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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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 Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
133
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (5th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 16.8%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 9.1%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Pradeep Adhav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network security enhancement with sturdy switches despite high costs
The Cisco Ethernet switches are primarily used as regular core switches for networking, distribution, and access levels. We also utilize Cisco Wi-Fi, VPN, and Wi-Fi controllers The Cisco Ethernet switches have improved our network's security, ensuring it is 100% secure by not allowing any…
Doug Meuross - PeerSpot reviewer
Can easily integrate with the networks and infrastructures
No maintenance is required for the solution. It is very easy to integrate the product with the other systems in our company's infrastructure since you only need to consider plugging a cable. My company does not integrate the product with any product specifically since we only consider integrations with the networks and infrastructures. As the product needs to be plugged in and it starts working, I can say that it is a reliable solution that works. The tool also offers quality, especially if you consider how you would not know whether an unknown product that you choose would work for you or not. I recommend the product to others. I rate the tool a ten 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

"The solution is a high-end router that can handle a huge network with tons of traffic."
"We don't need any support from Cisco since there are a lot of materials and training about Cisco available online. I feel Cisco's support is good."
"The most valuable feature is the simplicity of the central management system(CMS)."
"I like that it's easy to use."
"The product is pretty much reliable and stable."
"The solution is highly reliable."
"The quality, like all Cisco solutions, is very high. The fact that it's Cisco is one of the reasons we chose to use it."
"We use Cisco Ethernet Switches to configure VLANs in the VPN network."
"The High Bandwidth AV-over-IP functionality of these switches has been fantastic, especially in leaf-and-spine. We've been able to build redundancy and they seem to outperform even the Cisco Catalyst, which is about twice as expensive as the M-series switches are."
"The tool is stable."
"We have a wide range of switches for various applications, including a collection specifically designed for ProAV, as well as Multi-gig Switches, which are also quite well-known or unique."
"The stability is good. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"The tool is very easy to deploy as it is a very basic switch."
"The initial setup is easy."
"NETGEAR Switches has valuable cybersecurity features."
"There is a lot of helpful documentation that helps with the configuration process."
 

Cons

"If Cisco Ethernet Switches can work both on-prem and in the cloud, it would be an advantage."
"We are less in the Cloud because the Cloud technologies didn't work so well. That happened in all of the companies where I've been engaged."
"I haven't heard from my engineers that they said it's excellent."
"Cisco's equipment is expensive, especially since it introduced the obligatory purchase of Cisco DNA."
"We have supply issues when ordering switches. It used to be a minimum of six to eight weeks. Now it has become around six months. That's the only issue we have."
"The technical support should be improved."
"This may be something that they are already working on, but it would be an improvement if they could add a layer of security to layer two and layer three to protect the server and to protect the data."
"Up to a certain network size, it is easy to scale, but after that, it becomes difficult."
"NETGEAR Switches could provide local technical support services."
"This product lacks a CLI interface."
"There is a lack of documentation, and the documentation I have is unclear, so I have to rely on Google for information."
"Being able to pass AVB traffic over these switches, that would be a huge add. There are not many switches out that support that. The GS728TP NETGEAR switches used to or still do support AVB, but it would be ideal if the 4300 Series could support it as well."
"The product's stability has certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"There are some design issues on which they really missed the boat. The problem has to do with rack mounting them because the lights and jacks should all be on the front, and the power on the back. The way they did it makes it really difficult to use them in a rack environment, because when the lights are on the opposite side of the jacks... you usually can't see the back side of a rack. You can't get back there to see, so it's just crazy."
"Lacks switches with additional ports that provide room for new protocols of communications."
"There is a technical problem they can't seem to solve. It doesn't support multicast packets. In layman's terms, Mac computers can't print over the network."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco is an industry leader, but the price is very high."
"The price of Cisco Ethernet Switches here in India is too high. There are other cheaper solutions available."
"The pricing is reasonable so I rate it a six out of ten."
"The price is very high though it is priced right for the level of quality."
"Its price is a bit higher than other brands. Indian customers are price-conscious. They should improve its price."
"The price of this solution is fair."
"The solution is not too expensive."
"It is expensive. There are additional costs besides the license cost."
"The pricing for what you get with the Insight product line is very fair and the value is there, including the annual licensing fees for the Insight Pro for each device... the Insight Pro level, which is their highest level, where you get a lot of features with the Insight, is a bargain. You get a lot of good features for what you're paying there annually."
"I believe that the pricing is reasonable."
"This is a one-time purchase and there are no licensing fees."
"You get what you pay for. From a price comparison, there are cheaper switch makers on the market that are definitely less expensive than NETGEAR. They give you the same functionality, but they don't come with a name. There are solutions like Ubiquiti that are very good. They have the ease of setup, and I find NETGEAR battling a little bit in comparison to Ubiquiti."
"Compared to other large names in the marketplace, the price of NETGEAR's product is extremely cost-effective compared to what Cisco or Extreme offer."
"For the price, they're good. If you look at Ubiquity switches (which have cloud features too) or even the regular NETGEAR GS switches, these are still price-competitive and come with the cloud features, which is just amazing."
"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."
"It's cheaper than Cisco. For the features it offers, the pricing is good."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
838,737 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
University
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 ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
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 Industrial Ethernet Switches
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,737 professionals have used our research since 2012.