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Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Ethernet Switches vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.7
Arista Networks Platform delivers good ROI, justifies higher costs with long-term savings, especially compared to Cisco and Juniper.
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
7.2
NETGEAR Switches offer cost-effective, reliable solutions with labor savings, minimal management, and enhanced efficiency for business growth.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
Arista Networks Platform offers fast, proficient support, praised for direct engineer access and high customer satisfaction globally.
Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco customer service is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though support quality varies globally and integration issues exist.
Sentiment score
6.8
Customers find NETGEAR's support effective and responsive but face challenges with service navigation and understanding new products.
They provide instant support and maintain commitments regarding replacement products.
According to my team’s feedback, we receive extended support from the Arista team.
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.
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
There are issues distinguishing which switches support cloud features.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Arista Networks Platform offers scalable, reliable networking for data centers, praised for network capacity, low latency, and intuitive management.
Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer flexibility and scalability, but some users are concerned about high costs and limited scalability.
Sentiment score
7.0
NETGEAR Switches offer adaptability and scalability, supporting various network sizes with easy expansion and robust connectivity features.
Scalability is a key feature of Arista, owing to the possibilities to manage the entire data center network from a single console.
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.
The scalability of NETGEAR Switches is easy and very beneficial for us.
NETGEAR's scalability through its Insight Cloud system is on par with Ubiquiti's, although it must offer features beyond its competitors.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Arista Networks Platform is highly stable with minimal downtime, praised for reliability when following best practice configurations.
Sentiment score
8.9
Cisco Ethernet Switches are praised for stability, reliability, and durability, offering minimal disruptions and consistent low-maintenance performance.
Sentiment score
7.8
NETGEAR Switches are praised for their reliability and stability, making them ideal for demanding applications despite minor quirks.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
We've experienced failures such as a 16-port dying after three to four years.
 

Room For Improvement

Arista Networks needs better documentation, integration, pricing, security, stability, management, community support, and network feature expansion.
Cisco Ethernet Switches need improved usability, security, pricing, support, integration, stability, scalability, and enhanced management features.
Enhancing security, management, compatibility, and support while refining costs and integration could strengthen NETGEAR's position in enterprise networks.
Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements.
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks.
The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products.
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
For example, on switches, filtering specific sections isn't supported, whereas, on routers, you can do 'show run' with additional commands to filter.
They should introduce features like dual firmware or dual boot that allow systems to be updated without downtime.
They can improve on the commercial part, specifically the cost, as it is higher than other brands.
 

Setup Cost

Arista Networks is costly, with high hardware and licensing expenses, especially compared to Huawei and NETGEAR, affecting affordability.
Cisco Ethernet Switches are considered expensive but valued for quality and reliability, despite cheaper alternatives and licensing costs.
Enterprise users praise NETGEAR Switches for competitive pricing, excellent performance, low costs, and strong warranties compared to rivals.
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper.
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
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.
Some high-end switches required for specific advanced features, like precision time protocols, can be more expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Arista Networks Platform is praised for its reliability, scalability, Linux shell, efficient management, automation, and unmatched monitoring capabilities.
Cisco Ethernet Switches provide reliable performance, ease of management, advanced security features, scalability, and excellent support for diverse networking needs.
NETGEAR Switches offer affordability, ease, reliability, advanced features, robust performance, and strong support for diverse networking needs.
Features include plug-and-play auto-discovery, allowing centralized configuration and management.
The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products.
Cisco is mainly known for its security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features which support my organization's expansion.
Cisco Ethernet Switches are very reliable and work like a clock once configured.
The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet switches include plug-and-play capabilities.
The precision time protocol feature caught our interest for future use in specific settings like churches, where low latency is required.
The most valuable features are routing and access control.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 3.1%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 12.8%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 8.5%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable for enterprise-sized companies
Speaking about whether the product enhanced our company's data center scalability, I would say that it was a solution that was used in a banking company, where it served as a replacement for Cisco. Though Arista Networks Platform is similar to Cisco IOS CLI, I feel that the former product offers better prices compared to the latter tool. Arista Networks Platform office is more efficient at a lower cost. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The tool is stable and cheaper than Cisco. I would say that Arista Networks Platform is 100 percent compatible with the existing infrastructure in my company. The impact of the tool's network telemetry on our company's troubleshooting practices was just good for the scope for which I need the product. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
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.
Umang Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient routing and access control with an easy setup
We use NETGEAR Switches for networking, particularly for switch-to-switch connectivity. We connect them with core switches, especially for camera installation NETGEAR Switches have increased the throughput and speed of internal communication, and have improved our network efficiency. The most…
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865,164 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
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers. Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements. However, we...
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 func...
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 F...
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...
How do NETGEAR switches compare with Cisco ethernet switches?
NetGear switches have a lot to offer. They have high availability, zero-downtime stacking, L2 and L3 functionality, a...
Which switches are better - Ubiquiti Unifi or Netgear?
Ubiquiti Unifi offers a great set of features. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and also doesn’t ...
What do you like most about NETGEAR Switches?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever.
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Linz AG
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: August 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.