MikroTik Cloud Router Switch vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Routers (5th)
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (4th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Ethernet Switches category, the market share of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 1.0% and it decreased by 30.7% compared to the previous year. The market share of NETGEAR Switches is 8.4% and it decreased by 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
Unique Categories:
Routers
9.3%
LAN Switching
7.2%
AV Over IP Switching
23.8%
 

Featured Reviews

DS
Apr 19, 2020
Has better throughput than its competitors and good stability
We bought it for our office to distribute internet. I am also a service provider.  The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors. I also like the "routerless" feature.  There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others…
BH
Feb 7, 2023
Peak performance for uncompressed 4K video streaming at a very affordable price point
NETGEAR's web interface describes settings with names and sentences which are different from other switch manufacturers. Therefore, you must figure out what each one does before you can use it. If you compare it to Cisco, for example, their web interface is a bit more intuitive. The web interface could also be improved when it comes to multicast settings. Especially, that IGMP is spread to “Switching” and “Routing“ is confusing. At first, it is unclear what needs to be setup where. Support for IGMPv3 querier would be appreciated. Currently, only a version 2 querier can be sent by the switches, which is a bit outdated, since version 3 has been on the market for a few years now. Cisco does support querier version 3 in their small business switches. The ‘how-to’ guides could do with some improvements. We got in trouble following the stacking and Dante set-up guides. If these would have been accurate, we would not have lost three days.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 is user-friendly, reliable, and cheap."
"This solution is very similar to the on-premises version making it easy to use for those who know the architect."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The performance has been good."
"There are a lot of features to control permitting or stopping packets in the network."
"The wiki page that describes the scripting and other features is very good."
"It is easy to set up."
"The ability to mix and match is invaluable. So, we didn't have to run massive super extensive switches in the data closets where it wasn't necessary. Being able to manage it all from one place, as all your network configuration settings went live across your entire building from one management console was really handy."
"NETGEAR Switches has valuable cybersecurity features."
"The remote management tools are fantastic. The combination of the webpage as well as the app makes life so much easier. I don't need to go and visit sites to do upgrades or any sorts of changes. The firmware can all be deployed remotely. I can see the traffic on each of the switch ports remotely as well, so I can see if we've got problems, down to an individual port. It's very granular."
"We have one client that has three Insight switches and when we make a change to their network... we can make the configuration change and push it down to all three switches at once. We don't have to individually log on to each switch to make the change."
"Valuable features include network monitoring and ease of programming for VLANs, etc. I especially like NETGEAR because it's easy to teach system administrators how to use them, how to look at them, how to make changes to them without having the complexity of CLIs, but still having a CLI should we need it."
"The big winner for NETGEAR is their modular switch: the 96X version. That is something that you don't see in the market anywhere else, except for Cisco who has it at a high level for a high expense. The ability to customize your own switch with their modules is a big plus for what we do in the market right now. Instead of having to piece together standardized switches, trying to make something work, or fitting the design into the mold, the modular switches are aware that you can make a mark in the industry because you purchased one switch and design with different modules added and removed later on for functionality."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"The most valuable feature is the fact that Insight is cloud-managed. The whole reason behind it is that there is one central place to manage it. You can pre-configure everything and you can get access to it without having to get onto the client's network. That makes it easy to use and deploy."
 

Cons

"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."
"The bulk efficiencies and the control of traffic could be a bit better."
"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."
"The RAM capacity offered by the product needs to be increased, as it is one area where the tool currently has some shortcomings."
"Improvements are needed with respect to some of the security, especially for VPN links between vendors other than Cisco."
"The user interface could improve and they should allow a license for IBS."
"The solution does not yet offer a SaaS version."
"In medium to large sectors, there's a necessity for managing aspects like proxy firewalls."
"Their old firmware was a problem for us and we're still working on it. It didn't apply correctly so it took about half of our switches offline, which meant we couldn't use some of the functionality like the firmware updates. Unfortunately with that firmware, which they've sorted out, if you don't go through all the firmware and make sure it's past that point and back online, that's an issue with them. It's something to cautious about"
"Support needs to be improved."
"The security features must be improved."
"One area that has room for improvement, and I know NETGEAR is working on it, is adding more features to the products lines in terms of what we can manage through the Insight portal... not all Layer 2 or Layer 3 settings are there yet."
"The product's stability has certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"The product's scalability has certain shortcomings that can be improved."
"There's a lack of chips and, consequently, a lack of deliveries. They're out of stock at their European warehouse."
"One thing I have asked for, something that NETGEAR lacks that I would love to see — and from what I understand it's in the works — is a REST API to programmatically interface with multiple switches. That would be a great feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"The price is competitive."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"This is a one-time purchase and there are no licensing fees."
"It's a great price-to-performance solution. I think it's singularly the best price-per-performance we can find, if not just straight performance to begin with... The cost of hardware and additional services is lower, absolutely. I wouldn't say "low," but we found it to be lower than other options, and that helps us resell this back to customers who are looking at other things like a Cisco Meraki..."
"The pricing is phenomenal. It's not only good for the company providing the solution, but the customer gets a good deal too. There's a good profit margin for the business to be able to resell it to a client or to offer a good price to the client. It's a win-win for both the company providing this particular equipment to the customer and for the customer."
"The pricing is great. The cost of the hardware is low... There are a few solutions that have a lower cost, but NETGEAR is very value-oriented."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten."
"The pricing is very good for 10GbE switches and you get a lot of throughput. It is about 60 percent of the costs of other switches from competitive manufacturers, which is really good."
"At its price point, nobody else can compare to what NETGEAR is doing at that 10 Gigabit bandwidth level. We are not seeing a lot of 10 Gigabit need right now in the marketplace. Though, we have done a few projects which have required it. We are still sort of at the 1 Gigabit requirement for the majority of our projects. Honestly, NETGEAR's 10 Gigabit offering has a better value than some of the other vendors' 1 Gigabit offering."
"NETGEAR's new product is definitely more expensive than their standard product line. It's a new product line for them, so I'm hoping with the maturity of the product that those costs will come down. The standard product line is considerably cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Media Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it.
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
The product might have room for improvement. I am satisfied with the product till now. The RAM capacity offered by the product needs to be increased, as it is one area where the tool currently has ...
How do NETGEAR switches compare with Cisco ethernet switches?
NetGear switches have a lot to offer. They have high availability, zero-downtime stacking, L2 and L3 functionality, and are AV-over-IP ready. NetGear switches also have a command line interface and...
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...
What do you like most about NETGEAR Switches?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever.
 

Also Known As

MikroTik CRS Series
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.