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Cisco ACI vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 10, 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
6.4
Entities report time and cost savings with Cisco ACI, despite challenges in implementation and varied financial benefit assessments.
Sentiment score
6.4
VMware NSX enhances infrastructure efficiency, CAPEX savings, cybersecurity, and ROI, but initial costs and security effectiveness have mixed reviews.
Efficient utilization leads to cost savings and efficiency gains.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco ACI support is praised for responsiveness and resolution speed, but inconsistencies exist, especially with newer staff and regions.
Sentiment score
6.7
VMware NSX customer service is praised for efficiency and expertise, but improvements in accessibility and responsiveness are desired.
The technical support from Cisco is satisfactory.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
When issues occur, the TAC is not able to provide much support, leading to difficulties in finding RCAs.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
They were always helpful.
Senior VMware Administrator at Johnson Controls, Inc.
They are quick and understand things easily, so the support is aligned very effectively.
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Our technicians have a good support experience from the company.
Joint Staff Officer at Hellenic National Defence General Staff
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco ACI offers excellent scalability, enabling easy network expansion and integration, while supporting extensive device numbers and multi-site setups.
Sentiment score
7.7
VMware NSX is praised for its scalability, robust performance, and efficient network integration, despite some complexity in scaling.
The solution offers high performance and scalability with connectivity options up to 100 GS.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
The scalability of Cisco ACI supports our organization's growth effectively.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
Expanding your network or your data center with Cisco ACI is not an issue; scalability is a good feature.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
There is a high level of satisfaction with its ability to scale.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco ACI is stable and reliable, with resolved bugs and improved support, offering minimal downtime despite occasional minor issues.
Sentiment score
8.1
VMware NSX is highly stable, with strong performance, scalability, and frequent updates addressing most bugs and integration concerns.
For stability, Cisco ACI rates a nine or 9.5 because I've seen three customers using Cisco ACI and once deployed, the solution is very stable.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
The product performs at 99% efficiency without any showstoppers or significant issues.
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
For stability, I would rate VMware NSX as a nine out of ten.
Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ACI needs user interface, configuration, integration, and support improvements to enhance usability and scalability in hybrid environments.
VMware NSX faces challenges in costs, complexity, and user satisfaction, needing enhancements in automation, scalability, and security features.
Their lack of on-ground offices can result in business losses.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
We do not make use of its visibility and analytics features, as we are mostly using it for the networking part only.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
The initial configuration and integration within our existing environment were not easy.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing for the product is another area for improvement as I'm not satisfied nowadays.
Senior VMware Administrator at Johnson Controls, Inc.
The licensing model is expensive and could be more flexible, especially after Broadcom bought VMware.
Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ACI is costly but valuable, offering quality and support; best for large operations despite complex licensing.
VMware NSX is viewed as costly, with complex licensing and high initial costs, particularly impacting smaller organizations.
In general, Cisco ACI is on the higher side; it's not a cheap solution.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Cisco's pricing tends to be on the higher end compared to other vendors.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
The cost of VMware NSX is considered high.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
VMware NSX is a little higher in price compared to the competition.
Joint Staff Officer at Hellenic National Defence General Staff
There is room for improvement in terms of pricing.
Senior VMware Administrator at Johnson Controls, Inc.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ACI enhances data center efficiency with seamless integration, automation, scalability, micro-segmentation, robust security, and user-friendly management.
VMware NSX offers enhanced security, seamless management, and flexibility with automation, scalability, and integration for cloud and on-premises solutions.
Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Its features, like easy application deployment, short deployment time for new applications or software, and eliminating the hassle of STP, are appreciated.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
It is essential for growing our data center connectivity and enablement for our customers.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
Micro-segmentation enhances security and provides more secure data in your data center.
Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The most powerful feature of VMware NSX is the micro-segmentation that allows us to separate the different protocols our application works with.
