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Aviatrix vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aviatrix
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (4th)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Aviatrix is designed for Software Defined Networking (SDN) and holds a mindshare of 4.8%, up 4.0% compared to last year.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Network Management Applications, holds 2.6% mindshare, up 0.0% since last year.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Bharadhwaj Bathini - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integration features for multi-cloud environments with significant challenges regarding security and support
There is room for improvement regarding enhancing its security features in response to modern cybersecurity challenges. This includes implementing advanced security measures like multi-factor authentication when connecting with various technologies and during login processes. Additionally, the user experience could be improved by offering more practical training courses, helping users understand the purpose and capabilities of Aviatrix, especially in scenarios like archiving systems. Offering temporary subscriptions to external users could boost adoption and usage. Clear communication of policies, terms, and conditions is also recommended to ensure users are well-informed about what can and cannot be done. These enhancements would provide a more user-friendly experience.
Henry Rosenstiehl - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive support and ease of implementation enhance operational efficiency
With Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I have centralized orchestration and management. The transport independence of MPLS or connectivity and internet connectivity is another excellent feature. End-to-end segmentation is also provided. I use the application-aware routing feature. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports dynamic police-based routing decisions based on application type or different performance metrics such as jitter or latency. The benefit of that feature is that it improves user experience. The principal benefit of application-aware routing is that critical applications are prioritized or routed over the best performing paths to reduce outages and service degradation. There is full visibility of applications. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation, and it supports integration with other Cisco products such as Umbrella or Snort. This feature is beneficial for the client because the information is secure. It is important that Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud. It reduces operational needs because I don't need to manage physical controller hardware, and updates and maintenance can be centralized and automated. The zero-touch provisioning feature is very important for the speed of deploying new branch locations. I can deliver the device to the branch, and it is important because simplified deployment makes the implementation start more easily since devices are auto-configured and authenticate without manual intervention.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product has greatly improved our organization by saving costs for multiple direct connections and simpler cloud configurations."
"The most valuable feature of Aviatrix is that it saves us a lot of time."
"The connections are seamless, and we can access the static clouds on the platform itself. We are also able to trace the issues. The most valuable features of the solution are security, user interface, and performance."
"Within the Aviatrix ecosystem, you could connect different clouds, and the intricacies of low-level commands and configurations were abstracted away."
"This tool resolves the overlapping of CIDR’s IP addresses in a multi-cloud environment, which is its best feature. The product also gives packet-level details on the data that has been put from one cloud to another. Currently, no other solution in the market can give this kind of detail. There is also the high VPN connectivity which gives high throughput. Internet service providers have a limitation on large migrations like 10 Gigabytes or 2 to 2.3 GBPS. However, this tool gives you a functionality where you can bundle multiple tunnels into one tunnel. Thereafter, you can transfer the data from one environment to another or from on-prem to the cloud."
"Its exceptional capability to seamlessly integrate with various cloud services makes it the preferred choice for multi-cloud deployments."
"The solution can scale. We haven't had any issues doing so."
"Cisco is an industry leader, so customers have a high level of trust with the brand more-so than with some newcomers that might have some more revolutionary solutions, but no name recognition."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a very good product."
"Overall, I rate Cisco SD-WAN as nine out of ten."
"Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented."
"I have found the performance and the Zero-Touch provisioning helpful which makes it easier for us to develop."
"There have been no issues with stability."
"The solution's application control and application traffic steering tool are its most valuable aspects in terms of how we utilize the product."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to improve the onboarding architecture."
"There could be an easy availability of multiple features in the profile."
"Aviatrix should include more integrated security features like intrusion detection and lateral movement detection."
"The tool has a very limited local presence in the GCC market. I am based in Dubai, UAE and it would be very difficult for me to reach out to US staff for technical discussion during the tool’s implementation. The tool needs to focus on the GCC market which includes UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc. There is nobody to help you out in this region."
"There is room for improvement regarding enhancing its security features in response to modern cybersecurity challenges."
"There can be a steep learning curve for users who are not familiar with it or multi-cloud networking concepts"
"The negative, or the downside of Cisco is the knowledge base; you need to be a little bit more tech-savvy and network-savvy to work with Cisco, while Juniper is a lot more user-friendly from what I can see, especially in terms of configuration and any kind of roll back."
"Customers require features that are secure for endpoints, on-premises, and for the cloud."
"Cisco SD-WAN's clustering mechanism needs to be improved. If there are more than five milliseconds of latency time between installations of the VM manager, the cluster automatically breaks down."
"The solution needs to be more flexible around legacy devices."
"The licensing model needs to be improved."
"Its license model needs to be improved. They always make the license model too complex. There are too many license models and too many options. They should have a flexible license model. They can improve a lot of things in terms of scalability, templates, and automation, mainly automation for onboarding a number of sites. If you want some new features, it can take quite a long time. If you want a feature and it is not yet developed, you need to have the support of the business units to have the feature developed. If the feature is not on their roadmap, it can take quite some time before you get the feature."
"This solution is expensive so pricing is a concern."
"Better pricing and greater security would be nice to see."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aviatrix is a pretty expensive solution."
"The tool is quite expensive."
"During the initial phase, it operates as an open-source and it's a free tool."
"It operates on a consumption-based model and the expenses depend on factors such as the number of virtual machines you use and the resources consumed."
"Cost-wise, Cisco SD-WAN is comparatively high."
"It is expensive. The license limitation is there in terms of bandwidth. Basically, Cisco is always good in terms of performance and related things. However, if you want to have a license, for example, for 100 Mbps, they charge you because of their 100 Mbps. If you want to go without the license of 300 Mbps, it is a bandwidth license as well. This is not happening with other vendors. That is the reason why we moved away from Cisco. The bill gets a little bit high. I do remember that one time we were trying to increase the bandwidth for at least five devices, and the license got as high as 20-grand for five devices, only for the license. It was expensive for us at the time. Our company is not a big company, but it is a solid company. The price was very high, and we moved away from Cisco because of the price."
"The pricing is fair, and it's on par with the market vendors. But based on the competition, Cisco could work on the pricing, go deep on discounts and provide more commercially viable solutions to customers."
"Licensing is on a subscription basis."
"We can only buy three-year licenses, not monthly. The cost seems high for us, especially since we're in Vietnam, which isn't a rich country. But we still like the product because it is good."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"You can get subscriptions for three or five years."
"The price of the solution is the only negative factor, it is much more expensive compared with the Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aviatrix?
The most valuable feature of Aviatrix is that it saves us a lot of time.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aviatrix?
Aviatrix is a pretty expensive solution. Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution and the support. You can't buy the product without support.
What needs improvement with Aviatrix?
Aviatrix should include more integrated security features like intrusion detection and lateral movement detection.
What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco can improve Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN by simplifying licensing and platform integration with other Cisco products such as Catalyst Center or solutions with Meraki. A license needs to be permanent...
 

Also Known As

Aviatrix Enterprise Contract
Cisco SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hyatt, Robert Half, GREE
Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, TP-Link, Aviatrix and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: July 2025.
864,155 professionals have used our research since 2012.