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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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 Catalyst Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 4.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 2.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches4.6%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch2.0%
Other93.4%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable."
"It was very easy to install."
"It is a nice product for enterprises and small businesses."
"Since Cisco Catalyst Switches don't go online, they are secured."
"I have found that the protocols that Cisco Catalyst Switches support are beneficial for my customers."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance."
"The solution is stable."
"We don't have any issues with the stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches."
"Regarding security and visibility in monitoring, it is very good, the GUI is very intuitive, and it has many more features than those from major vendors."
"The GUI is easy to use."
"The solution works very well for us; the performance has been good and it's been stable for now."
"The technical support for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is superb."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
"Familiar RouterOS support, port isolation, flexible VLAN handling (tagging, untagging, rewriting, etc.)."
"This product is easy to configure."
"The initial setup is easy."
 

Cons

"The delivery dates need to be more expedient."
"The device age becomes an issue. For example, with the 2960 version, they're not supporting that one anymore."
"The product is expensive."
"At first glance this switch looks exactly like an Ethernet switch, I would recommend that there be verbage in the documentation on exactly what gbit connectors are required."
"The pricing could be better. Cisco is quite expensive."
"The biggest issue we are having is with bugs and memory loss, which occurs when developing the IOS."
"The product must provide a better central tool for management."
"In a future upgrade, I would like to see integrated wireless in the solution."
"The user interface could improve and they should allow a license for IBS."
"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch needs improvement in the area of security, although the recent models are addressing this."
"MikroTik needs to add some features like IPS, mail security, or antivirus, et cetera."
"The area for improvement is security. MikroTik is mostly used by medium and small businesses, so the security is not as robust as Cisco."
"Improvements are needed with respect to some of the security, especially for VPN links between vendors other than Cisco."
"Technical support needs to be faster and more knowledgeable."
"This product is not recommended for enterprise-level projects."
"Stuff that I'd like to be improved is really just training and documentation because I think the feature set is full. Another improvement I'd suggest is that their new, bigger releases should be a bit more stable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is in an affordable range and everything is included."
"The price of this solution could be reduced, it is expensive and I am using an annual license."
"The price of this solution is reasonable."
"I would rate the features-to-pricing ratio at six out of 10. My advice about licensing is that you should have a perpetual license, not one that is subscription-based."
"We must pay a high price for the product."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is an affordable solution."
"Pricing could be better."
"The prices of Cisco devices are too high."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"The price is competitive."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise85
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was not all good. Licensing is quite a nightmare in the Cisco world, and I wish we had simplified licensing.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Regarding the impression of end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco, I would love to have more visibility. What I want to see in the future regarding Cisco Catalyst Switches is more integrations bet...
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
What is your primary use case for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I mostly work with network equipment now, focusing mainly on routers. I work with FortiGates and MikroTik routers. When referring to FortiGate routers, I mean the firewalls, but not the enterprise-...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.