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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer reliability and efficiency, resulting in higher uptime, cost-effectiveness, and substantial long-term investment returns.
Sentiment score
8.8
MikroTik devices offer significant ROI with cost savings, no licensing fees, reliability, and long-term value over 12 years.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco customer service is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though support quality varies globally and integration issues exist.
Sentiment score
7.1
MikroTik’s support receives mixed reviews; some find it effective, while others struggle with access and limited local resources.
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
Currently, we don't have any technical support because our license doesn't allow for direct support.
It takes two to three days for Cisco support to address issues.
Their support team knows their product very well.
I sometimes need technical support from my ISP company, or else I gather information from YouTube.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer flexibility and scalability, but some users are concerned about high costs and limited scalability.
Sentiment score
8.2
MikroTik Routers and Switches are scalable, cost-effective, and flexible, suitable for small to large enterprises despite some limitations.
Cisco mainly provides security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features supporting my organization's expansion.
The latest products do not allow integration with the earlier environment.
The scalability depends on the model.
I would rate their scalability ten out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Cisco Ethernet Switches are praised for stability, reliability, and durability, offering minimal disruptions and consistent low-maintenance performance.
Sentiment score
7.9
MikroTik devices are generally stable, with occasional version-specific issues, and older OS versions often outperform newer ones.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
MikroTik Routers and Switches have very high stability.
MikroTik Routers and Switches are very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Ethernet Switches need improved usability, security, pricing, support, integration, stability, scalability, and enhanced management features.
MikroTik needs improved UI design, stability, support, advanced features, and enhanced scalability to meet diverse user needs effectively.
In the data center portion, we need to provide the fiber channel and Nexus switch to use a more reliable solution.
For example, on switches, filtering specific sections isn't supported, whereas, on routers, you can do 'show run' with additional commands to filter.
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
The most important thing is maintaining and enhancing their strong security features.
It would be better for me if I could establish filter rules within MikroTik.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Ethernet Switches are considered expensive but valued for quality and reliability, despite cheaper alternatives and licensing costs.
MikroTik Routers offer substantial cost savings and competitive pricing, appealing to enterprises seeking affordable high-performance networking solutions.
Cisco Ethernet switches are priced at a rating of nine, indicating they are expensive.
We need to pay for the subscription, as there are extra expenses after purchasing the product.
The tool is quite expensive.
MikroTik Routers and Switches are expensive, but they are the best products in terms of quality.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Ethernet Switches provide reliable performance, ease of management, advanced security features, scalability, and excellent support for diverse networking needs.
MikroTik Routers and Switches combine affordability, versatile features, and user-friendliness, offering robust performance and customization without extra licenses.
The Cisco Ethernet switches are sturdy products that do not require any kind of maintenance.
Cisco Duo is a great tool for increasing security within our company, making resources more protected.
Cisco is mainly known for its security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features which support my organization's expansion.
MikroTik Routers and Switches are some of the best routers around, security-wise, followed by Cisco.
They simplify the process of creating access lists, allowing me to understand my network's activities effectively.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
135
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Routers and Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
Routers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.0%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 6.7%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Myint Aung - PeerSpot reviewer
Exceptional network support and AI integration drive performance while suggesting enhancements for future use cases
I work with both HyperFlex and other Cisco products. I prefer to make online support available because I can utilize my CCIE architect, solution consultant, and engineer team along with our account manager and product sales team. We can clarify requirements and decide how to support you. We should arrange a conference call about Cisco Ethernet Switches where I can invite my architect and consultant to clarify more about the features that are most beneficial for improving network efficiency. Today is AI day, and all the new firmware includes AI to optimize the performance, traffic, and security of Cisco Ethernet Switches. It's performing very well. With many solutions and vendors available, you have to decide on one. I am extremely satisfied with the licensing cost for Cisco Ethernet Switches. For the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches, I would rate it a 7. My overall rating for Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10 out of 10.
AnikIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
855,347 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Hospitality Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
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 ve...
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...
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.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
855,347 professionals have used our research since 2012.