Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Additionally, 95% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Read 185 Cisco Catalyst Switches reviews

11,275 Views
4,397 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Read 34 Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Cisco Catalyst Switches and Dell PowerConnect Switches are competitors in the network equipment market. Cisco has an edge due to its robust feature set, superior reliability, and advanced security, whereas Dell stands out for affordability and ease of configuration.

Features: Cisco Catalyst Switches offer advanced security features such as Port Security, VLAN support, and Power over Ethernet (PoE), ensuring high reliability for enterprise environments. Their stacking capabilities allow for enhanced stability and uptime. In contrast, Dell PowerConnect Switches are appreciated for their value, offering essential features like PoE and VLAN at a more accessible price point. They are straightforward to configure and integrate well into existing infrastructures.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Catalyst Switches are often criticized for their high cost and complex licensing structure, leading calls for better pricing models and simpler configurations. Users also desire faster technology updates and improved third-party solution integration. Dell PowerConnect Switches face challenges in scalability and stability over longer periods, and they lack advanced features required for high-demand environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deploying Cisco Catalyst Switches usually demands technical expertise and they are primarily used in on-premises setups with limited cloud options. While customer service is well-regarded, it can be slow and costly. Dell PowerConnect Switches are generally easier to deploy due to simpler configurations, being used commonly in on-premises and hybrid cloud environments. Dell's customer service is reliable, albeit occasionally slow in response.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Catalyst Switches are considered expensive, justified by some users due to the product’s quality and stability. Licensing and subscription fees add to the costs, positioning Cisco as a premium option. Meanwhile, Dell PowerConnect Switches are noted for their economic pricing, offering a cost-effective solution for smaller setups with quicker returns on investment, though they offer fewer features and limited scalability compared to Cisco.

To learn more, read our detailed LAN Switching Report (Updated: May 2026).

Buyer's Guide

LAN Switching

May 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 896,692 peers since 2012

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 Switches

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

185

Ranking in other categories

LAN Switching (1st), Ethernet Switches (3rd), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Mutari Sallau

Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals

Reliable switching has delivered long‑term uptime, strong PoE support, and predictable performance

Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst Switches—and Cisco products in general—is relatively high, especially in many African markets where organizations often need to balance budget constraints with required functionality. There are alternative vendors that offer comparable features at a lower price point. While they may not always match Cisco’s ecosystem, stability, or full feature depth, many businesses still choose them because of the significant cost savings. Another consideration is licensing, which can add to the overall total cost of ownership depending on the deployment model and required features. Overall, Cisco Catalyst Switches remain premium enterprise solutions, but when compared with other OEMs, their higher acquisition and licensing costs can be a major deciding factor for cost-conscious organizations.

Read full review

LarsEvans

Chief Technology Officer / Chief Information Security Officer at Lorton Data, Inc.

Reliable and useful for network segmentation

The solution's most valuable feature stands up well. The tool is reliable, and it stands up well. The solution works fine and lasts a long time. I think if you speak about the features that have a flow and you can measure, it is hard to say. I don't spend a lot of my time with the tool, but I know that Dell APEX is the solution's cloud. I would say the VLAN features are important. The VLAN features are really useful because network segmentation is important. I would say the tool is easy to program. I don't know if the tool has any security features that I am aware of other than the fact that the solution is for networking. The VLAN and the ability to segment your networks are easy, which is its security feature.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution has been good to us, it's very solid."

"The most valuable feature is the interface, it's easy to configure. The command line uses a switch that gives us security."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco equipment is reliability."

"These switches are stable."

"Cisco Catalyst Switches are the best overall."

"Cisco Catalyst Switches are able to communicate to all the other hardware very well."

"I have found that the protocols that Cisco Catalyst Switches support are beneficial for my customers."

"As far as technology is concerned, Cisco improves the client-to-client business."

More Cisco Catalyst Switches pros

"It has excellent technical support, is very scalable, stable, reliable, and the product is very affordable."

"The tool is reliable, and it stands up well. The solution works fine and lasts a long time."

"The features I've found most valuable are that the product is very easy to configure and inexpensive."

"The security is the most valuable aspect of this solution; it also has good storage and resource handling."

"Dell PowerConnect switches are cheaper than Cisco switches, and because they are modular I do not need to invest 100% upfront as I can start with 25 gigs today, move to 100 gigs after a few months, and then go to 200 gigs later."

"The product is reliable."

"The most valuable feature is stability."

"Dell PowerConnect Switches are easy to configure."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pros

Cons

"The product must improve its security."

"Pricing for Cisco Catalyst Switches is on the higher end, compared to its competitors, and is something that could be improved."

"I cannot say that the pricing is reasonable because it's a little above our expectations."

"The technical support, in some cases, should be faster and could improve."

"One feature that I would like to add is for the following: At times, when I add an access-list for a hostname, it doesn't actually add the hostname, it adds the IP address. So in the back-end, if my server changes the IP address I have to go in manually and change the IP address. If the capability was there in Cisco to add a hostname instead of the IP address that would be really good."

"The solution could be cheaper."

"Catalyst Switches could be more secure."

"They should make so that they let users know five to ten minutes before productivity is restored in the case of power loss."

More Cisco Catalyst Switches cons

"I expect it to be a zero-touch or a plug-and-play device. To some extent, it is, but we need to know the architecture, and we need to know what exactly we are doing. It is not so easy to implement. It depends on what exactly we are doing and it is still not a plug-and-play or zero-touch device. In the upcoming version, they can make it zero-touch, where we can just power it on and start using it. They can have some templates for different scenarios, such as when you are using it for the data center or adding it to your existing infrastructure."