Joint Staff Officer at Hellenic National Defence General Staff
I value the ability to dynamically configure our network on the fly using VMware NSX.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco ACI
Ranking in Network Virtualization
1st
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (2nd)
VMware NSX
Ranking in Network Virtualization
2nd
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (7th), Network Automation (3rd), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Virtualization category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 37.8%, down from 46.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 34.1%, down from 46.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Virtualization Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco ACI37.8%
VMware NSX34.1%
Other28.099999999999994%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Enables streamlined data center management with automation and application-centric design
The main features of Cisco ACI that I really appreciate are the application-centric and network-centric designs, allowing you to create your network according to your application. That's helpful, and it's good for one-time implementation. The automation capabilities are really helpful. We deployed one data center using Terraform, and after deployment, many automation features are available, which can be very helpful. Based on my experience, Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure. Many organizations are actually using the old traditional Nexus infrastructure or some old data center devices. It gives you significant control and one-time implementation capabilities, and it also provides better performance and security. Functionality-wise, Cisco ACI provides integration using automation. We implemented it through Terraform, which was easy. Those features are available, so I don't think any new features are needed right now; something new could come up, but they have implemented many improvements over the years.
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.
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Answers from the Community

MB
Works at LIMU
Nov 8, 2021
Nov 8, 2021
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch. Cisco ACI can connect with both virtualized networks and physical networks. As with many Cisco solutions, Cisco ACI has a steep learning curve. It is not user-friendly and most of our team would lik...
See 2 answers
SB
Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Jun 9, 2021
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server where APIC software runs. -VMware NSX doesn't have any physical network gear of its own, VMware NSX software runs on ESXi hosts(Any Vendor) & even NSX Bare Metal Edge runs on any Vendor hardware(check compatibility) -Cisco ACI offers both Underlay & Overlay functionality -VMware NSX is a software and it builds an Overlay tunnel for (VM/Container) communication on top of an already established IP network which can be build on hardware network gear (Cisco Legacy/ACI/Juniper etc.) -Cisco ACI: To use micro-segmentation on a VM or Container level you will need some other Cisco products -VMware NSX: Micro-segmentation can be done Out of the Box because DFW Distributed Firewall are applied on the vnic of a VM i.e. on the ESXi kernel. Being different in many manners but they still define the SDN realm with L2-L7 Network services and what you choose over the other may depend on many other factors like what network gear you already have or if its Green or Brownfield deployment. For example if your infra already have something other than Cisco 9K switches and is well configured then it will make more sense to use NSX to make use of all the SDN functionalities. This is just an example not a recommendation.
Nov 8, 2021
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch. Cisco ACI can connect with both virtualized networks and physical networks. As with many Cisco solutions, Cisco ACI has a steep learning curve. It is not user-friendly and most of our team would like to see a better GUI. It would be great if we could test upgrades in a simulation before implementing; this could save a lot of rework and downtime. The key component for us with VMware NSX is the distributed firewall. VMware NSX can segment every application and server based on the ports with which they need to communicate. We can activate the ports we need and disable the ones we don’t. This really helps to keep things very secure and makes VMware NSX very flexible. We would like to see VMware NSX integrate better with other open-source solutions; integration can be very complex leading many to simply choose not to use VMware NSX at all. We found some maximums can be very limiting, especially with very large environments. VMware can only be used with virtualized networks. Conclusion: Cisco ACI and VMware have many similar qualities and features. The fundamental difference is that Vmware NSX’s primary focus is on virtualized networks, while Cisco ACI can connect to both virtual and physical networks. Vmware NSX can provide better levels of granularity and visibility into how your workload performs and functions. Cisco ACI does not provide this. Because Cisco ACI is more robust and can handle both physical and virtual networks, Cisco ACI might be a more appropriate solution. At the end of the day, it really depends on your organization’s ecosystem and applications, features and utilities needed, and, of course, cost of implementation. You may need one of these solutions or both.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise87
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about Cisco ACI?
The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution.
What do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
What needs improvement with VMware NSX?
A basic load balancer feature was present in a previous version, but the latest version only has an advanced load balancer. The vendor should integrate a basic load balancer in future versions. The...
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco ACI vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.