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Meraki MS Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
98
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 2.9%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 1.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Meraki MS Switches2.9%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch1.9%
Other95.2%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

JN
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
Central management and cloud dashboard streamline network monitoring while connectivity hiccups need addressing
I use Cisco products and Meraki MS Switches. I am a user on the user side. Network security is handled by our firewalls and other solutions. I have not explored the area of network management AI in Meraki MS Switches. For other switches, when you buy one, you can just start configuring, connect it to the network, and it works. With Meraki MS Switches, you have to first whitelist the MAC address, let it have internet, then you can manage it. They're deployed on-premises. They're quite acceptable, so I recommend them to those who want to use Meraki MS Switches. The biggest benefit that I see in Meraki MS Switches is central management and the cloud dashboard. I rate Meraki MS Switches 8 out of 10.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easy to set up and easy to monitor. It is also easy to check the status of the switch."
"Meraki's site-to-site VPN function is phenomenal, and the VLAN is simple to use and set up. If you need the VLAN to sort the networks out, that works very well. The performance is also excellent."
"With Meraki, there is the advantage that you have dashboard access via the internet and you can work on it from anywhere."
"The solution is scalable."
"Meraki MS Switches have allowed us to access devices from anywhere in the world through the cloud."
"The switch supports various automation testing tools, and it's quite helpful for network troubleshooting as well."
"The product is very straightforward."
"You can access a single pane of glass and configure all the devices via the same access."
"The interface management and the user access management is pretty good."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
"I like that it's quite flexible and addresses different issues. It's quite easy to use, and the pricing is great. We find them to be very capable switches."
"It's a well-rounded solution for routing."
"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."
"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."
"The GUI is easy to use."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
 

Cons

"It is a compact switch, so there are a limited number of ports, and it needs improvement in terms of scalability."
"It could be more advanced and secure. Meraki MS Switches are ideal for a mid-sized enterprise. But you can't work with this appliance if you need more security or want to do complex or advanced things. Technical support could be better."
"We prefer Meeraki to be installed only on a local network rather than in a cloud-managed network. Meraki MS Switches are one of our largest categories, with over thirty-five deployed."
"Meraki MS switches are great for pretty much all SMB networks and most enterprise networks. However, there are some higher-end functions that larger enterprise networks with full access, distribution, and core switch stack may find limiting."
"They tend to have some weird issues with fiber uplinks."
"It could be easier to use and easier to implement."
"It would be great if the switch can identify the IP address connected to the network port. It seems most of the switches cannot identify the IP address. They can identify the MAC address but not the IP address."
"The throughputs, especially the throughput path, can be improved on the core switches. I think they should improve the throughput in the core switches to enable higher throughputs."
"Improvements are needed with respect to some of the security, especially for VPN links between vendors other than Cisco."
"It happens that you may find your network is down, if you reboot the switch, they come up. However, sometimes, they reset themselves. That's a big issue."
"Technical support could be better."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco. For NetGear and Cisco, it's easy to adapt the VLAN concept but it should be simplified for MikroTik."
"Most of the time, the MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is stable. If I were to rate the stability on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best, I would give it a 5."
"MikroTik needs to add some features like IPS, mail security, or antivirus, et cetera."
"The RAM capacity offered by the product needs to be increased, as it is one area where the tool currently has some shortcomings."
"Aspects such as zero trust, security, and management interface could be improved, which would be useful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is very expensive so I want it to be cheaper."
"The price of Meraki MS Switches is high."
"It's $150 per year for licensing on each 250 switch. The 425 switches are about $500 a year for the enhanced enterprise licenses."
"It would be better if they had a one-time purchase option instead of a subscription model."
"This is not a cheap solution."
"The solution is a bit on the pricey side."
"The price of the solution has room for improvement."
"It depends on what type of equipment you have and other things. We're about $17,000 a year."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"The price is competitive."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Healthcare Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
12%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Meraki MS Switches?
The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are their reliability and simplicity.
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
Meraki MS Switches are easy to manage, but I believe they are more suitable for use on the IT side because Meraki faces the internet, requiring an open connection through the internet for control. ...
What do you like most about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say it is 120 percent.
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
 

Also Known As

MS220, MS320, MS420
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki MS Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
883,026 professionals have used our research since 2012.