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Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization vs VMware NSX comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 Enterprise Network Fu...
Ranking in Network Virtualization
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Ranking in Network Virtualization
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (8th), Network Automation (5th), Microsegmentation Software (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Network Virtualization category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is 9.3%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 27.3%, down from 37.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware NSX27.3%
Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization9.3%
Other63.4%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Majdi Sabbah - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant Sales Engineer at BT Al-Saudia
Versatile, offering flexibility and scalability
I rely on Cisco Enterprise NFV for various sectors like government, campuses, and hospitality. It is a crucial foundational layer that is mandatory before delivering other services The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard. It is easy to use and covers everything in one…
Mahesh Bhadoriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Manager at Allianz Cloud Private Limited
Micro segmentation has strengthened zero trust security and isolates production from test environments
The advantages of VMware NSX include its micro-segmentation for internal security at the firewall and VM levels, which is very powerful and helps us comply with complete Zero Trust security models. We are able to achieve this and configure network level virtualization with no dependency on VLANs. Micro-segmentation helps improve our security significantly. We are not totally dependent upon our physical upfront firewall, and it makes sense to configure everything using VMware NSX, leading to multiple improvements in our organization. We moved from traditional networking such as VLANs from the firewall and switches to VMware NSX segmentation. We achieve one firewall per VLAN and can stop lateral movement such as ransomware control. The Zero Trust model is the main functionality and architecture it offers, allowing application isolation, such as having a separate production and test environment. Consistent networking and security policies across different environments have a major and very positive impact on our business operations, allowing us to achieve the security posture we want with compliance and regulations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Scalability is not a problem."
"The support system that they have in place is very good and they are easy to reach."
"Network Security is one of the most valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
"Overall, I feel that this is a good product and I recommend it."
"It is easy to manage, easy to maintain, and stable, and if you set up everything alright, it will give years without any issues."
"The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard."
"Cisco is in our portfolio, which is one of the reasons that we keep working with them."
"Routing, switching, and wireless network security are the valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
"VMware NSX is a great product for network virtualization, and it's great for enhancing security at the virtual machine level."
"One significant advantage of VMware NSX is the ability to provide advanced security at the micro-level, focusing on securing applications and workloads rather than just the network structure or virtualization-based network security."
"The alert features are the most valuable."
"They have a lot of support and specialists who can meet with the customer."
"Consistent networking and security policies across different environments have a major and very positive impact on our business operations, allowing us to achieve the security posture we want with compliance and regulations."
"Every time my coworker talks to customer support, they're easy to get a hold of, very knowledgeable, and they solve his issues right away."
"It's totally stable, because right now it's running version 6.3."
"Visibility, because on our environment, it's impossible mapping end to end, and we don't have any tools that provide this integration."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful if they offered modularized upgrades, such as additional memory or a faster processor."
"I would like to see the principle scan introduce more models, to help with scalability issues."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing compatibility with other solutions and vendors."
"This is a software solution, which is less stable than a hardware solution by definition."
"One of the things that can be improved is trimming all mobile numbers so that it aids in swiftly acquiring information for tablets or any necessary solution."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say the cost. The SDN hardware especially is much too expensive, specifically 799 and 9000, which act like a spine and those spines are connecting to the leaves."
"The solution's orchestration part could be improved."
"One aspect that needs improvement is the need for further automation."
"The integration with other brands is not the best and could be better."
"The training costs a minimum of $3,000, which is expensive and should be reduced."
"There were some issues with finance and other accounting."
"They have to work more and more on the integration for public cloud services and have cyber security platform integration."
"The solution could improve by having a more streamlined setup."
"I have concerns on the stability of VMware NSX, because it breaks multiple times in customer environments, especially when you scale it across a big data center."
"I have no complaints regarding the user interface or any technical issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is an expensive solution."
"There is a separate charge for support."
"I was not involved in the purchase of the solution but I hear it is on the expensive side."
"The solution is very expensive."
"The licensing fees are expensive and we pay on a yearly basis."
"You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up."
"We haven't had to hire a dedicated network engineer because NSX handles 90 percent of it. The reduced overhead in terms of managing networks has been the biggest plus."
"The tool's pricing is reasonable."
"The licensing is renewed every three years. The cost for implementation and renovation are a huge portion of that price."
"I'm unable to give information on the pricing or licensing cost of VMware NSX because I've never been someone who looks into the economic part of any security or virtualization solutions. That's handled by an entirely different team, and I don't even have the slightest idea about the costs associated with the solution, though I've heard pricing for VMware NSX is on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise70
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness in reducing operational complexity, I measure it to be high on the...
 

Also Known As

Cisco NFV
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.