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Arista Networks Platform vs Meraki MS 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Networks Platform
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (2nd)
Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 2.6%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 4.6%, up from 4.1% 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.
MajidKhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Remote access enhances troubleshooting with potential for more intuitive interface
We are working with Citrix and router, but in Cisco for Cisco vendor only. We are taking from them since 2015.  The main use case involves some small business customers needing one router, one switch, and two to three access points. It is easy to handle the devices with just a small knowledge of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If someone uses Arista Networks Platform, I believe they are secured."
"The platform is easy to scale."
"I like the spine as a leaf model and low latency. The hardware is robust and meets expected latency in all environments, mainly if you belong to the media or trading industry. For multicast-based solutions, Arista is number one."
"The user-friendly policy manager lets us apply different controls for various user groups easily."
"Arista Networks Platform has a feature that helps with monitoring and management."
"Arista's customer service is excellent."
"The most valuable features of the Arista Networks Platform are the EVPN and VXLAN. It has comprehensive features."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"Overall, the switches are really good."
"This product has QoS, decent visibility of what's going on, and it's a managed switch."
"The stability and workflow of Meraki MS Switches have most improved our network management."
"Setting up a switch can be performed prior to having your hands on the device. Once you purchase a Meraki switch you will get an email from Meraki with a code to add to your dashboard and then you can start setting up your switch so when it arrives it will download its configuration and be all setup."
"I like the flexibility of the Meraki firewall. It gives you the ability to lock things down. Having multiple VLANs is helpful for the switching infrastructure and firewall. It's crucial when you have a public-facing VLAN, a private-facing VLAN, and a secure VLAN."
"The performance is pretty good."
"I like the support, and basically, that's why I'm using Meraki by Cisco."
"The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are simple deployment and administration. You can have all your switches in one place and manage them."
 

Cons

"My company does face issues in terms of interoperability when it comes to the product, making it an area that needs to be fixed."
"The stability of this solution needs to be improved as part of the next upgrade."
"An area for improvement in Arista Networks Platform is its integration, e.g. it needs to have more integration with its new products. Incorporating more security and cloud is also another area for improvement in the platform."
"The CVP management platform needs to be improved."
"Arista Networks Platform should focus on improving the compatibility or integration with Cisco solutions."
"The solution is quite expensive. One of the negative aspects of it is the pricing."
"Something that you will often hear about Arista products is that the price is a bit too high and, like with Cisco, we sometimes have problems with our customers because of its pricing."
"The solution needs to improve their product range."
"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."
"The biggest area that they fall short on is comparing the performance."
"The reporting could be improved and could be more granular."
"The solution needs to improve its ability to back up the auto-configuration."
"Doesn't enable a local configuration without internet access."
"It could be easier to use and easier to implement."
"If they added the option to manage it locally, not in the cloud, it would be better."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I remember that when our customers were offered the Arista Networks Platform, they used a checklist to compare the prices between Arista and Cisco for their requirements, and found that the prices were almost the same."
"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."
"Specific tools definitely require a license for the subscription. But we are not using these tools in our environment. In terms of licensing, you need to spend approximately $10,000 per month."
"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."
"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."
"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."
"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."
"The product's licensing cost is about 30% to 40% of the hardware cost."
"It would be better if they had a one-time purchase option instead of a subscription model."
"It is very expensive so I want it to be cheaper."
"The licensing is purchased on a one, three, five, and seven year basis."
"Meraki is a little bit expensive, but when you compare the pricing with others, Meraki is a good option."
"The price of Meraki MS Switches is less expensive than other similar solutions."
"It depends on what type of equipment you have and other things. We're about $17,000 a year."
"They can get the price down for small businesses. The way I bought it, I paid hardly anything, and I got all my licensing with it. The firewall appliance is around $900, and the switches are around $150. This is for the device itself. For licensing, I signed at $70 or something like that for the switch. Technical Support is included in this."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
8%
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 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?
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper. The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks. They should expand further into campus networks.
What do you like most about Meraki MS Switches?
The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are their reliability and simplicity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MS Switches?
Meraki MS Switches, including their licensing, are somewhat expensive, particularly when compared with competitor solutions like HP.
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
Meraki MS Switches is a complete solution. I don't have specific feedback for improvement. However, there was an issue with the uplink when the port was removed and had to be reinstalled, which cau...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
MS220, MS320, MS420
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Networks Platform vs. Meraki MS Switches and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.