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Cisco Enterprise Routers vs HPE Enterprise Routers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

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 Routers
Ranking in Routers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Enterprise Routers
Ranking in Routers
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 19.5%, down from 25.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Enterprise Routers is 4.7%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

Hafiz Umar Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows us to configure NAS through Cisco activities and to create GRE channels with different sites
You cannot configure internet policies or other options on Cisco routers. If you have a very limited budget, you can't afford two different pieces of equipment, and you can't afford yearly licensing. I would like Cisco to launch a small business router that has firewall capabilities as well. It would be a great initiative for small businesses. I would like to see two additional features: a remote access VPN with the MFA, multifactor authentication capabilities. At the moment, the ISR series only supports MFA, but not every company likes to use that tool. I think Cisco needs to consider MFA for the remote access VPN and should incorporate other MFA solutions as well. I would also like there to be some firewall features included in the routers. I'm not talking about a full-fledged firewall feature, but a limited set of features that can be used on the small and medium-sized enterprise level. These two features would be a great initiative. I would also like to recommend the licensing feature. Previously, the Cisco licensing model was either a perpetual or annual smart license. Now, Cisco has totally shifted over to the smart licensing feature, and perpetual licenses are about to be eliminated from Cisco. The licensing feature is a bit costly if we compare it to other vendors. The licensing features of the F5 are perpetual, but the support has periodic renewal. The license to use Cisco features like a firewall or the routers are actually yearly based and not perpetual. The lead times are extremely high. Normally, it's six to eight months initially, and they prolong it to up to one year for new device delivery by Cisco. If you say you need a brand new router, switch, or fiber from Cisco within one month, you will never get it, unless some stock is readily available with your vendor. Otherwise, it will initially take six to eight months, and then that will be prolonged to one year. This is what we're experiencing with our clients right now.
Chi-Zhang - PeerSpot reviewer
Has excellent scalability and is cost-effective compared to its competitors
The solution is reasonably priced and easy to configure. By collaborating with Aruba, they have integrated more products to streamline the porting process. Our project team comprises two or three network engineers for regular maintenance and troubleshooting. The workload is not heavy. I rate the solution as an eight and recommend it to network engineers and solution providers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The commands are easy to understand."
"The most valuable feature is the command prompt, which is very user-friendly."
"The solution has great performance."
"The main reason for using Cisco Routers is for the proprietor routing protocol that it has."
"It's not complex to deploy."
"It's a sound solution, so it's very easy to solve problems without a support contract, as mainly the problems we have related to the equipment can be solved by doing a Google search."
"This product is very easy to use."
"They offer a variety of very good features."
"It is more durable than other products in the market."
"These routers help us to provide high availability to our clusters."
"It has good scalability."
"It makes it easy to update the network technology and manage multiple deals, all without needing technical knowledge."
"Extensive support for cellular range for Wi-Fi technologies"
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"HPE routers are easier to manage than any other router I've used."
 

Cons

"The only other thing we struggled with from time to time is when we were configuring access points through a controller."
"They are pretty expensive devices."
"The initial setup can be a little bit difficult."
"I would like to see more boundaries and better performance."
"We'd like to see some better UI."
"They take too much time to reboot or restart. Whenever we hard reset them, they take time. Cisco should resolve this issue."
"The licensing structure is very convoluted, and the cost of the licenses includes a whole bunch of stuff that you'll never use."
"The solution could be more secure."
"Compatibility with other platforms could be improved."
"Its customer service could be better for older equipment models."
"The solution is expensive."
"Better management tools are needed."
"They should work on lowering their prices in Brazil to stay competitive with rivals and offer customers more affordable options."
"Technical support could be better."
"I'd like to see more security features, like support for different types of encryptions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our issues are basically currency related. The licensing is in dollars and the dollar is steadily rising. We've had an increase in the licensing fee due to the simple reason that the exchange rate is almost over 40%. That creates a major issue. If the currency devaluation doesn't stabilize, we may have to look at another solution."
"Cisco policy is to limit the features and performance through their license."
"It's not probably the best solution if you have a very limited budget, as it can become very expensive to have robust equipment."
"I have found the price to be expensive for the solution."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten and it is yearly."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are not the cheapest routers on the market, they are expensive."
"The solution is costly for small businesses."
"Cisco's prices could be cheaper."
"It is more reasonably priced than other vendors."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
24%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Media Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is ve...
What do you like most about Cisco Enterprise Routers?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that it makes it possible for users to use encryption and decryption since our company aims to achieve transparency, and without it, the other system on...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers?
I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price.
What do you like most about HPE Enterprise Routers?
It makes it easy to update the network technology and manage multiple deals, all without needing technical knowledge.
What needs improvement with HPE Enterprise Routers?
They should work on lowering their prices in Brazil to stay competitive with rivals and offer customers more affordable options.
 

Also Known As

No data available
HP Enterprise Routers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Boingo, Chartwell School, Children's Hospital of Orange County , Department of Justice, Explorer Pipeline, Linz AG, National Rugby League, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Telecom Italia, Transwestern
Transdanubian Regional Waterworks Corporation (DRV)
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. HPE Enterprise Routers and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
860,711 professionals have used our research since 2012.