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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs Ubiquiti UniFi Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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 Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.7%, down from 18.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is 6.8%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Pradeep Adhav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network security enhancement with sturdy switches despite high costs
The Cisco Ethernet switches are primarily used as regular core switches for networking, distribution, and access levels. We also utilize Cisco Wi-Fi, VPN, and Wi-Fi controllers The Cisco Ethernet switches have improved our network's security, ensuring it is 100% secure by not allowing any…
John Balogh - PeerSpot reviewer
Centrally managed solution makes it easy to build one configuration and apply it to new devices
We have one or two UniFi switches, but they don't really compete with the Ciscos. It's a nice environment as far as keeping track of things and being able to manage ports, turn off rogue users, and stuff like that. The access points have been pretty convenient compared to Meraki, Lucent, Cisco, or any of the other bigger vendors that I used to deal with for other consulting projects. Ubiquiti is one step above the consumer level. They cost a little bit more, but they just seem to be drop-dead reliable, and they're keeping up with the latest standards. Their latest versions of access points are all Wi-Fi 6, and they don't take very much power when there aren't a lot of users. It's really easy to build one configuration and just apply it to new devices. It's a check mark box: Do I want this to be the staff VLAN, or the public VLAN, or the Voice over IP VLAN, or the security VLAN, or the house wiring VLAN, or the building logistics VLAN? You just check things off and then you make groups, so if you click on it, it applies all the appropriate things automatically. It makes it very easy. This solution is good for the prosumer, small office, medium office, under 500 people range, but probably over 50 people and maybe distributed around five or 10 sites. That's a pretty good sweet spot as far as the price for the equipment and the configurability, and it's just drop-dead reliable. It's been boring, which is what I love because I don't get any calls in the middle of the night that something isn't working.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is extremely stable."
"These switches are both stable and scalable."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Ethernet Switches is their capacity."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are rugged, secure, and scalable. It provides smart devices and reliable switches."
"This is a great solution for network switching and security."
"I have found the solution to have good scalability. Cisco is the pioneers on switching technology, they are very good."
"Cisco as a whole is flexible."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet Switches for our network are speed, latency, and reliability."
"The product's initial setup phase is very straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of UniFi Switches is the simple management via the UniFi console."
"The performance is good. They also have good prices."
"I would recommend Ubiquiti UniFi switches to others, especially for smaller environments."
"The switches' PoE capabilities have made device deployment very easy."
"The GUI interface is very easy to use and the Linux-based command-line interface is also good."
"Because it's a managed switch, I have the ability to set controls and configure traffic priorities, VLAN ports, etc."
"The most valuable feature of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is the graphic user interface for monitoring, where you can see the status of the device in real-time. I use those features across the campus. I use the APs as my beacons to tell me whether the area of the school of the network is down or not. Those will be the first to alert me that there is a problem with the network or a device. They provide me with more than only monitoring themselves, I use them in order to monitor all the devices."
 

Cons

"To keep up with the market, the solution should have better evolution and innovation."
"Cisco's equipment is expensive, especially since it introduced the obligatory purchase of Cisco DNA."
"There's are other products that are better for network programmability. Cisco isn't as programmable as some preferred vendors. For example, on iOS 6 products, you have to commit the change directly on the running configuration. If you have a generic product you can do this, so it can improve in programmability."
"Network setup is quite complicated, particularly if you're implementing in a non-technical environment."
"The pricing should be reduced so that they are more competitive."
"There is room for improvement in terms of cost."
"The price is an area with a shortcoming in the solution."
"When you contact support, they don't give you the expert at first, they give you the beginner. Only after going around in a circle do they give you experts. Why don't they just give the expert from the beginning?"
"Most configuration can be done on the GUI but sometimes you have to go under the hood and tweak on the CLI."
"This brand is not very popular in China."
"I had some initial problems with the configuration that necessitated contacting technical support."
"I think they need to provide a better firewall solution."
"I would recommend changing the solution to a recognized one, such as Check Point or Fortinet."
"The pricing and scalability could be improved."
"The product needs to improve its pricing."
"They can improve the visibility of networks to match Meraki switches, which have good visibility tools to go through the network. In a Meraki device, you get a clear picture when using the bug interface. You can also see its neighbors and have a clear picture of all connected devices. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches do not have such features that Meraki switches provide."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive"
"Cisco is quite expensive. In our market, a lot of customers are forced to go with something else because they cannot afford a brand-new Cisco even though they know a Cisco switch will be more reliable."
"In addition to the fees being high, you pay for support which is also on the higher side."
"Cisco now has more products that are priced for small businesses, so they do have some cheaper models."
"The last time I bought a 24-port switch, which was a while ago, I paid about five or six thousand Euros. In this part of the world, that's quite expensive for us."
"It could be cheaper."
"Not inexpensive. Price will vary widely depending on the chosen product and size of the deployment."
"This is an expensive solution, but you are paying for stability."
"I feel that the price of this solution is definitely reasonable compared to all of the others."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"The solution only offers one-year warranties but should offer three-year or limited-loss warranties."
"The price of this product is cheap."
"It's challenging to compare Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and other brands directly due to the significant price difference, especially between US brands like Cisco and Aruba versus others. However, compared to US brands, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are more cost-effective. On the other hand, if compared with brands from China, it might seem expensive."
"It is expensive."
"Everything was bought in a one-time buy as a capital investment, so there isn't any licensing."
"I rate the pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
Which switches are better - Ubiquiti Unifi or Netgear?
Ubiquiti Unifi offers a great set of features. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and also doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfi...
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 learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfigure an AP or ga...
What do you like most about Ubiquiti UniFi Switches?
We have integrated the tool for PoE switches and non-PoE switches. Its most valuable feature is SD-WAN. UniFi SD-WAN can access all statistics and performance data in one interface, enabling us to...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
UniFi Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Staypineapple
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.