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Aruba Instant On 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.6
Aruba Instant On Switches are valued for affordability and ease of integration, appealing to startups and service providers.
Sentiment score
5.9
Cisco Catalyst Switches ensure long-term reliability and cost savings but opinions on cost-effectiveness vary by usage duration.
I can say in terms of money saved because up until now, in the previous places where I have worked and also now, we still use the older model, the 2960 model Cisco Catalyst Switches, which has been in existence for almost 20 years and up until now it still functions very well.
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
From an investment standpoint, deploying Cisco Catalyst Switches offers tangible benefits, including cost reductions.
Unit Nos at Orange
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Aruba Instant On Switches support is reliable, with skilled staff, but users request better communication access and quicker resolutions.
Sentiment score
6.8
Cisco Catalyst Switches' customer service is efficient with skilled support, but initial levels may lack expertise without an active contract.
It would be good to have our own account so we can access and deal directly with technical support, for example, in the community.
System Engineer at University of Kelaniya
I would rate them an eight on a scale of one to ten because the support was good.
Engagement Manager at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
When requesting an RMA, they replace defective items in just one day.
Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Cisco at 10 out of 10.
student at St. Joseph's College of Engineering
Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get.
Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Aruba Instant On Switches offer flexibility and ease for small businesses but have limitations for enterprise-level demands.
Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide modular scalability, allowing easy network expansion and generally high user satisfaction despite some configuration complexities.
The product scalability can be deployed on a very large network scale.
Presale Network Security at a consumer goods company with 1-10 employees
I would rate the scalability of Aruba Instant On Switches as an eight regarding the ability of the product to adapt to our needs.
System Engineer at University of Kelaniya
The scalability of Cisco Catalyst Switches is very much scalable, as it supports the stacking feature and growth; for instance, with 94K modular switches, based on the requirement, we can even increase modules for more bandwidth.
Unit Nos at Orange
Unlike Meraki, where I can bring a switch online, join it to the portal, and it becomes operational immediately.
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The auto-scaling and zero-touch provisioning kind of support for Nexus switches is lacking.
Network Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Aruba Instant On Switches are reliable, easy to install, and offer good performance at a competitive price, despite occasional issues.
Sentiment score
8.2
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable and reliable, with occasional issues in legacy models, generally rated highly for performance.
In terms of stability and scalability, I have not faced any performance issues with Aruba; it functions very well.
Presale Network Security at a consumer goods company with 1-10 employees
The stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches in my environment is somewhat problematic: legacy Cisco Catalyst Switches, even though they have licenses and support, present many hardware-related issues, such as interfaces going down very repeatedly, SFP modules failing in most cases, and hardware ports becoming faulty.
Network Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
What you tell it to do is exactly what it does.
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.
Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Instant On Switches need better pricing, scalability, feature set, user documentation, and improved management and configuration tools.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are noted for performance but face criticism for high pricing, complex licensing, and user interface limitations.
Aruba Instant On Switches could be improved by utilizing more AI features.
Engagement Manager at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
If they can apply more security features to Aruba Instant On Switches, such as network access control including ClearPass, then that would be great.
Presale Network Security at a consumer goods company with 1-10 employees
Cisco should provide some level of software that I can bring on-premise where I can add all my Catalyst switches for central management.
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Currently, I don't see much AI integration with Cisco Catalyst Switches; though they've started, it still needs improvement.
Unit Nos at Orange
It is the highest cost in the market.
Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Instant On Switches offer competitive pricing and inclusive licensing, praised for cost-effectiveness and compatibility with existing Aruba solutions.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are costly but valued for reliability and support, with competition from Juniper and Huawei for affordability.
Economically, its price is acceptable for us.
System Engineer at University of Kelaniya
The pricing was good because they do not nickel and dime on costs.
Engagement Manager at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
Product Manager at Uop Ipl
Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.
Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors.
Unit Nos at Orange
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Instant On Switches offer easy setup, cost-effective scalability, and advanced network features for SMBs and SOHOs.
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide reliable performance, excellent security, scalability, and ease of management, ideal for high-demand enterprise environments.
The first valuable aspect of Aruba Instant On Switches is the price because it is affordable, and it is easy to deploy and not complicated regarding licensing because when you purchase it once, you can enjoy it for more than five years or lifetime.
Presale Network Security at a consumer goods company with 1-10 employees
The best features of Aruba Instant On Switches include the ability to remotely monitor the access points and any troubles on the network.
Engagement Manager at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance.
Product Manager at Uop Ipl
With Meraki access points, I do not have to have a wireless controller for them. I can configure the wireless device directly from the switch, making the setup cleaner, and that is a major reason for my preference.
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide high performance and security features that stand out in my daily work, where they handle a high volume of traffic with low latency, making them suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications, web applications, VoIP applications, video streaming, and major data center workloads.
Network Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Instant On Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
32
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 Aruba Instant On Switches is 6.6%, down from 10.2% 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%
Aruba Instant On Switches6.6%
Other74.9%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MI
System Engineer at University of Kelaniya
Solution offers straightforward management and compatibility, though user support needs direct access improvement
Sometimes some features are not available. For example, the network discovery protocol, LLDP, is not available on some of the switches. When we look at the CLI management, we are considering Cisco, and we are familiar with the Cisco commands. In that case, at the command level, Cisco is much better than Aruba Instant On Switches. Considering the configuration and the CLI level and some of the features, Cisco has better offerings than Aruba Instant On Switches. There are Netgear and some other low-cost switches, but the quality of those is not aligned with our organization's requirements. Overall, I rate Aruba Instant On Switches a seven out of ten.
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Marketing Services Firm
6%
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 Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business81
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise79
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Switches?
The solution has a simple deployment and zero border.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Switches?
The pricing was good because they do not nickel and dime on costs.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Switches?
Aruba Instant On Switches could be improved by utilizing more AI features. They are starting to use some AI capabilities, though I haven't kept up with developments since I left.
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

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switches
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

KEMET, Vestavia Hills City Schools, Dropbox
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 Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
892,678 professionals have used our research since 2012.