Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Ethernet Switches vs Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Ethernet Switches enhance uptime and ROI through durability and efficient management, despite renewal costs and scalability concerns.
Sentiment score
4.3
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches offer reliability, durability, and scalability, justifying high initial costs with long-term performance benefits.
Compared to other low-end switches with similar features, these are more robust and offer better scalability, which justifies the higher cost.
Data Center Admin at Sysnet Global Technologies
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Customer service excels, but technical support gets mixed reviews; forums help, yet satisfaction varies with location and agreements.
Sentiment score
8.3
Juniper EX Series switches receive mixed reviews on support, praised for expertise but criticized for contact issues in certain regions.
It takes two to three days for Cisco support to address issues.
Asst IT Manager at Ultra Engineers
Currently, we don't have any technical support because our license doesn't allow for direct support.
Commercial Experience Supervisor at Jazz (previously known as Mobilink)
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
Senior System Engineer & Project Manager at TechnoPeak
I have not faced any hardware issues requiring support due to the stable nature of their products.
Owner at a transportation company with 11-50 employees
I find them very competent.
Solution Architect & Services Delivery Manager EMEA at Beyond Technology
Local partners and local distributors cannot open direct tickets, but any level of partner with other OEMs such as Cisco can open a ticket directly, which is a connectivity advantage that Juniper lacks.
Manager Pre Sales at STBL
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Cisco Ethernet switches offer scalable and adaptable networking solutions, effortlessly handling large user numbers and accommodating expansion despite costs.
Sentiment score
7.5
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches offer scalability and adaptability, though some models face configuration complexities and occasional bugs.
Cisco mainly provides security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features supporting my organization's expansion.
Head of the Solutions Department at BIM Group of Companies
The latest products do not allow integration with the earlier environment.
Asst IT Manager at Ultra Engineers
The scalability depends on the model.
Commercial Experience Supervisor at Jazz (previously known as Mobilink)
Adding another switch to an existing setup turns them into a single virtual switch.
Solution Architect & Services Delivery Manager EMEA at Beyond Technology
The Virtual Chassis provides great scalability, making it a scalable solution.
Senior Network Engineer at Roke Telkom
The EX series supports scalability well, with newer series like EX4100 offering stacking of up to eight switches.
Owner at a transportation company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Cisco Ethernet Switches are praised for their reliability, minimal issues, and durable equipment with efficient support.
Sentiment score
7.9
Juniper EX Series Switches are consistently stable, offering robust performance and reliability, outperforming similar Cisco models in user confidence.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
Senior System Engineer & Project Manager at TechnoPeak
They have separate control and forwarding planes, which enhance scalability and stability.
Solution Architect & Services Delivery Manager EMEA at Beyond Technology
During peak time at nine, the traffic passes through the switches perfectly.
Network Engineer at DCI Indonesia
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches proves to be an equally good switch.
Data Center Admin at Sysnet Global Technologies
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Ethernet Switches face affordability, complexity, compatibility, and support challenges, prompting calls for better integration and user experience.
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches face challenges with pricing, usability, stability, integration, security, and require better support and documentation.
The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products.
Asst IT Manager at Ultra Engineers
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
Commercial Experience Supervisor at Jazz (previously known as Mobilink)
For example, on switches, filtering specific sections isn't supported, whereas, on routers, you can do 'show run' with additional commands to filter.
Senior System Engineer & Project Manager at TechnoPeak
One area that can be improved is the handling of power interruption, as it can cause the platform to crash.
Solution Architect & Services Delivery Manager EMEA at Beyond Technology
Some integration with AI could be a good idea since I heard that Juniper already has systems to deploy AI within the EX device, but I haven't had the opportunity to try that.
Network Engineer at DCI Indonesia
With other OEMs, customers or partners can directly open tech tickets.
Manager Pre Sales at STBL
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Ethernet Switches are costly but valued for quality, reliability, and enterprise discounts despite competitors offering lower prices.
Juniper EX Series Switches provide competitive pricing, being 20-33% cheaper, with valued affordability and attractive entry cost.
Cisco Ethernet switches are priced at a rating of nine, indicating they are expensive.
Asst IT Manager at Ultra Engineers
We need to pay for the subscription, as there are extra expenses after purchasing the product.
Head of the Solutions Department at BIM Group of Companies
Regarding the cost, Cisco Ethernet Switches have a competitive price.
IT Manager at Decorgel
The switches have become more expensive than before.
Owner at a transportation company with 11-50 employees
It is rated high on the scale, and I would say it is definitely on the high side, confirming a rating of one, which means it is very expensive.
IP Solution Architect /Deputy Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
In terms of pricing, the Juniper EX Series is cost-effective compared to competitors like Cisco.
Solution Architect & Services Delivery Manager EMEA at Beyond Technology
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Ethernet Switches provide high performance, scalability, and security, featuring power-saving, VLAN support, and rugged durability for efficient networks.
Juniper EX Series Switches are renowned for performance, security, seamless integration, automation, scalability, and cost-effective, user-friendly design.
Their stability and durability are essential features we've been looking for many years, and they are still working fine.
IT Manager at Decorgel
The Cisco Ethernet switches are sturdy products that do not require any kind of maintenance.
Asst IT Manager at Ultra Engineers
The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet switches include plug-and-play capabilities.
Sales Engineer at Phoenyx Commtech Pvt. Ltd.
We are using the Juniper MX 104 L3 switches and SRX 1500 firewall since 2019, and we have not faced a single failure.
IP Solution Architect /Deputy Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The important thing for our use case of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches has been reliability, and there are features such as the Virtual Chassis feature, which is one of the things we use.
Senior Network Engineer at Roke Telkom
Juniper EX series switches offer great technology, particularly their Virtual Chassis technology, which is an excellent feature for stacking switches and functions like a single virtual switch.
Owner at a transportation company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
136
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper EX Series Ethernet ...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10.3%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 3.2%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Ethernet Switches10.3%
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches3.2%
Other86.5%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

PM
IT Manager at Decorgel
Reliable equipment offers seamless integration and management simplicity
I really appreciate Cisco Ethernet Switches and currently don't have any improvements to recommend. The switches have technology that has worked fine over the years. An improvement for all players in the market would be to have a website or service to manage all equipment from all brands, not just Cisco. There should be a platform to manage all the equipment.
Patrick Anaku - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Roke Telkom
Has provided reliable performance with useful features such as virtual chassis and high port density
The important thing for our use case of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches has been reliability, and there are features such as the Virtual Chassis feature, which is one of the things we use. In our case, we use them as core switches in a network that is not very large, and their reliability and the Virtual Chassis feature work well for us. It was one of the reasons we chose it, along with the port density; we are using the 32 port and the 48 port, which work for our needs. Regarding its security features such as MACsec encryption, they are standard and cover what we want; we do not do a lot as they are just Layer 2 switches, but it has standard security features.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
9%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise55
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Ethernet Switches?
Juniper EX model is ok for the campus network as the ex4300 is EOL in a few years and the new ex4400 is the standard. Now for the QFX model, 5k/10k in CRB mode IP fabric Ethernet switching is horri...
What is your primary use case for Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches?
The important thing for our use case of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches has been reliability, and there are features such as the Virtual Chassis feature, which is one of the things we use. In o...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
Juniper Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
BlackLotus, Staminus, Community Bank, BAS Group, Cloud Dynamics, Privalia, Fluidata, and Tesla Motors.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.