Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
7th
Ranking in AV Over IP Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
173
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (1st)
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
5th
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Ranking in AV Over IP Switching
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 30.8%, down from 31.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 7.3%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

SameerBali - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and stable catalyst switch; can be easily installed
I like Cisco Catalyst Switches because most of the time, we can do what we want with the product. Cisco has good guidelines that enable us to implement anything, so we can have a multiple ability product on most of the network equipment worldwide. Cisco has communities or forums that help us implement more complicated areas in terms of network, so in addition, Cisco is not just a network equipment company, because they provide us most of the solutions, development, protocols, and new technologies, more than any other company in the world. I also like the availability of Cisco Catalyst Switches, including scalability and reliability. You can find all these in this product.
Beenish Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps with infrastructure planning and provides flexibility to leverage and connect more devices
The solution helps with infrastructure planning. If you have a point-of-sale system, you can use these switches to connect the internet devices through the right Ethernet cable.  That gives more flexibility instead of trying to get the Ethernet cable in the infrastructure wall. We use these…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Catalyst switches are easy to use and simple to work with."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are easy to use, simple to configure, and straightforward to upgrade. Additionally, CDN has been very helpful for separation."
"These switches are stable."
"It helps keep our network connections in a healthy state."
"It has the ability to create new services for users, such as IP phones and video conference."
"It enables fast data transfer rates, while offering stable and consistent network performance."
"VLAN gives us segregation."
"I have not opened up a ticket for Cisco Catalyst Switches. However, I have used the support from Cisco and they are very good and responsive."
"Technical support is helpful and quick to respond."
"Its setup, usage, and access are most valuable. It is a very easy switch to set up."
"We use these switches to help us leverage and connect more devices."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"The company provides a lifetime warranty."
"This is a cost-effective solution."
"With this, you literally just log in to a website, see all your clients, all your NETGEAR switches, and you can manage them all right there: the VLANs, powering on and off individual ports, rebooting the whole device, the firmware updates. Everything can be done remotely..."
"For what I used this switch for, it did well."
 

Cons

"They should also have a graphic interface for the switches too without the command line."
"The user interface needs improvement. Meraki has a much nicer UI. Cisco could learn a lot by looking at them. It might make them a bit more user friendly."
"The price could be better. For Cisco, there is no need for improvement except for the price. It's expensive."
"If we have a major problem, fixing it takes two or three days and six to eight engineers from Cisco. When they escalate a ticket, it goes through too many levels. Every time the issue is passed along to a new person at Cisco support, they ask the same questions repeatedly."
"The solution is expensive. They should work on their pricing model to try to make it more affordable for customers."
"The solution could improve by allowing administrators to create scripts to help automate processes to make tasks easier."
"Facilitating and adapting the security updates would be a good improvement, because usually it requires to reboot the router to get them"
"Cisco Catalyst Switches do not have an open architecture and you have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them."
"This product lacks a CLI interface."
"NETGEAR Switches must look into their competitors since they have all available models."
"The solution needs centralized management and centralized configuration."
"The product's scalability has certain shortcomings that can be improved."
"Centralized monitoring is there, but competitors like Cisco Prime are at a higher level of centralized monitoring."
"The M4250 switches needs more SFP models."
"The technical support could be more helpful."
"NETGEAR Switches could provide local technical support services."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't see any price issue with Cisco. Whenever you buy a quality product, you always have a mindset of paying the premium amount. For any good product, you pay a premium amount, but that also means you are going to recover that premium over a period of time in terms of performance."
"We had to pay for the product’s licenses."
"The product is quite expensive."
"The price of Cisco equipment is very expensive and you have to pay extra for support."
"The price could be improved."
"They are expensive."
"The cost of Cisco switches is a little more expensive than the competition. However, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." If you want a reliable solution and other benefits, Cisco Catalyst Switches are worth the money."
"It is overpriced. Some devices can be very expensive. Most of the clients have a contract with Cisco for two or three years."
"NETGEAR's new product is definitely more expensive than their standard product line. It's a new product line for them, so I'm hoping with the maturity of the product that those costs will come down. The standard product line is considerably cheaper."
"NETGEAR Switches' pricing is low compared to other brands. I rate it an eight out of ten."
"Licensing is always a hassle and a pain point."
"This is a one-time purchase and there are no licensing fees."
"From a price perspective, the solution comes in higher than a small business product from their competitors. The solution is a bit higher, but it's a fraction of the cost compared to an enterprise switch. For example, a Cisco Catalyst can run approximately $13,000, where their Small Business Series may run $800 on the Cisco side. With NETGEAR, it falls in around the $1,000 to $2,000 range for most of what we use it for. Essentially, at this price point, you're getting a lot of enterprise grade features (e.g., that you would on a Catalyst) on an M4300."
"The price point, compared to a lot of the competitors that didn't have the modular switch, was about 20 to 30 percent less expensive."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten."
"Insight pricing is okay. It's very competitive. The costs of the hardware and additional services weren't low because Unify is much cheaper, but the costs conformed to the market. When you look at the hardware specs, the price and the warranty, the complete package was much better than any other vendor. If you consider those three main aspects of Netgear Insight and Netgear Insight devices, and you put them next to Ubiquity or Cisco Meraki, or even TP-Link, in our opinion, it's better hardware, it has a better warranty, and for the price you have to pay, it's a pretty good product."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which LAN Switching solutions are best for your needs.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
62%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
3%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
How do NETGEAR switches compare with Cisco ethernet switches?
NetGear switches have a lot to offer. They have high availability, zero-downtime stacking, L2 and L3 functionality, and are AV-over-IP ready. NetGear switches also have a command line interface and...
Which switches are better - Ubiquiti Unifi or Netgear?
Ubiquiti Unifi offers a great set of features. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and also doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfi...
What do you like most about NETGEAR Switches?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

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
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: November 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.