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Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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

Arista Campus LAN Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
181
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (5th), Data Center Networking (2nd), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Arista Campus LAN Switches is 5.6%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 18.5%, down from 28.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches18.5%
Arista Campus LAN Switches5.6%
Other75.9%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

DM
Chief Technology Officer at ictbit
Unified monitoring has transformed campus deployments and provides rapid EVPN-VXLAN rollouts
Regarding improvements to Arista Campus LAN Switches, nothing comes to mind about the switches themselves; they are really fast and have all the technologies and protocols that exist in the market. However, on the management system, I would improve it because as a network engineer, I want a chatbot that can communicate in a native language with the monitoring system to get answers regarding my network faults. There are no problems particularly with the product, but there is room for improvement regarding licensing and the chatbot for all Arista products.
MS
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Reliable switching has delivered long‑term uptime, strong PoE support, and predictable performance
Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst Switches—and Cisco products in general—is relatively high, especially in many African markets where organizations often need to balance budget constraints with required functionality. There are alternative vendors that offer comparable features at a lower price point. While they may not always match Cisco’s ecosystem, stability, or full feature depth, many businesses still choose them because of the significant cost savings. Another consideration is licensing, which can add to the overall total cost of ownership depending on the deployment model and required features. Overall, Cisco Catalyst Switches remain premium enterprise solutions, but when compared with other OEMs, their higher acquisition and licensing costs can be a major deciding factor for cost-conscious organizations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most winning feature of Arista Campus LAN Switches is their management, specifically CloudVision, along with features like comparing changes and diagnosing problems quickly with telemetry and network visualization."
"The management portal has improved the way our organization functions."
"The CloudVision Portal allows us to centrally manage all of our Arista products."
"I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs."
"QoS is the most valuable feature because our clients work with VOIP and Critical applications."
"The template functionality saves a lot of time and man-hours, which results in cost and time savings."
"The Software Defined switch architecture, runs optimized 2-tier network instead of traditional 3-tier network (Core, Distribution and Access) gives you efficiency and savings."
"Clients are very satisfied with the implementation process."
"It's heavy-duty, you only need to configure it once, and it'll keep running for several years."
"Technical support is very responsive and helpful."
"I would recommend this solution to others, it is very good."
"We are satisfied with the solution; it demonstrates good performance."
"These are a proven technology and I haven't had any problem with them."
"We heavily use the SmartPort features. It has really helped us. The U.S. policies are handled by the auto SmartPort feature"
"The best feature is the technical support."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are very stable."
 

Cons

"I do think they could improve their licensing model. Today, I need to pay for a license, for a switch, for support, and it costs money; it is not cheap."
"I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed, which can impact service."
"One of the issues that we have been faced with here in Brazil is that we don't have any list times for delivery."
"It would be ideal if the solution was less expensive."
"We have to renew the license every three years, which can be a challenge for customers. Arista, like other vendors, now follows a license-based system."
"One of the issues that we have been faced with here in Brazil is that we don't have any list times for delivery."
"I would like to see a version available with eight or sixteen ports."
"I would like to see a version available with eight or sixteen ports."
"The pricing could be better. Cisco is quite expensive."
"In terms of what could be improved, more integration is the main thing they should be focused on."
"The solution’s licensing could be improved."
"There needs to be some improvement with the Cisco DNA licensing activation process, it is difficult at the moment."
"The solution could improve by adding a user-friendly GUI. We use third-party applications for log monitoring that are expensive and if Cisco could provide log monitoring as part of this solution it would be beneficial."
"Prices could always be lower."
"Cisco has to lower the price of its products to make them more cost-effective."
"The product could always be more secure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The only licensing costs are for CloudVision, although the upfront price of the device is not cheap."
"The price is not that good, but our clients value the solution despite the price."
"The solution provides a good balance between the features and the cost structure"
"The general price of the solution could be cheaper."
"Catalyst is very expensive."
"The cost of Cisco switches is a little more expensive than the competition. However, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." If you want a reliable solution and other benefits, Cisco Catalyst Switches are worth the money."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution."
"We pay the licensing fees annually because we have an enterprise license agreement."
"The pricing of Cisco Catalyst Switches could be better in general. There is an annual license required."
"The price of Cisco equipment is very expensive and you have to pay extra for support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business81
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise79
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
Regarding pricing, it is not cheap. While it is an enterprise solution, comparing it to low-level switches like Fortinet and Netgear, it is much more expensive. However, comparing it to Cisco and J...
What needs improvement with Arista Campus LAN Switches?
Regarding improvements to Arista Campus LAN Switches, nothing comes to mind about the switches themselves; they are really fast and have all the technologies and protocols that exist in the market....
What is your primary use case for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I work as a consultant and integrator, using Arista Networks platform in my customers' networks. I deal with switches by Arista, which is mostly what we use Arista for. I am familiar with Arista Ca...
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 ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
For pricing satisfaction, I'd say it will be six to seven because Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors. Regarding pricing, there is indeed room for improvement.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Winchester, AWE, picturemaxx, Medical Mutual, Leonix, CloudEra, National Physical Laboratory, Tri-State G&T, AIS, Morph, SingTel, SDSC, BBC
Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.