No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs ExtremeCloud SD-WAN comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
120
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 most valuable features, application awareness, and failover resilience, stand out as key considerations for users."
"The connectivity is great."
"The user experience is pretty good."
"So far, the feature that I like best is the policy configuration manager."
"The most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include the DIA and its integration with Cisco Umbrella for DNS security."
"Overall, I really like the whole technology."
"By implementing Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I can get the best out of the service provider's connectivity links and optimize my network."
"I believe that Cisco is the best, overall."
"The solution is very scalable."
 

Cons

"The solution is very costly."
"The response time from Cisco TAC is very bad."
"Overall, I find it a quite complicated solution with not that much operational usability."
"Cisco needs to improve the technical support for this solution."
"The installation is not easy. If you have experience and it is not your first time doing the installation, it can be easier."
"We have had some problems with the licensing model, and it is something that should be improved."
"This solution could be improved with a simpler implementation process and licensing model."
"Regarding Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN's AI capabilities, I think its governance and security are just okay, not the best in the world."
"The solution could be more affordable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The costs are a bit on the high side."
"Cloud subscription management must be paid for, although this does not incur a perpetual fee."
"We can only buy three-year licenses, not monthly. The cost seems high for us, especially since we're in Vietnam, which isn't a rich country. But we still like the product because it is good."
"The cost is reasonable. I would rate the price as seven out of ten."
"On a scale of one to five, I would rate Cisco's pricing as a three."
"In the Russian market where we operate, this solution is expensive."
"The price of the solution is the only negative factor, it is much more expensive compared with the Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solution."
"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."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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 Enterprise16
Large Enterprise62
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.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.