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Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs Meraki MS Switches comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 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 Nexus 9000 Series
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (6th)
Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is 1.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 2.4%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki MS Switches2.4%
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series1.1%
Other96.5%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Technical Marketing Engineer Hybrid Cloud Infrastructures at NetApp
Policy-driven data centers have delivered low-latency connectivity for critical applications
The most critical and important feature in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is VPC. Apart from VPC, there are many other features in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series that stand out as advantages. You can apply access control lists on that. You can do Layer 3 capabilities. You can configure HSRP. You can implement VRFs. You can isolate the L3 network within your data center. It has a lot of features including network segmentation capabilities. You can apply a lot of security hardening and manage the access on the switches through auditing to see who is doing what and restrict access based on the network admin role. These are great features. The overlay technology support in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is good for large-scale deployment where you are going to build something like a hyperscaler. You need more network segments, and with VXLAN, you can definitely build a large fabric with those Nexus switches.
Boaz Katabazi - PeerSpot reviewer
Network &Security Engineer at Natioanal Drug Authority Uganda
Cloud-managed switches have simplified remote branch access while maintaining strong performance
Cisco is a very stable platform. Even though we haven't upgraded firmware and all that for a long time, it can still perform. Unlike the other switches in the infrastructure where you find you have to constantly upgrade, they will warn you about vulnerability and all those. When you're scanning, it will tell you that there's a lot. For Cisco, once there's a release of firmware and all that, it's always very stable for a period of time. We have not replaced Cisco switches, apart from issues to do with product or power failure and maybe other reasons. We have not replaced them quite often compared to these other products. They are quite resilient.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability and reliability of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series are robust, and once you put it on, it does not just fail; that takes a long time, maybe even years."
"We are using the core capabilities of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Ethernet switches, and it is performing well."
"According to the customers, they are not utilizing even 40% of the switches because the capacity is very large."
"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very durable and very reliable, and there has never been any issue with it."
"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is quite a complex machine, but we are using a very simple configuration with basic Nexus switching, and we don't have many issues with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series at the moment in our present infrastructure."
"RealPresence works effectively."
"There has been improvement in our connectivity with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, and there is less drag."
"The performance in data center operations with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is excellent; we have never faced any performance issues."
"You don't need to be a network engineer to support Meraki."
"The most valuable feature is cloud management."
"These switches are really stable."
"Meraki MS Switches is easy to use and implement."
"Our organization has a partnership with Meraki; it is a good product and it is scalable."
"The most valuable features are ease of use and configuration. It has a cloud-based configuration that makes it easy."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to segment my infrastructure between phones, security systems, and other tasks."
"They're easy to update."
 

Cons

"The potential for improvement lies in the licensing aspect, which is somewhat confusing. The perpetual and subscription licensing is a concern."
"If I have a Juniper and want to uplink with Cisco, there could be some configuration challenges."
"We find that Cisco has been left behind by the other vendors. The other vendors have adopted new technology, and we find Cisco lagging behind."
"The SFP modules we are using have had issues. We have Cisco modules, but they frequently heat up or there are packet error issues."
"For Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches, I think we need to work on the HSRP. Whenever it flaps or something happens, it creates an issue."
"I would rate the technical support for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series an eight out of ten. This rating is not because of their lack of expertise, but just the assignment period."
"In terms of automation with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, it could be better."
"Even though it is expensive, I am not sure about the return on investment. It is expensive, and you will need to pay for subscription fees that also are not cheap."
"The pricing is high and could be reduced."
"The subscription model could be improved."
"Sometimes the controller in the cloud that controls the access points does not have the most accurate information. There is sometimes a glitch in keeping the management controller that is in the cloud up to date."
"Technical support could be better. Some support agents aren't adequately qualified to support us."
"The quote-building process is challenging and it needs to be simplified."
"This product doesn't enable a local configuration without internet access."
"Price-wise, Meraki MS Switches is high, but since our customer's acceptance is good, that works for us."
"It is a compact switch, so there are a limited number of ports, and it needs improvement in terms of scalability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Extreme switches are more cost-effective than Cisco Meraki Switches."
"The only drawback is the cost — that's what kills them."
"Meraki is not an expensive switch, like Cisco."
"It depends on what type of equipment you have and other things. We're about $17,000 a year."
"The price of Meraki MS Switches is less expensive than other similar solutions."
"The licensing is purchased on a one, three, five, and seven year basis."
"The DNA subscription is a three-year minimum term."
"My company pays for Meraki MS Switches yearly. Pricing-wise, the product is relatively inexpensive."
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915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
22%
Outsourcing Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
If we speak about the negative side, the prices are something that could be improved. It is expensive compared with other competitors, about 40% higher than any other vendor. This is the main point...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series focuses on serving the data center primarily, not the endpoints. The focus is on how to serve your data center, perform the segmentation that you need inside your data cente...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
The policy-driven approach in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series can be understood through the integration with Cisco DNA. One of the main features or strength points that Cisco Nexus 9000 Series has is the f...
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
Price-wise, Meraki MS Switches is high, but since our customer's acceptance is good, that works for us. The only thing is if the price was slightly lower, then it could have been more affordable to...
What is your primary use case for Meraki MS Switches?
We do work on other Cisco products at the moment besides Secure Access and XDR, including Catalyst switches, SD-WAN, and Meraki. We work extensively on Meraki switching and routing with the switche...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS220, MS320, MS420
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs. Meraki MS Switches and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.