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Cisco Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch 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 May 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 14.2%, down from 20.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 8.7%, up from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 17.4%, down from 24.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Enterprise Routers14.2%
MikroTik Routers and Switches17.4%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch8.7%
Other59.7%
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.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.
AnikIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Executive at Lakdhanavi Limited
Cost-effective protocol support and a straightforward setup with room for login enhancements
In the network operations center, I manage our client's bandwidth. We connect with our clients through BGP and OSPF based on client demands. We also manage routing protocols, policies, internal firewalls, and other details like QE bandwidth, client manage bandwidth management, PoE, PPPoE, and DNS…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like the most is that it's an easy plug and play device to work with."
"The Cisco name guarantees that it is a good product and it meets most of the demands."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are simple, everything is in a proper manner, you don't need to upgrade or do other things on a daily basis because Cisco sends you the updates and they are automatically updated."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are simple. Everything is in a proper manner. You don't need to upgrade or do other things on a daily basis. Cisco sends you the updates, and they are automatically updated. They are good."
"The documentation is very good."
"This is a good product and I will definitely continue to offer Cisco equipment to my customers in the future."
"It's not complex to deploy."
"They have a good lifespan and they are easily managed."
"We value the solution's price, and it can do almost anything you need regarding routing, so it's a well-rounded solution for routing, especially for network routing."
"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch stands out for its features, especially those available at that price point."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."
"MikroTik is the most stable device; it’s easy to configure, there are no bugs or glitches, it’s reliable, and the performance is good."
"I like that it's quite flexible and addresses different issues. It's quite easy to use, and the pricing is great. We find them to be very capable switches."
"The interface management and the user access management is pretty good."
"The radius and wireless features are the most valuable aspects of the solution."
"The features of the equipment fit all the needs of the customers."
"The MikroTik Hotspot is great."
"For a small business, MikroTik is good but if you grow, then MikroTik cannot support it."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches support every protocol, making them suitable for a wide range of routing policies."
"The flexible IP firewall and IP network address translation make it very easy to give access to internal services."
"The initial setup is very straightforward. You can typically set them up in about 30 minutes."
"It is a stable solution. I have been using the solution for a while, and I don't face any outages or trouble while using the solution."
 

Cons

"Recently, there seems to be a lot of people who are leaning towards Juniper CLI, which is easier to pick up."
"Performance is one area that could be improved. The stability of the devices is great, but performance-wise we find that upgrading the memory or changing the device entirely is sometimes necessary."
"The solution needs to offer some security features in a future release."
"Tends to have a short life cycle."
"The price could be better. All the new releases come with little flexibility and are expensive."
"The price has room for improvement."
"The support for SD-WAN technology is not mature yet."
"The solution could be more stable and secure."
"The bulk efficiencies and the control of traffic could be a bit better."
"The RAM capacity offered by the product needs to be increased, as it is one area where the tool currently has some shortcomings."
"It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features."
"If MikroTik had a marketing team and support team in India then it would be much easier for us to get the product, as well as support."
"The solution does not yet offer a SaaS version."
"Technical support could be better."
"Technical support is not very good. It isn't comprehensive."
"If MikroTik had a marketing team and support team in India then it would be much easier for us to get the product, as well as support."
"The solution is a complicated device."
"When we have a problem and reach out to MikroTik support, it's not very fast. Usually, you have to speak in English, so my technicians need to have strong English skills to communicate."
"If the reporting functionality of the solution is considered, I think it is not good."
"They lack the extended warranty for the equipment. They only provide a warranty for one year as compared to the other vendors who offer a warranty for three years, five years, and lifetime, etc."
"I would appreciate enhancements to impose more restrictions on VPN connections."
"Better security is always better. If they can continue to improve in this area, that would be ideal."
"The initial setup can be a bit difficult. The configuration can take a lot of time."
"When we had questions around isolation and allocating different hubs and IPs, we couldn't find any verifiable answers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is quite costly for the same feature as compared to Huawei and Juniper. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
"There are licensing costs and they are expensive."
"The price of this solution is high."
"It's quite expensive for small businesses."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are expensive."
"I believe licensing fees are paid once per year."
"The licensing cost is quite reasonable."
"There is no licensing cost."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"The price is competitive."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"In terms of the economic side, we're completely satisfied. The price is affordable for both SMEs and enterprises."
"Here in Bangladesh, MikroTik Routers and Switches cost 90,000 Taka, or converting that figure to dollars is $1,000."
"In our last project, we used two hundred units and the price was approximately 500 Shekels ($140 USD)."
"The price is affordable."
"The product is cheap compared to Cisco."
"In our company, we are using MikroTik without a license...However, we are planning to buy their services and subscriptions."
"MikroTik is very cost-effective and quite good for the price. It performs very well. For one of our customers, the existing setup comprises Cisco Catalyst switches, and it is about 10 to 15 years old. We're looking into upgrading in a cost-effective way to get the performance and yet still be at par with the quality and expectations that customers have from Cisco. Price-wise, Cisco is really expensive, and customers are expecting something different than Cisco so that they can save on IT costs. They don't have the same budget that they had before when they installed Cisco products. That's why they're looking for a solution that can provide performance and features without too much money or investment. We're looking at some alternative brands, such as NETGEAR and MikroTik, to support our proposal."
"There is a lifetime subscription already embedded when you buy the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Educational Organization
12%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
18%
Computer Software Company
7%
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 Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
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 do you like most about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say...
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitation...
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
MikroTik CRS Series
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
Information Not Available
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, Juniper and others in Routers. Updated: April 2026.
892,646 professionals have used our research since 2012.