes."

"I like MikroTik's GUI. It's completely handy and easy to handle because of its GUI. Despite other brands like Cisco urging me to switch, I didn't because they don't have a GUI. This is the most comfortable thing in my project that anyone can use easily. It's effortless to maintain MikroTik routers because both screens make it very easy in GUI mode. You can easily interact with your hardware."

"It has a lot of features. I haven't explored them all yet."

"The most valuable feature is the price because it's highly cost-effective concerning the functionalities provided within the box. The solution is stable. The solution is scalable. The initial setup is straightforward. I would recommend the solution because it provides value for money."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches pros

Cons

"The solution could be more secure."

"The product's pricing is an area that is too fuzzy to deal with, in my opinion, making it an area where improvements are required."

"Cisco is not granular if we compare it to Juniper."

"It only breaks if you're not using an up-to-date version of the iOS or are not doing upgrades."

"When we buy new hardware, since we are in Latin America, we have a very long wait in terms of getting the devices."

"I am happy with the price of Cisco Enterprise Routers, but they could offer more discounts to their customers."

"The price could be lowered."

"The automation capabilities need improvement."

More Cisco Enterprise Routers cons

"It would be better for me if I could establish filter rules within MikroTik. Also, there is no automatic backup option in the MikroTik setup, so adding it would be beneficial."

"A central management platform would be great."

"Wireless throughput has not kept up with the competition."

"The queuing functionality needs improvement. The initial setup could be simplified."

"The solution is a complicated device."

"If the reporting functionality of the solution is considered, I think it is not good."

"MikroTik does not have a wireless solution. If they created a high-performance wireless solution we would deploy it in our infrastructure."

"The initial setup is a bit complex."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is reasonable."

"The price of this solution is high."

"Cisco is more expensive than other architecture solutions."

"This solution is expensive compared to competitors. There are additional costs if you want to have their support."

"The cost of this solution is a little bit high compared to others."

"If it could be cheaper that would be good, but I would rate it as a four out of five for price, with one being very expensive and five being very affordable."

"The price is very high."

"Cisco Enterprise Routers are expensive."

More Cisco Enterprise Routers pricing and cost advice

"A license is not required."

"The tool is cheap."

"The solution is not expensive."

"No fees are required for licensing."

"It's reasonably priced. It's not the most cheap solution, but also, it's not the most expensive one."

"This product is a one-time purchase."

"The main reason we use this solution is for the price — it's very cheap."

"The price is affordable."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Nov 22, 2021

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?

See 2 answers

reviewer1650858

Works

Nov 2, 2021

Read full answer

Gabriel Guzman

Ingeniería de Preventa at TECNORED SA

Nov 22, 2021

Mikrotik, as Cisco is not for everyone ... While this popular OS-based router, is simple, it is not for all applications. When one wants complex results, MK is useful. it is an assistant to ADMs who do not have much knowledge. But not everything is simple or can be solved with a single team. The particularity of its Agile and intuitive interface makes MK lose in the middle to high segment. Cisco has years of experience, one may or may not agree with its pricing and especially licensing policy, but its products are made to last, its IOS, is powerful in many areas. One turns on a Cisco and if the initial configuration is optimal, it does not turn off that router anymore. MK is a team that must be seen, controlling and above all optimizing. The reasons for choosing one and the other are simple, money, knowledge and, above all, projection. Cisco can be planned and completed, but it is not for everyone. MK plans to buy and update the HW sooner or later. His continuous releases are tedious but necessary. Cisco in the Enterprise range is clearly superior, as is Juniper or Huawei.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

15%

Hospitality Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?

See all answers

What do you like most about Cisco Enterprise Routers?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it makes it possible for users to use encryption and decryption since our company aims to achieve transparency, and without it, the other system on...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers?

I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price.

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Which are better - Ubiquiti UniFi switches or MikroTik routers and switches?

Ubiquiti Unifi is a great solution. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfigure an AP or ga...

See all answers

What do you like most about MikroTik Routers and Switches?

The price is a big factor. They are very affordable, and the quality is high.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MikroTik Routers and Switches?

MikroTik Routers and Switches are expensive, but they are the best products in terms of quality. From my knowledge, their quality is also the best.

See all answers

Comparisons

Huawei Enterprise Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 21% of the time

HPE Enterprise Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 12% of the time

OneAccess Enterprise Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 10% of the time

Juniper MX Series Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 6% of the time

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Enterprise Routers Competitors

TP-Link Omada Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 37% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 8% of the time

Aruba Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 6% of the time

Juniper MX Series Routers vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 4% of the time

More MikroTik Routers and Switches Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Enterprise Routers

June 2025

Download Cisco Enterprise Routers product report

Buyer's Guide

MikroTik Routers and Switches

May 2025

Download MikroTik Routers and Switches product report

Overview

The high-performance Cisco Enterprise Routers are the market leader due to their breadth of advanced support for LAN/WAN services, redundancy, reliability, and performance.

Cisco

MikroTik Routers and Switches provide all the features necessary for network administrators to secure and monitor their networks and are suitable for companies of any size. The solution is ideal for creating Wi-Fi hotspots, connecting multiple servers, setting up firewalls and VPNs, and distributing bandwidth. MikroTik's user-friendly dashboard helps you interact easily with your hardware. With MikroTik's user interface, you can obtain real statistics by user or IP address and monitor bandwidth consumption.

Benefits and Key Features of MikroTik Routers and Switches

Affordability: MikroTik routers and switches are very reasonably priced and offer features comparable to those of other higher priced solutions.
Highly customizable: Flexible scripting policies and configuration options enable users to enhance the functionality of MikroTik's various products. MikroTik routers also offer hotspot profiles, which allows admins to create different customizable guest user authentication profiles.
Consistency: All MikroTik routers have the same operating system and features, making it simple to migrate between different products.
Routing protocols: MikroTik provides several dynamic routing protocols that can be deployed to build robust and secure networks.
Built-in firewall: MikroTik offers a very powerful firewall implementation with multiple features, including state inspection, layer-7 protocol detection, and peer-to-peer protocols filtering.
Stability and robust performance: MikroTik routers and switches are long-lasting, resilient, and perform well.

Reviews from Real Users

MikroTik stands out among competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its reasonably priced products and its user-friendly user interface, which makes it easy to work and communicate with its hardware.

Parameshwar P., a director at Navyug Networks, writes, "I like MikroTik's GUI. It's completely handy and easy to handle because of its GUI. Despite other brands like Cisco urging me to switch, I didn't because they don't have a GUI. This is the most comfortable thing in my project that anyone can use easily. It’s effortless to maintain MikroTik routers because both screens make it very easy in GUI mode. You can easily interact with your hardware.”

Rodney T., the chief solutions architect at Tech2go Strategic IT Solutions, says, "They are very good at providing the bandwidth for multi-tenants and multi-dwelling units. We're managing Wi-Fi hotspots for hundreds of locations, and the speed and performance are quite there. They also have very cheap 10G products that come with really good and flexible software. They are way cheaper than the top brands, and they're able to deliver the same performance and capabilities."

A principal consultant at a tech services company notes, "The most valuable aspect of this solution is the combination of value for money. They're extremely cost effective, yet they provide you with an extensive feature set of things you can do across the board. Also, they're pretty reliable, as far as equipment goes."

MikroTik

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Boingo, Chartwell School, Children's Hospital of Orange County , Department of Justice, Explorer Pipeline, Linz AG, National Rugby League, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Telecom Italia, Transwestern

ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches

June 2025

Free Report: Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches

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