Cisco APIC-EM [EOL] vs VMware NSX comparison

Cisco and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Virtualization category. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Cisco APIC-EM [EOL]

Read 1 Cisco APIC-EM [EOL] review

100% willing to recommend

VMware NSX

Read 106 VMware NSX reviews

7,473 Views
448 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Cisco APIC-EM [EOL]

VMware NSX

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco APIC-EM [EOL] and VMware NSX based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Broadcom, Array Networks and others in Network Virtualization.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Virtualization Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Network Virtualization

February 2026

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Helped 881,733 peers since 2012

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

Cisco APIC-EM [EOL]

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware NSX

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (7th), Network Automation (3rd), Microsegmentation Software (1st)

Featured Reviews

it_user817026

Sr. IT & Business Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Enabling business agility and accelerated time to market with the automated service delivery

Infrastructure as a Service for managed services and other customers, including computing, storage, and networking Business agility and accelerated service delivery Automated processes/workflow automation Better manageability Eliminating the IT administration silos for our datacenter and…

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TAIYAB HASAN

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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Eliminating the IT administration silos for our datacenter and infrastructure by providing a single managed and converged infrastructure which provides unified compute, storage, and networking environment with a single point of management."

"The environment enables a DevOps culture, continuous delivery, and automated processes."

"Enabling business agility and accelerated time to market with the automated service delivery."

"From a security standpoint, the customer was able to better secure critical workloads while routing L2/L3 worked normally, giving them more confidence that they would be ready for any potential security incident mitigation or outage (DR)."

"Provides protection for virtual machines."

"One of the big improvements between the NSX-V and NSX-T is that in NSX-T you are no longer dependent on V-Center anymore."

"The alert features are the most valuable."

"The Distributed firewall is simple to add to the network and rules are easy to implement."

"It's very important for them to have small footprints and have as much services in their servers, as possible."

"They have a lot of support and specialists who can meet with the customer."

"It's what we use the CIS Benchmarks for. It's for employing hardening rules and keeping them up to date when things happen on our systems. So it's really configurations and stuff that harden and report back."

More VMware NSX pros

Cons

"Need a better workflow definition tool with tracking on existing provisioned services, and to improve multitasking in the workflow automation."

"The initial setup for VMware NSX is a bit complex; it's not as simple as it could be."

"It still needs to grow. There are still some features that it doesn't do, like it doesn't do multicasting."

"The price is rather high."

"There are always issues integrating with Cisco."

"It was stable for one year, there was no impact. In the last two months, we had two big incidents."

"The solution is complex but for the key user, it's not really complex. You just need to learn the standards and mechanics for your specific product."

"We would to have a reverse proxy. This would add great value to the solution."

"The solution can improve by making it more straightforward, easier to install and maintain in the environment."

More VMware NSX cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"This solution requires a licence."

"VMware NSX is a cheaper product compared to its competitor, Cisco."

"The subscription is on a yearly basis."

"VMware NSX isn't cheap."

"The solution is free and the price for the support can be expensive."

"The solution is very expensive."

"VMware has always been geared towards enterprise and their pricing options are a bit high. Their price is higher than other options in the market."

"The price is pretty high."

More VMware NSX pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	69

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware NSX?

The product has valuable features for security and network extension.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 100% of the time

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Compared 15% of the time

Illumio vs VMware NSX

Compared 14% of the time

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs VMware NSX

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Secure Workload vs VMware NSX

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco ACI vs VMware NSX

Compared 5% of the time

More VMware NSX Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Virtualization

February 2026

Download Cisco APIC-EM [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware NSX

January 2026

Download VMware NSX product report

Also Known As

Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module

VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender

Overview

APIC-EM is a central part of Cisco Digital Network Architecture. It delivers software-defined networking to the enterprise branch, campus, and WAN. Its simple user interface lets you automate policy-based application profiles. With this module, IT can respond rapidly to new business opportunities.

Cisco

VMware NSX is a comprehensive tool for network virtualization and security, offering advanced features like micro-segmentation and multi-cloud networking to enhance scalability and management efficiency within enterprises.

VMware NSX revolutionizes enterprise networking by integrating security and scalability into one streamlined platform. With capabilities like dynamic policy updates and automation, it simplifies complex configurations and provides robust API integration. Its support for Layer 4 and 7 load balancing, along with its seamless integration in multi-cloud environments, makes it a preferred choice among companies. Although deployment speed and management console features require refinement, NSX is an effective solution for private cloud and hybrid environments, enabling centralized orchestration and management of complex networks.

What are the key features of VMware NSX?

Micro-segmentation: Provides secure, granular network segmentation for enhanced security.
Distributed Firewall: Offers policy-driven firewall capabilities across all network endpoints.
Automation: Enables dynamic policy updates and simplifies network configurations.
API Integration: Facilitates seamless third-party integrations and improves configuration processes.
Multi-Cloud Networking: Supports seamless integration across various cloud environments.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Offers significant improvements in network scalability and management efficiency.
Security: Ensures enhanced security through advanced features like micro-segmentation.
Cost-Effectiveness: Potential to reduce costs through network automation and efficiency improvements.
Flexibility: Supports various enterprise requirements with its comprehensive feature set.

In the tech industry, VMware NSX is instrumental in managing private and hybrid cloud environments, allowing companies to replace traditional networking with software-defined networks. In finance, it helps secure transactional data through micro-segmentation. Healthcare organizations leverage its flexibility for managing sensitive patient information securely and integrating cloud services.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Network Virtualization

February 2026

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