Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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, 90% 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 43 Cisco DNA Center reviews
  • 7,884 Views
  • 4,257 Comparison Views
90% willing to recommend
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews
    91% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

    Download the report
    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.

    DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
    To learn more, read our detailed Network Management Applications Report (Updated: October 2025).
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    October 2025
    Download the complete report
    Helped 872,778 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 DNA Center
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.2
    Number of Reviews
    43
    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

    Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
    Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
    I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
    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

    "The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
    "It is a stable solution."
    "Application Assurance works very well."
    "Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
    "It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
    "It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
    "I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
    "I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."
    More Cisco DNA Center pros
    "The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."
    "Cisco Prime, from a management perspective, has good reporting."
    "The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
    "Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."
    "The installation is easy."
    "The most valuable is the assistance for network support."
    "The solution provides data that allows us to time travel through logs and perform remote operations or troubleshooting."
    "I have found the solution to be scalable."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
     

    Cons

    "The product has many features that do not work properly."
    "In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days."
    "The cost is very high."
    "They should include UTM features in the product."
    "The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
    "The solution can be quite pricey."
    "The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."
    "There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."
    More Cisco DNA Center cons
    "The product needs to improve its interface and reporting."
    "Cisco Prime could improve the graphical user interface."
    "The product needs to improve its stability."
    "Cisco Prime could improve the notifications in the system. Having more details about what is happening would be useful, such as traffic numbers or who is connected. We can see them through the firewall controller, but it would be better if you can see them from one place."
    "The overall management capabilities of Prime need to be improved."
    "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."
    "Maybe it could be a little cheaper."
    "I would love for Cisco Prime to show bandwidth usage and consumption, but I can't monitor bandwidth usage at a given time."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "Our licensing agreement is for three years."
    "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."
    "It is an expensive solution."
    "I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
    "The product is very costly."
    "The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
    "We have a three-year license with them."
    "The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
    More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice
    "The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    "Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
    "I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "The cost is quite high."
    "If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
    "I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
    "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
    report
    See which vendors are best for you
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
    See recommendations
    872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.
     

    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Computer Software Company
    14%
    Manufacturing Company
    11%
    Government
    9%
    Financial Services Firm
    6%
    Computer Software Company
    14%
    Government
    14%
    Manufacturing Company
    8%
    Healthcare Company
    7%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business10
    Midsize Enterprise9
    Large Enterprise25
    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?
    In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days. I am using it in a huge factory in Turkey, and sometimes I need to see what occ...
    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
     

    Comparisons

    Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
    Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center
    Compared 15% of the time
    Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
    Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center
    Compared 6% of the time
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center
    Compared 5% of the time
    Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
    Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Cisco DNA Center
    Compared 5% of the time
    Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
    Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center
    Compared 5% of the time
    More Cisco DNA Center Competitors
    ExtremeCloud IQ vs Cisco Prime [EOL] Logo
    ExtremeCloud IQ vs Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Compared 52% of the time
    NetMaster Network Intelligence vs Cisco Prime [EOL] Logo
    NetMaster Network Intelligence vs Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Compared 48% of the time
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] Competitors
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco DNA Center
    October 2025
    Cisco DNA Center reportDownload Cisco DNA Center product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    October 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
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    October 2025
    Download Free Report
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: October 2025.
    DOWNLOAD NOW
    872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    See our list of best Network Management Applications vendors.

    We monitor all Network Management Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.