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Cisco Enterprise Routers vs VyOS Universal Router comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 27, 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 Routers
Ranking in Routers
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
112
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VyOS Universal Router
Ranking in Routers
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Routers (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 15.6%, down from 19.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VyOS Universal Router is 4.0%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Enterprise Routers15.6%
VyOS Universal Router4.0%
Other80.4%
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.
AM
Senior Engineer at IP-PERFORMANCE LTD
Container automation has enabled complex routing and onboard services for mobile networks
The best features VyOS Universal Router offers are the ability to run containers and automation. The container and automation features within VyOS Universal Router have allowed me to run an extensive number of disparate containers that perform different functions, anything from running a MySQL database server on the platform within a container, or an Influx database as a container, or even a GPS proxy-based container that can receive a GPS signal from a platform router and proxy that out to a number of internal systems. VyOS Universal Router has positively affected me because it is both open source, actively developed, and a leading platform in routing, firewalling, and even switching if I want it to be. The addition of the container and security capabilities and the automation capabilities make it my first choice for a platform or solution development over and above commercial alternatives.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is performance."
"They are the best in failover switches. Their product line is excellent."
"The most valuable features are security and throughput."
"It is a stable solution."
"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."
"I get everything I need from this solution."
"The initial setup is straightforward; it was easy and installed in minutes with a team of 50 admins to help with the deployment."
"We operate a hotel and we have clients who are logging into the WiFi all the time, and sometimes we get as many as 500 connections and we know that with Cisco, unless the service provider lets us down, the device won't fail."
"The addition of the container and security capabilities and the automation capabilities make it my first choice for a platform or solution development over and above commercial alternatives."
 

Cons

"We'd like to see some better UI."
"Recently, there seems to be a lot of people who are leaning towards Juniper CLI, which is easier to pick up."
"I find licensing costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers to be expensive."
"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."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are not the cheapest routers on the market, they are expensive."
"When compared to PEPLink, Cisco Enterprise Routers are less flexible, and you cannot have more than one user."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers could improve by making their solution more user-friendly. Currently, users need to have extensive knowledge of networking to use them because there is only a command-line interface for the configuration. They should add a graphical interface to allow junior users guidance and more flexibility when doing the configuration."
"Cisco has a lot of problems with the graphical interfaces used for management."
"A web UI would be useful for VyOS Universal Router, but that is something that the community has been asking for for some time, yet has not been developed actively."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco is way too expensive for small and medium businesses. They must lower their prices in the lower range equipment."
"It is a costly solution."
"The solution is costly for small businesses."
"For a boost performance license, the cost is $2,000 to $2,500. There is an additional cost for more scalability."
"The cost of this solution is very low compared to other products."
"It is quite costly for the same feature as compared to Huawei and Juniper. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
"If Cisco Enterprise Routers could be less expensive it would be better. In Turkey, clients prefer cheap solutions, but working solutions."
"The price of this solution is high."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Construction Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise44
No data available
 

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 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?
I think Cisco can make better improvements for routers in terms of the selling bit, when it comes to discounts. If you are a partner and you're not up there, your discount is not that good. So you'...
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Also Known As

No data available
VyOS Networks Iberia SL VyOS Universal Router
 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, MikroTik, Juniper and others in Routers. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.