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HPE Ethernet Switches vs Meraki MS 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

HPE Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of HPE Ethernet Switches is 2.8%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 3.1%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Meraki MS Switches3.1%
HPE Ethernet Switches2.8%
Other94.1%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Dinesh Upadhyay - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience years of robust features and strong technical support
It is a nice and robust tool where we use HPE Ethernet Switches. It is a lower switch, and we have received good warranty support with HPE switches. The security features of the HPE Ethernet Switches are good. The UI mode is available, and we can easily configure the access list and SNMP. All these configurations can be done here. Users can enable the Layer 3 features.
MajidKhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Remote access enhances troubleshooting with potential for more intuitive interface
We are working with Citrix and router, but in Cisco for Cisco vendor only. We are taking from them since 2015.  The main use case involves some small business customers needing one router, one switch, and two to three access points. It is easy to handle the devices with just a small knowledge of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable product."
"Stable and scalable."
"A very robust solution."
"The switches are very important in our hospitals, which is a critical environment for our patients. They provide time-effective management and meet our needs."
"I like that HPE's management functions are GUI-based, so it doesn't rely on command lines."
"The solution's interface is helpful, and you can see the traffic."
"It's straightforward to set up."
"The simplicity of the commands is most valuable. The commands are the same for several devices."
"Quality of Service is easy to deploy. The ease of deployment, in general, is valuable. It is easy to do port configuration and VLAN assignments."
"The solution is scalable."
"Console of the dashboard is well integrated."
"The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are simple deployment and administration. You can have all your switches in one place and manage them."
"The solution is stable."
"The switch supports various automation testing tools, and it's quite helpful for network troubleshooting as well."
"They're easy to update."
"The biggest benefit that I see in Meraki MS Switches is central management and the cloud dashboard."
 

Cons

"Integrating AI features could make it better."
"The security of the solution always has room for improvement."
"VLAN can be improved, but I have to check that with the company expert. I have different switch models, but they don't have all the same interface. I don't know whether lower-level switches don't have the same interface as the better quality ones. I might have two different model types."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"There is a limitation of capability."
"The installation can be quite complex. However, that may not be the fault of HP and is rather more related to the way our infrastructure is arranged."
"Installation could be made more secure."
"This solution needs to support software-defined networking."
"It is not compliant with the requirements of specific industries that want to set it up within a particular region or country."
"It can have better security. It needs more security enhancements, and in particular, a zero-trust element. If we could have external and internal users vetted in the same way as a zero-trust network, that will be handy."
"Tracking native ports with IP addresses is not currently possible in Meraki. This is a potential area of improvement."
"What could be improved is that when a switch disconnects from the internet, you can't make any changes to that switch."
"They're definitely missing some of the higher end data center Cisco features."
"The pricing needs to be more competitive with other products on the market."
"The pricing can be made cheaper."
"Less flexibility than in some other solutions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to pay for a yearly license for HPE Ethernet Switches."
"There are free software updates and there is a lifetime warranty for a few of the switch series."
"The licensing cost is set up annually or every three years."
"There are no licensing costs for this solution."
"The licensing cost is yearly, and there aren't any additional costs on top of the standard fee."
"They are affordable and less expensive than Cisco. Their price was the decider at the time."
"We need to pay when we buy the switch. We pay for a license to use the software, but it is not required."
"We just bought new switches for $500 last year, and now, the same switch is $800. It's gone up in price in the last 12 months."
"Extreme switches are more cost-effective than Cisco Meraki Switches."
"The price of Meraki MS Switches is less expensive than other similar solutions."
"It depends on what type of equipment you have and other things. We're about $17,000 a year."
"If you buy a license for one switch, it will include the licensing for the device RMA, device failure warranty, technical support, and everything else. Also covered is support for software updates for future releases. It's a single license for everything and there's nothing that customers need to pay in addition to the license."
"Securing licenses and devices for more than a year can make the product expensive. In general, the product is expensive."
"They can get the price down for small businesses. The way I bought it, I paid hardly anything, and I got all my licensing with it. The firewall appliance is around $900, and the switches are around $150. This is for the device itself. For licensing, I signed at $70 or something like that for the switch. Technical Support is included in this."
"The tool is expensive."
"This product is more than the competition, but you get what you pay for."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business51
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Ethernet Switches?
The solution is very stable and easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Ethernet Switches?
The price of HPE Ethernet Switches is reasonable and less than other OEM brands.
What needs improvement with HPE Ethernet Switches?
The price should be reduced in comparison to Cisco, as sometimes we cannot use the HPE one at the core level, where generally public users are using Cisco. The price of HPE core switches and Cisco ...
What do you like most about Meraki MS Switches?
The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are their reliability and simplicity.
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
From my perspective, I don't have any indication for improvement regarding Meraki MS Switches, as our usage is quite basic and we don't need very sophisticated features. For core sites, we are stil...
 

Also Known As

HP Ethernet Switches
MS220, MS320, MS420
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Emirates Palace Hotel
Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Ethernet Switches vs. Meraki MS Switches and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.