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Aruba Switches vs MikroTik Routers and 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Routers and Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Routers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Aruba Switches is 11.7%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 6.0%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Eunice Thirikwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable hotel networking enhances return on investment with valuable modular features
There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches. For instance, the distributor in our country cannot sell to neighboring countries, creating complications in project execution. Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial. Also, the SFP modules are significantly more expensive than industry peers, which affects cost-effectiveness.
AnikIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
Cost-effective protocol support and a straightforward setup with room for login enhancements
In the network operations center, I manage our client's bandwidth. We connect with our clients through BGP and OSPF based on client demands. We also manage routing protocols, policies, internal firewalls, and other details like QE bandwidth, client manage bandwidth management, PoE, PPPoE, and DNS…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use this solution for small and middle sized offices across different locations. The switches connect to the remote sites for distribution to the end user."
"Aruba access points have a good transfer rate."
"The most valuable aspect for our organization is the CX. It's wonderful."
"Aruba Central is very valuable to us."
"The most valuable features of Aruba Switches include the dual control plane, stackable features such as stack V6 and VSF stacks."
"The technical support is fantastic!"
"With Aruba, I like its stability and lifetime warranty."
"There is a feature where you can use Bluetooth. You can set up a Bluetooth pairing connection and do the configuration through your phone."
"I like MikroTik's GUI. It's completely handy and easy to handle because of its GUI. Despite other brands like Cisco urging me to switch, I didn't because they don't have a GUI. This is the most comfortable thing in my project that anyone can use easily. It's effortless to maintain MikroTik routers because both screens make it very easy in GUI mode. You can easily interact with your hardware."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches support every protocol, making them suitable for a wide range of routing policies."
"The deployment process of MikroTik routers and switches is very convenient since it is not command-driven and comes with a graphical user interface, making it much easier to operate."
"The price is a big factor. They are very affordable, and the quality is high."
"This equipment is resilient and available at a good price."
"The most valuable aspect of this solution is the combination of value for money. They're extremely cost effective, yet they provide you with an extensive feature set of things you can do across the board. Also, they're pretty reliable, as far as equipment goes."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches are good and easy to use."
"I think the tool's most valuable is its firewall. Cisco assisted them in developing it, making it easy to use. They expose a lot of background features, so you can go deep into integration, similar to Cisco switches. You can choose to use the command line interface or user interface."
 

Cons

"The written documentation, all the available documentation, is often a little bit hard to find. The solution lacks documentation, especially on recent features. We have access directly to Aruba, Germany, so they are always helpful, but if you start, for instance, with something a little bit more complex like zero-touch provisioning, that would require a more comprehensive written piece."
"The initial setup is relatively complex."
"My experience with Aruba's account manager hasn't been the greatest."
"It would be better and easier for us to buy if the price were reduced."
"I would like to see easier learning and configuration from previous switch deployments."
"Aruba Switches could improve the monitoring and increase the scope of their online portal to cover cloud and on-premise deployments."
"The initial setup is not easy."
"We had an issue with the hardware where one or two interfaces went down after one and a half years. This issue impacted only one or two interfaces, not the whole hardware."
"The solution's website isn't that good. When I go to it, I can't find what I'm looking for. However, if I go to a third party's website, I can easily find the information."
"The solution needs to offer better documentation."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches needs to improve stability."
"f they can improve the OpenVPN, to make that a bit more straightforward, that would be ideal."
"I would like to have the option of having multiple logins."
"I would like to see a cluster feature added, where multiple devices can be configured and managed as one. One is in a standby state while the other is active, and if one fails then the other takes over."
"The queuing functionality needs improvement. The initial setup could be simplified."
"They could improve their product if they set, for instance, a controller for wireless LAN. That would allow them to really have something more than an access point."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost depends on the requirement. An extensive network will expand the budget. The price will be lower if there is a small requirement of one to ten switches. In comparison, Aruba is less costly than Cisco by about 10-20%."
"Pricing for this product is reasonable."
"There is not a switch that I would give more than six out of ten for pricing because, over the last year, the prices have been increasing very high."
"The pricing is perfect."
"The pricing for Aruba Switches is definitely expensive."
"There is a license to use the solution."
"I am paying for the hardware and Aruba Central licenses, but I would like a version of Aruba Central to come out with a light version with a few features turned off. Ubiquiti and other vendors have free tools. I believe they're looking at that, but it's not out yet. I hope they will release that to make it competitive because I'm using an enterprise-class switch for small businesses. We're looking for some of those capabilities, but not all of them."
"The price point was a big consideration for us and it is reasonable enough that we're able to standardize on Aruba for the networking pieces in our organization."
"They are very cheap and not at all expensive."
"In our company, we are using MikroTik without a license...However, we are planning to buy their services and subscriptions."
"The tool has a low price."
"There is no licensing fee in addition to the hardware, but we do pay an annual fee for support."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches' pricing is reasonable."
"MikroTik is very cost-effective and quite good for the price. It performs very well. For one of our customers, the existing setup comprises Cisco Catalyst switches, and it is about 10 to 15 years old. We're looking into upgrading in a cost-effective way to get the performance and yet still be at par with the quality and expectations that customers have from Cisco. Price-wise, Cisco is really expensive, and customers are expecting something different than Cisco so that they can save on IT costs. They don't have the same budget that they had before when they installed Cisco products. That's why they're looking for a solution that can provide performance and features without too much money or investment. We're looking at some alternative brands, such as NETGEAR and MikroTik, to support our proposal."
"Pricing is not an issue."
"The price is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Hospitality Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Switches?
Aruba lives up to the expectations of the tech giant hewlett packard enterprise providing excellent networking capabilities at a very affordable price compared to the equivalent from another tech g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Switches?
I find it to be middle to high. It's not always affordable, but they're losing the pricing market against Huawei, let's just put it like that.
What needs improvement with Aruba Switches?
There isn't much room for improvement. A more granular breakdown in debugging would be beneficial. Apart from that, not much is needed.
How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is ve...
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 MikroTik Routers and Switches?
The price is a big factor. They are very affordable, and the quality is high.
 

Also Known As

8400 Series, 8320 Series, 5400R Series, 3810 Series, 2930M Series, 2930F Series, 2920 Series, 2540 Series, 2530 Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University
ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Switches vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.