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Cisco Enterprise Routers vs Juniper MX Series Routers vs MikroTik Routers and Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 15.0%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper MX Series Routers is 13.5%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 20.3%, down from 25.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Enterprise Routers15.0%
MikroTik Routers and Switches20.3%
Juniper MX Series Routers13.5%
Other51.2%
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2759889 - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre-Sales Technical Specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Has supported robust enterprise deployments and management while pricing and market reach for advanced features need attention
I'm not sure what improvements could be made on the configuration scale since I'm not involved in complete configuration. Currently, it works effectively and they are incorporating AI adoption. Commercially and financially, the pricing is too high. Customers feel that Cisco Enterprise Routers will not offer the most competitive prices. If they can work on pricing, it would be easier for customers who are considering local products. In India, the government has implemented the Make in India initiative, and Cisco has established a manufacturing unit there. Regarding security products, they need to improve market reach, marketing, and training. While Cisco Enterprise Routers are user-friendly for network and wireless platforms, security product configuration and integration are considered complex compared to FortiGate, Check Point, Sophos, and Palo Alto. They have introduced solutions such as Cloud Defense Orchestrator and Firewall Manager (FMC), but the reach of Cisco security products in India needs improvement.
Atul Torne - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Backbone Architect at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Routing has supported carrier-grade services and has needed more affordable security options
The features of Juniper MX Series Routers that I find most useful are its nice scalability, redundant power supply, and routing engines. Redundancy is maintained in the router itself, including power redundancy and routing engine redundancy. The routers run mostly all the protocols required for the managed service provider, and security-wise, they also have good features, allowing us to provide IPSec VPN services from the routers. These are the basic, mostly used features that we are utilizing. For Deep Packet Inspection, Juniper MX Series Routers have firewall filters and commands related to routing engine protection, and then packet inspection features are configured. In traffic management with Juniper MX Series Routers, I leverage the policer, shapers, and quality of service parameters for traffic management. I also use OSPF traffic engineering features and MPLS-TE; these are a few features that I employ for traffic management.
Rivka Alexander - PeerSpot reviewer
Content Specialist at PeerSpot
Routers and switches enhance network security and adaptability
We use MikroTik Routers and Switches for IT business, software development, networking, and tower infrastructure, although some areas are still in progress MikroTik Routers and Switches are some of the best routers around, security-wise, followed by Cisco. They are very accommodating with their…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The feature that I have found most valuable is its ability to implement layer three protocols and layer two protocols like OSPS in BSS and BSC environments, with the Nexus Cisco 7000."
"We get a good ROI from this solution because the failure rate is very low, which means customers are happy with the lack of maintenance required."
"My advice for anybody who is considering this product is that it is very easy to use, and there is a large community to support you."
"It is issue-free."
"I haven't assessed it in that way, they provided us with excellent service. We had very few issues."
"Using Cisco is the way to go. The peace of mind you get from having a solution that's reliable is invaluable."
"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."
"The support is very perfect and they are very helpful."
"The product is easy to use."
"Once we buy an MX204, we don't have issues with it; we have never had to replace an MX204 on the network."
"Juniper MX Series Routers are easy to configure and easy to back up."
"The solution's main features are its security and ease of use."
"The solution is pretty easy to set up after a bit of training."
"It offers high protection and I like it."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper MX Series Routers is its exceptional policy management capabilities."
"Juniper Enterprise Routers is very flexible."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches are stable"
"This solution is easy to configure and it's very flexible."
"One thing I can say for the product is that it has been stable."
"The stability of the solution is great."
"For a small business, MikroTik is good but if you grow, then MikroTik cannot support it."
"We have not had any downtime with it. It has been a solid performer that way."
"The most valuable feature is its bandwidth management ability."
"We have found this solution is quite robust and there are a lot of features in a small device."
 

