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Cisco DNA Center vs NetCrunch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 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 DNA Center
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
NetCrunch
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
79th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (27th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (65th), Log Management (55th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 0.9%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetCrunch is 0.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco DNA Center0.9%
NetCrunch0.6%
Other98.5%
Network Monitoring Software
 

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.
it_user1038504 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Systems Administrator, Technical Lead at Connectivity Wireless
A network monitoring platform with a useful reporting feature, but permission-based options could be better
The initial setup is fairly easy. Most of it's wizard-based. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to set it up. But if you don't know certain things related to protocols and everything else, it might be difficult. If you know how SNMP works, it'll be fairly simple to set up.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"It is a stable solution."
"People like to use the dashboards to get an overview of their network."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"What's most valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the ability to manage any Cisco infrastructure and device through it. Setup was straightforward."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"Reporting on NetCrunch is pretty good. It's very similar to SolarWinds. It's just a different interface. The majority of everything there was beneficial."
 

Cons

"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."
"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."
"Technical support could be better. The price could be better, and it could be more stable."
"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"I didn't care for the role-based, permission-based options, which were not the best."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very costly."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"The solution is expensive."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"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."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Educational Organization
10%
Agriculture
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
No data available
 

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.
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?
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...
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Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
AER Kooperation, AON Corpration, Advance Financial services, Airbus SAS, Bauer Net consult, Banco Soal, Bertelsmann, Burke County public, COF training services
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. NetCrunch and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.