"Scalability can be a problem with these switches."

"The solution could provide more integration to focus on targeting the network as a whole rather than a unified environment. It is meant for a built environment, so integration with other third-party vendors will likely be necessary."

"There should be more port options in this switch. Currently, it has 24 or 48 ports. However, some of our customers require only 8 ports, but I have to put a switch with 24 ports. They should provide smaller solutions and complimentary access point for companies like ours with a low quantity of work. The main issue with this product is branding. They should improve their branding and promote their brand more in Mexico. Customers are more aware of brands like Cisco as compared to Dell."

"I do not like this solution. It runs ok but we have had problems."

"Scalability, especially with the power connect series is something that you have to take into account before starting the project because any changes to an ongoing project can be difficult."

"We've only been using the solution for half a year. We haven't run into any issues, but maybe over time, that may change."

"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco Catalyst switches is reasonable."

"Cisco switches are expensive. Their price range is based not only on what the product does but also the name in the industry. They are good at what they do. If you need a better product, there are other lineups available."

"The pricing of these devices can be better."

"The cost of this solution could be less expensive, and we are on an annual license."

"The price of a Cisco Catalyst Switches license is expensive."

"If you compare Cisco to other products, Cisco is more expensive. If you choose a 7000 series switch it will be a very pricy system. The support from Cisco is an additional service."

"The price should go down instead of up. "

"Cisco Catalyst Switches are a bit expensive."

More Cisco Catalyst Switches pricing and cost advice

"If you want to purchase a new Dell PowerConnect Switch, you will pay up to $1,600, but I bought them used. I bought the four Dell PowerConnect Switches that I used for $1,000."

"PowerConnect Switches are priced well."

"Pricing for Dell PowerConnect Switches is quite competitive compared to Cisco and HP pricing. Dell has cheaper pricing and the company is trying to push for sales for its switching infrastructure because right now, the current market is dominated by Cisco. In the US market, there's Cisco, HP, Juniper, and Arista which you can buy for data center switching meant for different kinds of enterprises and ISPs. Dell PowerConnect Switches, on the other hand, is a product for people who need smaller setups or individual switches, especially those looking for a cheaper product and basic switching, though you can also buy a complete suite packaged with the switches."

"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."

"In my opinion, it is a product that is priced somewhere in the middle, making it a well-priced solution in the middle. It is not a very cheap product."

"Its price is okay. Sometimes, it is lower than a Cisco solution."

"The product is cheaper than Cisco and licensing is yearly. We have to pay additional costs for support."

"The solution is less expensive and more cost-efficient."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which LAN Switching solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

896,692 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	83
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	83

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	6

Questions from the Community

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 ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?

For deployment costs, we handled the network infrastructure setup internally, so there was little to no external implementation cost. One major advantage of Cisco Systems products is the strong ava...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerConnect Switches?

The solution is cheaper than Cisco.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell PowerConnect Switches?

Some proprietary commands available in Cisco are preferred by users accustomed to Cisco systems. These users might hesitate to switch because they want to continue using familiar commands and see t...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Dell PowerConnect Switches?

Dell PowerConnect Switches are primarily used at the distribution layer, but as the product evolved, higher models became available. These newer models can function closer to the core network or th...

See all answers

Comparisons

Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 11% of the time

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 6% of the time

ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 5% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 5% of the time

TP-Link Omada Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Catalyst Switches Competitors

NETGEAR Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 18% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 14% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

ExtremeSwitching vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Catalyst Switches

May 2026

Download Cisco Catalyst Switches product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

May 2026

Download Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst

PowerConnect Switches

Overview

Cisco Catalyst Switches are renowned for their Power over Ethernet capabilities, performance stability, and dependable security. They support features like DHCP, stacking, and dynamic routing, offering ease of management, scalability, and reliability across different sectors.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are valued for their robust architecture and global reputation, supported by numerous trained professionals. They ensure consistent performance and adaptability across industries such as finance, education, and hospitality. With features like CLI and software integration, these switches offer ease of management, scalability, and strong technical support. Users appreciate modularity, speed, and network segmentation versatility. There is room for improvement in cost reduction, licensing simplification, usability, third-party integration, and security enhancements. Calls for improved configuration, product compatibility, faster support, and advanced training are noted.

What are the key features of Cisco Catalyst Switches?

PoE Capability: Ensures efficient power delivery with network connectivity.
Stable Performance: Maintains network reliability under various conditions.
Dependable Security: Offers robust security features to safeguard networks.
Ease of Management: Provides management simplicity through CLI and software integration.
Modularity: Allows scalable and flexible network configurations.

Why should users consider Cisco Catalyst in their reviews?

Scalability: Enables network growth with seamless integration.
Reliability: Consistent and dependable network performance.
Technical Support: Access to strong, professional technical support services.
Versatility in Network Segmentation: Efficiently organizes and manages network traffic.

Organizations utilize Cisco Catalyst Switches for diverse applications, including data centers, campuses, and WAN connectivity. Supporting enterprise networking, VLAN configurations, and user access, they integrate smoothly with existing infrastructure. These switches enhance connectivity for access layers, core components, and edge networking, catering to industries like finance, education, and hospitality for reliable and scalable performance.

Cisco

PowerConnect Switches family offers a set of flexible, manageable and comprehensive switch solutions supporting up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and optimized Internet iSCSI (iSCSI) performance with Dell Storage solutions, ideal for enterprise and campus LAN environments alike.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

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

Amerijet Holdings Inc., CGD Securities, MavenWire, Tulane University

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in LAN Switching. Updated: May 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

896,692 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best LAN Switching vendors and best Data Center Networking vendors.

We monitor all LAN Switching reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.