Cons

"I would like it if Cisco Routers had a longer lifecycle. One model should be available for at least five years."
"It can be very expensive, sometimes, to do the jump to the next router for your needs."
"The installation process should be simplified, since it is quite complex in a new version."
"Recently, there seems to be a lot of people who are leaning towards Juniper CLI, which is easier to pick up."
"The product's pricing is an area that is too fuzzy to deal with, in my opinion, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The security could improve for Cisco Enterprise Routers. I understand there's a security appliance that is separate, but in terms of the router, there can be improvements made to prevent unwanted users from accessing the router or trying to manipulate the traffic that is passing through it."
"I think that it would be better if they can create menus and instructions in the Ukrainian language."
"They need to improve cost efficiency."
"Most IT equipment now has graphical interfaces, and there is a need for the Juniper routers to have a more intuitive web interface."
"The integration could be better. It was a difficult configuration with integration with other systems."
"The solution could improve reliability and it needs more functions."
"The web interface can be improved."
"The only thing that might need improvement would be the occasional downtime."
"The security features could be better."
"It is not scalable, unfortunately."
"The price of this solution should be improved."
"In the Israeli market, we are in need of Hebrew support."
"It would be very good if these products are accessible via different kinds of shells and GUI. It will make these solutions very usable."
"They can improve the way the user interface is laid out. Their user interface is slightly geeky."
"The stability is poor because it's dropping packets."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches needs to improve stability."
"I don't like the product's performance."
"The ports could be improved, as certain areas may need to be terminated with a greater number of Ethernet ports. We initially faced challenges that hindered our network usage, especially with third-party applications that were not certified or supported. It took some time to streamline and resolve these issues."
"Sometimes, when I need to reboot or change software, MikroTik crashes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Switches are an expensive product in India. Linksys products are cheaper than Cisco Switches."
"We are on a three-year license and since we use the solution in an educational institute it is priced reasonably."
"I have found the price to be expensive for the solution."
"The price should be reduced."
"It's not a fair price, it's a bit too high."
"The price of this solution is high."
"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."
"There is a license required for the use of this solution."
"$300 to $400 is the hardware cost and for licensing cost, it may be around, for support and all, $100 per year."
"I would rate the pricing model a seven out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. It is not cheap."
"The prices for Juniper MX Series Routers are reasonable."
"There is a license for this solution and the price is very competitive. The cost is less expensive than some competitors, such as Cisco. There are additional costs for support licenses."
"The solution is more expensive compared to other solutions."
"I would rate it around a three. While I'm not deeply involved in pricing discussions, I believe it is comparatively more affordable than Cisco."
"The price of this solution is better than other competitors, such as Cisco. We receive a lot of discounts which make the price less expensive and attractive."
"We have to pay for the device and licensing. The support service requires additional costs."
"Pricing is not an issue."
"In our company, we are using MikroTik without a license...However, we are planning to buy their services and subscriptions."
"The pricing of the solution is significantly lower than other solutions. There are no additional costs involved."
"The pricing is very reasonable and is one of the main selling points for MikroTik devices."
"It's reasonably priced. It's not the most cheap solution, but also, it's not the most expensive one."
"There is no licensing fee in addition to the hardware, but we do pay an annual fee for support."
"MikroTik has very aggressive and competitive pricing."
"The price is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business46
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise9
 

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. Th...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers?
It is expensive, but I am not the person purchasing the products; I just handle the configuration.
What needs improvement with Cisco Enterprise Routers?
We do not have any impact for Cisco exactly in protecting sensitive information. The only concern we have across all ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper MX Series Routers?
In terms of pricing, I would rate it comparatively affordable; compared to Cisco, it is quite affordable, and I belie...
What needs improvement with Juniper MX Series Routers?
In my opinion, to improve Juniper MX Series Routers, Juniper should make the MS-MIC card required for IPSec support m...
What is your primary use case for Juniper MX Series Routers?
My use case for Juniper MX Series Routers primarily involves using it as a provider edge router, P router, provider r...
Which are better - Ubiquiti UniFi switches or MikroTik routers and switches?
Ubiquiti Unifi is a great solution. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and doesn’t require a learni...
What do you like most about MikroTik Routers and Switches?
The price is a big factor. They are very affordable, and the quality is high.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MikroTik Routers and Switches?
MikroTik Routers and Switches are expensive, but they are the best products in terms of quality. From my knowledge, t...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Juniper Enterprise Routers, MX Series, Junos Address Aware
No data available
 

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
AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, Atlantech Online, Availity, Baloise Insurance, Black Lotus, CATV, Blue Box
ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, MikroTik, Huawei and others in Routers. Updated: March 2026.
885,837 professionals have used our research since 2012.