Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Catalyst Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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
6.7
Arista Networks Platform delivers good ROI, justifies higher costs with long-term savings, especially compared to Cisco and Juniper.
Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco Catalyst Switches offer long-term ROI through operational efficiency and robustness, despite differing opinions on their cost-effectiveness.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
Arista Networks Platform offers fast, proficient support, praised for direct engineer access and high customer satisfaction globally.
Sentiment score
6.9
Cisco Catalyst Switches support receives mixed reviews with varying experiences, but documentation and resources are generally appreciated.
They provide instant support and maintain commitments regarding replacement products.
According to my team’s feedback, we receive extended support from the Arista team.
Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get.
I am paying for Cisco support and would rate it nine out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Arista Networks Platform offers scalable, reliable networking for data centers, praised for network capacity, low latency, and intuitive management.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst Switches offer scalability and flexibility but require careful planning and may incur higher costs for additional features.
Scalability is a key feature of Arista, owing to the possibilities to manage the entire data center network from a single console.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable, and I would rate them eight to nine out of ten for scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Arista Networks Platform is highly stable with minimal downtime, praised for reliability when following best practice configurations.
Sentiment score
8.3
Cisco Catalyst Switches are praised for their reliability and durability, with minimal issues and high user satisfaction.
 

Room For Improvement

Arista Networks needs better documentation, integration, pricing, security, stability, management, community support, and network feature expansion.
Cisco Catalyst Switches need improvements in affordability, compatibility, configuration simplicity, security, cloud integration, stability, support, and advanced technology integration.
Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements.
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks.
Cisco Catalyst Switches could be a little bit cheaper as they are very costly.
The configuration options on the Cisco Commerce website could be more efficient.
There could be improvements in the repeat configuration with some file integration that is currently missing.
 

Setup Cost

Arista Networks is costly, with high hardware and licensing expenses, especially compared to Huawei and NETGEAR, affecting affordability.
Enterprise buyers find Cisco Catalyst Switches costly but reliable, with complex licensing; improvements for competitive pricing are suggested.
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper.
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.
 

Valuable Features

Arista Networks Platform is praised for its reliability, scalability, Linux shell, efficient management, automation, and unmatched monitoring capabilities.
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide reliable performance, robust features, and customization, highly valued for stability, scalability, and security.
Features include plug-and-play auto-discovery, allowing centralized configuration and management.
The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance.
Catalyst Switches are efficient and swift, which is valuable for my organization.
The most beneficial features for our network management are their stability and good customer support.
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Networks Platform
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
10th
Ranking in Data Center Networking
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
7th
Ranking in Data Center Networking
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
175
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 3.3%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 1.6%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable for enterprise-sized companies
Speaking about whether the product enhanced our company's data center scalability, I would say that it was a solution that was used in a banking company, where it served as a replacement for Cisco. Though Arista Networks Platform is similar to Cisco IOS CLI, I feel that the former product offers better prices compared to the latter tool. Arista Networks Platform office is more efficient at a lower cost. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The tool is stable and cheaper than Cisco. I would say that Arista Networks Platform is 100 percent compatible with the existing infrastructure in my company. The impact of the tool's network telemetry on our company's troubleshooting practices was just good for the scope for which I need the product. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
Joshua Odunsi - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures efficient performance and supports network growth with optimal speed
Catalyst Switches are efficient and swift, which is valuable for my organization. I experience optimal speed and effective configuration, making them stand out compared to other switches. The PoE switches offer more ports on SFP, and it is efficient in use. Overall, the switches provide me with the value I expect in terms of speed and efficiency.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
841,714 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Educational Organization
67%
Computer Software Company
6%
Government
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers. Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements. However, we sometimes face challenges when integrating with proprietary protocols and solut...
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 ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Although Juniper is cheaper, Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Networks Platform vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,714 professionals have used our research since 2012.