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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs ExtremeCloud SD-WAN comparison

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Executive Summary

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

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), WAN Edge (2nd)
ExtremeCloud SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
35th
Average Rating
0.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is 11.1%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeCloud SD-WAN is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN11.1%
ExtremeCloud SD-WAN0.6%
Other88.3%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Ashwani-Tyagi - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Manager at Orange
Centralized control has simplified cloud access and has improved operational visibility
If they can have better firewall features as their competitors have, such as Fortinet and Versa, that would help to place this solution better so that we can address security related things. If they can have all the IPS, IDS, everything built on all the edge devices, whether physical or virtual, that could be one improvement. Actually, if customers are existing Cisco customers, if Cisco can be more flexible to leverage the existing investment, that could be another important aspect to save on cost and be more competitive from a pricing perspective. Overall, the pricing or the segment that Cisco deals with is a bit premium, which they charge a bit premium against the competition on the licensing, hardware, and services. The implementation is not straightforward. You need a specialized partner or specialized people who can implement this. It can be simplified a bit from that perspective as well. Mostly the way we implement the policies for a big environment requires a lot of things that we need to take care of. If that can somehow be improved, because they have different components, like they have vManage, they have vSmart, and vBond and all these components have to work with a certain flow that they need to follow.
Wael Awni - PeerSpot reviewer
Management Board Member And Network Engineer at NewLogics
A useful and scalable solution for customers with multiple retail offices
Our primary use case for the solution is focused on remote branches. The solution is very useful if customers have multiple retail offices and branches, and it's really good on the scale The solution is very scalable, and the business model is good because it provides a solution as a service. For…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is very nice."
"When we have had power outages for a few hours we have had no issue with Cisco SD-WAN coming back online and functioning."
"Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented."
"This is a good solution, and it's a new technology that people should look into because it provides for seamless management of the whole network, including switches."
"Cisco does a great job managing its customers."
"The centralized management is the most important feature. We can monitor what is going on at every location in our network with just one center."
"The most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include the DIA and its integration with Cisco Umbrella for DNS security."
"Huge companies use SD-WAN. It is largely scalable."
"The solution is very scalable."
 

Cons

"It is the best solution that I ever had, but there might be something better than this in the future."
"This solution is expensive so pricing is a concern."
"The deployment is complex, and Cisco makes everything complicated."
"The solution is complex. It's not straightforward."
"The technical support is a bit slow."
"The solution should be more user-friendly."
"The solution could be more secure. Security is always a priority for us."
"Cisco could provide you your firewall and your SD-WAN solution together."
"The solution could be more affordable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive. The cost of the solution is approximately 30 percent higher than competitors."
"The Cisco SD-WAN licensing model needs to be simplified. There are currently three types of licenses: enterprise agreements, individual licenses, and DNA subscriptions. This can confuse customers, requiring a dedicated person to determine which type of license is right for their organization."
"80 percent reduction in WAN costs. There are no MPLS or P2P circuits left in the organization."
"The product is not too expensive."
"SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"The cost is reasonable. I would rate the price as seven out of ten."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business52
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise52
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is something I don't know as the tender is not in my department or at my level, but I know it is very expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
I cannot speak to programming-side improvements since that is not my area of expertise. On a base level, improvements could include a better interface, more AI capabilities, better pricing, and bet...
What is your primary use case for Cisco SD-WAN?
The primary use case is for network management and routers we have for WAN connectivity.
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Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
Ipanema SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: October 2026.
920,223 professionals have used our research since 2012.