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Cisco DNA Center vs NetBox.dev comparison

 

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 DNA Center
Ranking in Network Automation
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (11th)
NetBox.dev
Ranking in Network Automation
8th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
IP Address Management (IPAM) Tools (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 12.8%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetBox.dev is 5.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco DNA Center12.8%
NetBox.dev5.0%
Other82.2%
Network Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed  Helmy - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support
We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…
TM
Works as an IP asset management platform but improvement is needed in report automation
I recommend the tool to others. I would suggest ensuring that whoever is working on the deployment is fully dedicated during that time. It's important not to be distracted. In my experience, when someone's focus is split, we encounter a few issues. I rate the overall product a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have many people from the team who manage a lot of devices. By using Cisco DNA Center, it has taken some of that burden away, we are impressed with it. We did the investment in CAPEX, but in the OPEX was very low."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."
"The product's most valuable feature is the visual representation of the switch's front panel."
"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"I find NetBox. dev's interaction and user-friendly GUI most valuable. It makes editing and removing items easy for users. Moving away from spreadsheets has been a benefit for our clients. It saves them a lot of time and makes everything accessible."
 

Cons

"Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"They should include UTM features in the product."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."
"The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"The tool should improve report automation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is medium-priced."
"The solution is expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
We have utilized the software-defined access (SDA) feature of Cisco DNA Center. The AI-driven needs enhancements and Integration and unification of visibility and monitoring to include other areas ...
What needs improvement with NetBox.dev?
The tool should improve report automation.
What is your primary use case for NetBox.dev?
We use the tool as an IP asset management platform, focusing on managing IP addresses. It also helps to manage assets.
What advice do you have for others considering NetBox.dev?
I recommend the tool to others. I would suggest ensuring that whoever is working on the deployment is fully dedicated during that time. It's important not to be distracted. In my experience, when s...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Cisco, VMware and others in Network Automation. Updated: August 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.