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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

"They have a good lifespan and they are easily managed."
"Its routers are versatile, reliable, and capable."
"It's not complex to deploy."
"I have found the most valuable feature of Cisco Enterprise Routers to be the simplicity of the command-line interface, it is very intuitive as to how the commands need to be configured for a specific use case."
"This product is easy to use."
"I am satisfied with the tool overall. Although I haven't used all of its features yet, it's been great for providing internet access to both customers, and employees within the company."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is performance."
"The most valuable features are that it is more secure and easy to operate."
"HPE routers are easier to manage than any other router I've used."
"Extensive support for cellular range for Wi-Fi technologies"
"It makes it easy to update the network technology and manage multiple deals, all without needing technical knowledge."
"These routers help us to provide high availability to our clusters."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"It has good scalability."
"It is more durable than other products in the market."
 

Cons

"I would like to see the setup time reduced."
"I would like to see more boundaries and better performance."
"It would be better if Cisco Enterprise Routers were more secure."
"I would like it if Cisco Routers had a longer lifecycle. That's what we need. We don't want to renew or implement a new model. One model should be available for at least five years. This seems impossible nowadays."
"Their software-defined paradigm requires significant improvement."
"The solution's cloud management capabilities could be better."
"Some of our customers have asked that this solution have a 10G connection."
"If Cisco can give you one license and allow you to use all the features, that would be the best thing. We are using it only as a voice gateway, and there are other options available, but we need to procure licenses to use those options. We can use it as a security device, or we can use it for connecting the LAN side, but for that, we need all those licenses. They can provide one license and allow you to use all the features. This is my recommendation for Cisco."
"The solution is expensive."
"They should work on lowering their prices in Brazil to stay competitive with rivals and offer customers more affordable options."
"Compatibility with other platforms could be improved."
"Its customer service could be better for older equipment models."
"I'd like to see more security features, like support for different types of encryptions."
"Better management tools are needed."
"Technical support could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco routers are very pricey."
"Cisco is mid-tier in terms of pricing and quite affordable by most enterprises."
"The licensing policy can sometimes be very complicated."
"The pricing of Cisco routers is reasonable at times. But, here in my country, it is expensive because we get the product from outside our country, which involves a lot of processes...Only owing to the features it provides, it is reasonable."
"I am happy with the price of Cisco Enterprise Routers"
"Cisco routers are an expensive product."
"This solution is expensive compared to competitors. There are additional costs if you want to have their support."
"It's not probably the best solution if you have a very limited budget, as it can become very expensive to have robust equipment."
"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
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
25%
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.
860,825 professionals have used our research since 2012.