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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs Ubiquiti UniFi Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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
1.0
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers cost-effective integration and ease of use, with Cisco providing better long-term returns for higher budgets.
Sentiment score
5.2
Users appreciate Ubiquiti UniFi Switches for affordability and integration, despite challenges in measuring ROI without specific metrics.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
Another solution offered to us was more than double the price, making UniFi a cost-effective choice.
We saw a return on investment within a year, although I believe there's more potential to be leveraged.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiSwitch support is highly rated for responsiveness and reliability, though some users suggest better speed and consistency.
Sentiment score
7.0
Users find Ubiquiti UniFi Switches support mixed, often relying on community forums due to delayed responses and limited assistance.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Fortinet an eight.
The team is knowledgeable and efficient.
the manuals, installation videos, and resources on the website are very good and straightforward.
They have a large customer base that sometimes faces issues due to a lack of know-how in managing the devices.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is scalable and cost-effective, ideal for enterprises, with some fiber port limitations noted.
Sentiment score
7.6
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are scalable for small to medium businesses but may face limitations in large enterprise environments.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
I rate the scalability as nine out of ten.
If planning for future scalability, choosing switches that support extra modules for fiber optics is advisable.
The solution is sufficiently scalable because the switches can be stacked.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is highly stable and reliable, with minor issues mainly due to vendor integration challenges.
Sentiment score
8.6
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are dependable with high stability ratings but may face issues due to configuration and environment.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
I did not experience any problems the whole year.
We have never experienced any problems with Ubiquiti UniFi Switches as they are consistently stable.
The switches are stable and there have been no outages.
 

Room For Improvement

Pricing is high; improvements needed in automation, integration, user interfaces, management, certifications, features, support, and performance.
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches struggle with power supply issues, complex setup, limited features, and demand better pricing and support.
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
The current setup is closed and does not allow for integration with non-Ubiquiti VoIP devices or providers outside their ecosystem.
Recent updates have removed many options available in earlier versions, simplifying the interface but limiting control.
The choice depends on the network architecture and planning for the future scalability requirements.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiSwitch is competitively priced, sometimes seen as expensive, offers no extra licensing with FortiGate, and occasional discounts.
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches offer cost-effective performance for SMBs with competitive pricing and free support, despite limited availability.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
Many vendors mark up prices significantly.
Pricing is very favorable, with minimal licensing involved.
Our investment in Ubiquiti is about £30,000, and it's a cost-effective solution since there is no subscription fee.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiSwitch offers centralized management, enhanced security, and efficient integration with FortiGate for flexible, cost-effective network control.
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are favored for centralized management, ease of use, PoE flexibility, and seamless device integration for businesses.
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
I can manage user connectivity, limit bandwidth, apply MAC address filtering, and it offers POE capabilities.
The switches enable management from anywhere using the cloud controller, making configuration changes and management easier.
I was involved in Kenya's last general elections where we used Ubiquiti equipment, both wireless and switching, which performed excellently.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is 7.7%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches7.7%
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center2.0%
Other90.3%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Rutul SHah - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides seamless traffic control and secure connectivity while minimizing downtime and optimizing resource allocation
There is always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular ports. Currently, I am not identifying any weak points of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because it meets the customer's use case. However, the commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
Donald Ochanda - PeerSpot reviewer
Has delivered reliable performance over the years but still needs improvements in advanced networking features
I generally recommend Ubiquiti UniFi Switches for medium-sized corporate clients, as most of them don't mind the brand as long as the system works. With major corporate clients, they still have the mentality that Cisco is superior in the market, but medium-sized clients are easier to deploy at that level. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are improving technically since my last implementation. Our field engineers report significant improvements, and I was involved in Kenya's last general elections where we used Ubiquiti equipment, both wireless and switching, which performed excellently. My assessment of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches' centralized management is that, while I haven't interacted with it extensively, it works similarly to Cisco and Meraki platforms. Field engineers should be able to provide better answers regarding this feature. The port isolation feature on Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is standard, which I believe is appropriate considering they provide standard security features on the port.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
There is always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular po...
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

No data available
UniFi Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
870,623 professionals have used our research since 2012.