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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs Ubiquiti UniFi Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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
134
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 15.6%, down from 18.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is 6.4%, down from 7.1% 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…
John Balogh - PeerSpot reviewer
Centrally managed solution makes it easy to build one configuration and apply it to new devices
We have one or two UniFi switches, but they don't really compete with the Ciscos. It's a nice environment as far as keeping track of things and being able to manage ports, turn off rogue users, and stuff like that. The access points have been pretty convenient compared to Meraki, Lucent, Cisco, or any of the other bigger vendors that I used to deal with for other consulting projects. Ubiquiti is one step above the consumer level. They cost a little bit more, but they just seem to be drop-dead reliable, and they're keeping up with the latest standards. Their latest versions of access points are all Wi-Fi 6, and they don't take very much power when there aren't a lot of users. It's really easy to build one configuration and just apply it to new devices. It's a check mark box: Do I want this to be the staff VLAN, or the public VLAN, or the Voice over IP VLAN, or the security VLAN, or the house wiring VLAN, or the building logistics VLAN? You just check things off and then you make groups, so if you click on it, it applies all the appropriate things automatically. It makes it very easy. This solution is good for the prosumer, small office, medium office, under 500 people range, but probably over 50 people and maybe distributed around five or 10 sites. That's a pretty good sweet spot as far as the price for the equipment and the configurability, and it's just drop-dead reliable. It's been boring, which is what I love because I don't get any calls in the middle of the night that something isn't working.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The installation is very straightforward."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The tool is easy to use, offering numerous options in terms of server connection."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet switches include plug-and-play capabilities, ease of deployment, and high reliability."
"A stable product that is absolutely dependable."
"For me, the initial setup was easy and straightforward, but for some of our customers who are not as familiar with networking, it can be complicated."
"The procedures and handling of these switches are easy."
"It is easy to configure and troubleshoot."
"I like the control one has with this solution."
"The product's most valuable features include its robust performance and reliability."
"The two most valuable features are the remote access user and the side-to-side connection."
"For the world where you have to balance traffic and traffic loads and bandwidth, their GUI makes it really easy because the switches, though they are enterprise grade level two or level three switches, the GUI is designed so that it's easy to set up VLANs where you need to control your traffic so that your phones don't break up and get choppy because of other people loading the network down too heavily."
"The GUI interface is very easy to use and the Linux-based command-line interface is also good."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its reliability."
"The product’s most valuable features are stability and scalability."
"Overall the solution functions very well."
 

Cons

"The cost is very prohibitive both for us as well as other organizations. It's very expensive to buy Cisco switches. Among our colleagues, we find that we're not alone in thinking it's too high. Everyone's complaining about this."
"I don't like that you have to have a license of 10 years to use the switch. I don't understand that policy."
"The solution should offer a method for user-based load balancing."
"We've had hardware problems like SSDs, ports, networking, things like that."
"Currently, we have to wait up to eight months for a switch."
"The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The technical support should be improved."
"Ubiquiti UniFi Switches can improve by putting more effort into security. There are not many options in security. Other solutions, you can filter, do access control, and functionality. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches provides all the basic network security where it's all about the password for someone to access the SSID on the network, but it doesn't go beyond advanced network features of packet filtering, monitoring, and managing users."
"In the next release, it would be beneficial to include a face recognition feature for door access control to enhance security and user convenience."
"The VPN technology in Ubiquiti products is really difficult for beginners who do not have the right skills."
"The stability and installation could be improved."
"Functionalities can change quite quickly without notice."
"The technical support for this solution could be improved."
"They could integrate artificial intelligence for more advanced network traffic analysis and optimization features into the product."
"I think they need to provide a better firewall solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are happy with the pricing from Cisco."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution is not too expensive."
"The product is very expensive"
"Its price is a bit higher than other brands. Indian customers are price-conscious. They should improve its price."
"Price-wise, Cisco Ethernet Switches is a product that falls a little bit on the expensive side."
"We get the SMARTnet and one of the switches has that Cisco ONE licensing. It's probably running about $12,000 a year right now."
"When you compare with other products, they are more or less the same price."
"I feel that the price of this solution is definitely reasonable compared to all of the others."
"I rate the pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"The solution only offers one-year warranties but should offer three-year or limited-loss warranties."
"The price is good, and it doesn't require additional licenses."
"The price should be improved."
"UniFi Switches are cost-effective compared to Cisco."
"It is expensive."
"The price of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is really good. We have deployed a few Ubiquiti UniFi Switches in New Zealand, and they are a value for money. They are cheaper and stable, but if you have the budget, I would recommend Meraki switches."
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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
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

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...
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...
Which are better - Ubiquiti UniFi switches or MikroTik routers and switches?
Ubiquiti Unifi is a great solution. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfigure an AP or ga...
What do you like most about Ubiquiti UniFi Switches?
We have integrated the tool for PoE switches and non-PoE switches. Its most valuable feature is SD-WAN. UniFi SD-WAN can access all statistics and performance data in one interface, enabling us to...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
UniFi Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Staypineapple
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,772 professionals have used our research since 2012.