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Cisco DNA Center vs Cisco Prime [EOL] comparison

Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime [EOL] are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Additionally, 89% of Cisco DNA Center users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Cisco Prime [EOL] users who would recommend it.
Cisco DNA Center
Read 42 Cisco DNA Center reviews
  • 8,314 Views
  • 4,490 Comparison Views
89% willing to recommend
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews
    91% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

    Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime are both network management solutions. Cisco DNA Center has the upper hand in terms of automation and user-friendly management, while Cisco Prime offers more detailed reporting capabilities.

    Features: Cisco DNA Center offers comprehensive visibility, advanced security features, and integrates seamlessly with Cisco's infrastructure. Its AI capabilities enhance troubleshooting and decision-making, and it provides a centralized management dashboard. Cisco Prime focuses on reliable monitoring, wireless management, and heat maps. It is known for its compatibility with older Cisco products and offers detailed reporting tools.

    Room for Improvement: Cisco DNA Center is criticized for its high cost and complex configuration. It has a steep learning curve for new users and the user interface lacks detailed task failure explanations. Cisco Prime also faces cost issues and requires better integration with third-party solutions. Transition processes for newer Cisco products and site-survey tools are challenging, hindering its integration with emerging technologies.

    Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco DNA Center offers flexible deployment across on-premises and cloud environments, while Cisco Prime is primarily on-premises. Technical support for DNA Center can be inconsistent, whereas Prime users report more consistent support experiences, though documentation needs improvement for both solutions.

    Pricing and ROI: Cisco DNA Center is often viewed as expensive for smaller businesses, with additional licensing costs for advanced features. However, it justifies its price for larger enterprises by providing significant ROI through time savings and automation. Cisco Prime, although costly, is cheaper than DNA Center, offering reasonable ROI with bundled Cisco solutions. However, its higher price compared to competitors may limit its appeal for smaller-scale deployments.

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    Network Management Applications
    August 2025
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    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 DNA Center
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.3
    Number of Reviews
    42
    Ranking in other categories
    Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (11th), Network Automation (2nd)
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Average Rating
    7.8
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.5
    Number of Reviews
    35
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
     

    Featured Reviews

    Ahmed Helmy - PeerSpot reviewer
    Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support
    We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…
    Read full review
    ZeeshanAli1 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve
    We are extremely satisfied with the reliability and robustness of Cisco Prime Infrastructure, which we have been using for many years. Compared to newer products such as DNS centers or others, it has proven to be much more stable, which is important for large-scale operations. Stability is a primary concern for us, and we are glad that Cisco Prime Infrastructure meets our expectations in that regard. Furthermore, in regards to Legacy Plus new hardware, Cisco Prime has proven to be a reliable and adaptable solution thus far. Not only can it support older hardware, but it also has the capability to handle new features with the latest updates. If we consider new solutions such as DNS Center, we may have to sacrifice some legacy features that we still rely on. We may need to continue using these legacy features for a few more years due to various reasons such as budget constraints or the site not being a high priority. However, if we switch to a new product at this stage, we may lose a lot of the monitoring and other capabilities that we have with Cisco Prime. We have a close relationship with Cisco and understand that they are not prioritizing investments in Cisco Prime as they are encouraging customers to adopt the Cisco DNA Center. This means that we don't anticipate many new features to be added to the product in the future. While we know that we will eventually have to transition to a new solution, in the meantime, we plan to do a quick refresh of our legacy products.
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "Cisco is a leading network company."
    "I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
    "It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
    "The product gives a consolidated view."
    "I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
    "It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
    "The solution helps with the management and orchestration of campaigns. It helps with visibility and analytics. I also like its SDA configuration."
    "Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."
    More Cisco DNA Center pros
    "The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."
    "It gives you the ability to upgrade switches remotely, schedule the upgrade time, perform backups, and monitor the health of all networks."
    "Has a good wireless heatmap and search management features."
    "Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."
    "As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."
    "The product's most valuable features are monitoring and configuration."
    "The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat maps."
    "The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
     

    Cons

    "The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."
    "I would like is to have a small information pointer available. It could be a plus feature that I want to implement. When I hover my mouse over the user interface, it should provide a brief explanation. It would be helpful to have it incorporated into the UI."
    "The solution's technical support is an area with which my company's clients have a problem. Cisco doesn't provide good technical support unless a user has a big account that Cisco wants to retain."
    "The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
    "The solution's integration feature can be better."
    "Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
    "From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."
    "What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
    More Cisco DNA Center cons
    "The product's pricing can be cheaper."
    "They could consider offering more flexible pricing options for their customers."
    "I rate Cisco Prime seven out of 10 for affordability. All Cisco solutions are expensive."
    "If you look at some of the wireless site-survey tools that are available in the commercial space, Cisco should include similar solutions, which would help our on-plant engineers when they're doing a site survey."
    "Cisco needs to improve Prime's monitoring tab. If any device goes down, there is a 15-second lapse before we know. It would be much better if we were alerted two or three minutes before a device is about to fail, so we can dispatch a field engineer and avoid network downtime. I would like to see a feature that allows you to access the devices directly from Prime's monitoring tab. That would make work easier for us."
    "I want the tool to improve data visibility."
    "They can also improve the management of more enterprise devices."
    "If you think about a centralized monitoring system, Cisco Prime is not good because it does not support third-party vendors like Palo Alto or FortiGate."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "Cisco DNA Center is a licensed product with multiple levels of licensing available such as basic, advanced, and essential. I don't have the exact figure, but Cisco DNA Center is costly. For example, the box has information about the essential license and costs a considerable amount of money. You need to pay extra to use advanced features in Cisco DNA Center. My company sees Cisco DNA Center as a solution that's worth the money, which is why it invested in the solution. If you want centralized management for your network, especially when upgrading it, Cisco DNA Center is perfect, but it's more suitable for a large-scale rather than a small-scale network."
    "The product is very costly."
    "The solution is expensive."
    "I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
    "Our licensing agreement is for three years."
    "The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
    "The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
    "Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
    More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice
    "You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
    "The cost is quite high."
    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    "I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
    "The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."
    "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Computer Software Company
    14%
    Manufacturing Company
    11%
    Government
    9%
    Financial Services Firm
    6%
    Computer Software Company
    15%
    Government
    13%
    Manufacturing Company
    8%
    Healthcare Company
    6%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business10
    Midsize Enterprise9
    Large Enterprise24
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business9
    Midsize Enterprise4
    Large Enterprise23
     

    Questions from the Community

    What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
    The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
    After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
    We have utilized the software-defined access (SDA) feature of Cisco DNA Center. The AI-driven needs enhancements and Integration and unification of visibility and monitoring to include other areas ...
    See all answers
    What do you like most about Cisco Prime?
    The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
    The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
    See all answers
    What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
    We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
    See all answers
     

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    Compared 5% of the time
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    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco DNA Center
    September 2025
    Cisco DNA Center reportDownload Cisco DNA Center product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    September 2025
    Cisco Prime [EOL] reportDownload Cisco Prime [EOL] product report
     

    Also Known As

    DNA Center
    Cisco Prime Infrastructure
     

    Overview

    Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

    Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

    What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?
    • Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
    • Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
    • Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
    • Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
    • Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
    • Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.
    What benefits should users consider?
    • Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
    • Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
    • Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
    • Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

    In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

    Cisco

    Cisco Prime products deliver next-generation management by supporting an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience and integrated lifecycle operations across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks.

    Cisco
     

    Sample Customers

    Information Not Available
    Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
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    Network Management Applications
    August 2025
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