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Cisco DNA Center vs ExtremeCloud IQ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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
4.7
Cisco DNA Center enhances time efficiency despite high costs and complex licensing, yielding high return on investment ratings.
Sentiment score
6.4
ExtremeCloud IQ boosts productivity, reduces costs, enhances stability, and offers centralized network management with minimal expertise required.
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
I managed to support and deploy ExtremeCloud IQ and handle network management without requiring external staffing, thus saving on external hiring costs.
Technical Coordinator at Yildiz Technical University
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Cisco DNA Center's customer service is generally helpful, but inconsistency and delays in technical support are frequently noted.
Sentiment score
7.9
ExtremeCloud IQ's customer service is highly rated for responsiveness, but some users desire more experienced initial support.
I would rate Cisco support easily at nine out of ten.
Cloud Infrastructure Architect at POST Luxembourg
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
The support for Cisco DNA Center is good.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
GTAC receives a score of ten out of ten.
Ingeniero De Preventa at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
totally satisfied with the quality of support
Management Board Member And Network Engineer at NewLogics
I experienced effective help mainly remotely, though for some issues, a technical person had to assist on-site.
Technical Coordinator at Yildiz Technical University
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco DNA Center is scalable and efficient for large networks but may face limitations with IPv6 support and costs.
Sentiment score
7.8
ExtremeCloud IQ efficiently scales large networks without issues, featuring flexible pricing and automatic adjustments for high-density areas.
From my experience, we can easily manage numerous devices.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Users generally rate Cisco DNA Center highly for stability, with minor issues often resolved effectively by Cisco support.
Sentiment score
7.4
ExtremeCloud IQ is stable, with occasional issues quickly resolved; users appreciate ongoing updates enhancing reliability and performance.
When we communicate problems, they solve them effectively.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
It requires some time to update, which affects real-time management.
Technical Coordinator at Yildiz Technical University
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco DNA Center needs integration, UI, security, and support improvements, with high pricing, complex deployment, and feature parity desired.
ExtremeCloud IQ faces challenges with setup complexity, support, feature gaps, integration issues, pricing, and advanced feature limitations.
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
The deployment part is definitely an area for improvement.
Cloud Infrastructure Architect at POST Luxembourg
The client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
Improving documentation with more detailed videos and resources would be beneficial.
Technical Coordinator at Yildiz Technical University
This needs a huge improvement for the latency and for the updates.
Management Board Member And Network Engineer at NewLogics
This integration aids in resolving problems and issues found in the network and enhances support with the GTAC team of Extreme Networks.
Ingeniero De Preventa at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco DNA Center is costly, suited for large enterprises, with advanced features requiring extra fees, and challenging for SMBs.
ExtremeCloud IQ pricing ranges from $400-$1200 per AP, with mixed opinions on cost, value, and licensing renewals.
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period.
Technical Coordinator at Yildiz Technical University
 

Valuable Features

Cisco DNA Center provides centralized management, automation, AI-based insights, and security, enhancing network operations with scalable automation and comprehensive visibility.
ExtremeCloud IQ provides scalable, reliable cloud management with automation, security, and AI analytics, eliminating on-site controller needs.
If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
For networking and access points, it acts as a controller in a cloud environment, eliminating the need for an appliance controller or wireless LAN controller, thus saving on investment and reducing TCO costs.
Ingeniero De Preventa at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
I have a single license that includes everything: the support, the package of location-based solutions, the analytics, the AI features, everything with just one license.
Management Board Member And Network Engineer at NewLogics
The automation and information provided by ExtremeCloud IQ, such as connection status and logs, were very beneficial.
Technical Coordinator at Yildiz Technical University
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (19th), Network Automation (2nd)
ExtremeCloud IQ
Ranking in Network Management Applications
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (10th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 8.2%, down from 23.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeCloud IQ is 2.8%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center8.2%
ExtremeCloud IQ2.8%
Other89.0%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
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.
Wael Awni - PeerSpot reviewer
Management Board Member And Network Engineer at NewLogics
Unified licensing and AI-driven control have simplified multi-site management and boosted automation
There is a little bit of delay for the analytics in ExtremeCloud IQ, but it is acceptable. The response time in ExtremeCloud IQ is a little slow. The system response time is slow, and the updates on the system, such as the updates for the analytics or for the location-based services, are slow. For example, if I want to update the location-based solution, it takes about one minute to update my location. This is too much time. It's not an accurate location over one minute. They should enhance the response of the system part of location-based services, such as Extreme LPS or Extreme Location Essentials. This needs a huge improvement for the latency and for the updates.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business46
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The deployment of Cisco DNA Center was complex due to the fact that on the data center side, we have a Juniper infrastructure, which created some complexity, though not significant. The deployment ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco DNA Center?
In my organization, we currently have some Cisco devices such as access switches, and we also have infrastructure, but that is not part of our responsibility. We do not manage that infrastructure. ...
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...
What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeCloud IQ?
The automated provisioning and zero-touch provisioning in ExtremeCloud IQ help with the deployment of mass products. For example, when I'm going to add 200 CCTV cameras to the network and they are ...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. ExtremeCloud IQ and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
906,418 professionals have used our research since 2012.