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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs MikroTik Routers and Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Routers and Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
Routers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 1.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 7.0%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Vishwajeet Pandey - PeerSpot reviewer
Management and monitoring efficiencies from a single platform increase network control and flexibility
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center ( /products/fortinet-fortiswitch-data-center-reviews ) offers flexibility and control over the entire network from a single pane of management. It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool. These features make the solution accurate, flexible, and valuable for network management.
AnikIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
Cost-effective protocol support and a straightforward setup with room for login enhancements
In the network operations center, I manage our client's bandwidth. We connect with our clients through BGP and OSPF based on client demands. We also manage routing protocols, policies, internal firewalls, and other details like QE bandwidth, client manage bandwidth management, PoE, PPPoE, and DNS…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"SD-WAN and the security fabric are essential features of the product."
"I have found the solution to be scalable."
"Based on my use cases, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center was a great product that was easy to manage and work with while being a powerful tool."
"The single pane of glass that helps us manage everything through FortiManager is the most important feature."
"It allows us to manage all necessary services, such as data centers, networking, and cybersecurity."
"What I like about the solution is that it can be accessed anywhere."
"FortiSwitch Data Center allows for centralized management of both Fortinet switches and firewalls from a single interface."
"FortiSwitch Data Center allows for centralized management of both Fortinet switches and firewalls from a single interface."
"One of the primary advantages is its competitive pricing in the market."
"The radius and wireless features are the most valuable aspects of the solution."
"It's very user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"The best part about MikroTik Routers is the price."
"MikroTik offers full enterprise capabilities at a very reasonable price."
"Load balancing is one of the valuable features of the solution...In short, MikroTik provides a very user-friendly GUI option."
"We're very happy with what we are getting out of the solution in general. The features are good. They're comparable to other brands such as Cisco and HP."
 

Cons

"Enhancing security on the firewall and the switches, as well as focusing on price segment issues, would make it a better solution for the future."
"The stability of the solution is impacted when integrating parts from different vendors such as Cisco, which can lead to performance problems and disconnections."
"The product must improve the latency in the management center."
"The FortiSwitch product was initially quite complex."
"Fortinet could have the ability to authenticate users like Aruba offers because managing ten or twelve SSIDs for different clients is complicated."
"The solution can improve by upgrading QSFP+, it is very limited and must be supported more than it is now. If we need FortiSwitches to support all the QSFP ports our budgets would have to be very large."
"There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors."
"Cisco is better in terms of price, scalability, and ease of management. Regarding resources, they are available in Pakistan to manage these systems."
"They could improve their product if they set, for instance, a controller for wireless LAN. That would allow them to really have something more than an access point."
"The user interface allows you to do a lot of things, but it is not user-friendly."
"The interface for management could be improved."
"The user interface is not very good."
"The ports could be improved, as certain areas may need to be terminated with a greater number of Ethernet ports. We initially faced challenges that hindered our network usage, especially with third-party applications that were not certified or supported. It took some time to streamline and resolve these issues."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches need a firewall policy to secure the network. I also want Mikrotic to add load balancing to the firewall policy, as it's currently hard to do in Mikrotik devices."
"As far as improvements, there are basically only two things I would suggest. First, I think they should provide extensive training for the new releases of products, especially in the LTE space. Second, they could spend more time ensuring that their OS releases are more stable, rather than waiting for things to fall apart on the customer's premises before they make the necessary changes."
"Technical support could be better. They don't have good support like Cisco. It can also be more stable and scalable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has a mid-range price."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution, which is expensive."
"Cost-wise, Fortinet solutions are cheaper than those offered by Cisco."
"This solution is expensive but it does not require a license."
"The solution is not expensive."
"It is reasonably priced."
"The product is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"The solution's pricing is a little high. The solution deserves the current price it receives from its users."
"MikroTik is very cost-effective and quite good for the price. It performs very well. For one of our customers, the existing setup comprises Cisco Catalyst switches, and it is about 10 to 15 years old. We're looking into upgrading in a cost-effective way to get the performance and yet still be at par with the quality and expectations that customers have from Cisco. Price-wise, Cisco is really expensive, and customers are expecting something different than Cisco so that they can save on IT costs. They don't have the same budget that they had before when they installed Cisco products. That's why they're looking for a solution that can provide performance and features without too much money or investment. We're looking at some alternative brands, such as NETGEAR and MikroTik, to support our proposal."
"The main reason we use this solution is for the price — it's very cheap."
"MikroTik Routers and Switches' pricing is reasonable."
"They are very cheap and not at all expensive."
"There is no licensing fee in addition to the hardware, but we do pay an annual fee for support."
"In our company, we are using MikroTik without a license...However, we are planning to buy their services and subscriptions."
"This product is cheaper than competing products by other vendors."
"The tool's pricing is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Hospitality Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
There is room for improvement in customer support and device speed. Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging. Additionally, improving the speed of th...
How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is ve...
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 MikroTik Routers and Switches?
The price is a big factor. They are very affordable, and the quality is high.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.