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HPE Ethernet Switches vs NETGEAR 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
102
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (4th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of HPE Ethernet Switches is 2.4%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 8.9%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

LuisSilva6 - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides ease of management and has an easy initial setup process
Primarily, we use the product for network and VLAN segmentation across our hospitality property. It forms the backbone of our network, providing connectivity to devices like TVs, phones, access points, and even electrical switches within guest rooms The product's most valuable feature is the ease…
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

"I value that there is a clear place to find a MAC table with HPE Ethernet Switches."
"It's fairly lightweight, they don't require a lot of maintenance."
"These are the basic access layer switches used for connectivity among users, and they are cost-effective."
"The solution can scale."
"Switching to HPE Ethernet Switches greatly improved our network. We used to have both Cisco and HPE Ethernet Switches. Our network performance has increased by 300 percent."
"The HPE Ethernet switches have very low latency."
"We use HPE Ethernet Switches to provide solutions for the hotel, their guests, and IPTV."
"I like that these switches are reliable, and the support is good."
"The ease of use of these switches is very good because of the Cisco CLI. If you are familiar with CLI, then you can configure the switch that way. It also has a relatively straightforward web interface. Using the web interface is good for beginners or people who aren't familiar with Cisco CLI. However, having a common command line interface method is great for some of our more advanced guys who are familiar with it."
"Valuable features include network monitoring and ease of programming for VLANs, etc. I especially like NETGEAR because it's easy to teach system administrators how to use them, how to look at them, how to make changes to them without having the complexity of CLIs, but still having a CLI should we need it."
"I'm satisfied with the stability of NETGEAR Switches."
"Netgear switches are highly reliable. We haven't done anything particularly sophisticated with them."
"The ability to mix and match is invaluable. So, we didn't have to run massive super extensive switches in the data closets where it wasn't necessary. Being able to manage it all from one place, as all your network configuration settings went live across your entire building from one management console was really handy."
"The interface is comfortable for the new employees of our company. I think it's not a problem because our IT team, with probably only two hundred staff, handles our network well. We've tested our recovery systems, and everything is working fine. I don't remember any accidents or issues on our IT network in the last year."
"The remote troubleshooting features provide a single pane of glass where I can see my all my clients' equipment. If they're reporting a problem, I can go to the Insight Pro interface online and I can bring up that client and I can see all their devices and the status of all their devices."
"NETGEAR offers a competitive pricing structure, which is beneficial for cost management."
 

Cons

"The product could always use better technical support."
"We have some problems with the performance of our HPE Ethernet Switches because they are old."
"We would always be happier if the price were reduced."
"They should continue to work on new features."
"The pricing could be lowered."
"The cost could be better. HPE has to study it carefully with other vendors in the market, like Cisco or Juniper."
"Sometimes, we encounter the need for new technologies, especially when we require higher bandwidth. If we can't find what we need with HPE Ethernet Switches, we explore options from other vendors like Cisco."
"It would be better if they improve the implementation of SD-WAN."
"My one issue with it is that not all the features of the switch can currently be managed via the portal. For some of the more advanced features, you still have to configure the switch."
"The solution needs centralized management and centralized configuration."
"The technical support could be more helpful."
"It's worked for the most part, but we've had to power cycle a few devices. We've had to ask customers to manually power cycle them with the power cord, after some of the firmware updates. Their updating needs a little improvement."
"The M4250 switches needs more SFP models."
"They can improve on the commercial part, specifically the cost, as it is higher than other brands."
"There is a lot of delay in the data coming to the servers."
"NETGEAR should focus on eliminating single points of failure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is not an expensive solution."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"We have to pay for a yearly license for HPE Ethernet Switches."
"HP switches are priced well."
"The tool's pricing is very cheap."
"It is a more expensive solution."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"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."
"The solution is expensive. You need to pay the costs one-time."
"NETGEAR's new product is definitely more expensive than their standard product line. It's a new product line for them, so I'm hoping with the maturity of the product that those costs will come down. The standard product line is considerably cheaper."
"We find the cost of NETGEAR hardware and additional services to be below average compared to the top tier. There are still cheaper products out there, but they lack in functionality."
"Licensing is always a hassle and a pain point."
"The price to performance of this solution is very good. When it comes to pricing, as far as I'm concerned, they're very comparable with Ubiquity. NETGEAR has pricing that is as good as it gets. That's why I use them."
"At its price point, nobody else can compare to what NETGEAR is doing at that 10 Gigabit bandwidth level. We are not seeing a lot of 10 Gigabit need right now in the marketplace. Though, we have done a few projects which have required it. We are still sort of at the 1 Gigabit requirement for the majority of our projects. Honestly, NETGEAR's 10 Gigabit offering has a better value than some of the other vendors' 1 Gigabit offering."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten."
"The great thing about the Insight product is that the renewable subscription is much cheaper than the competitors in the market. It is not over $50, per year, so customers buy the equipment and don't have to worry so much about the renewable fees that go along with having such access into their switch, with a cloud-managed solution. There are some other manufacturers where you'll essentially pay the same in hardware as you do in software, just for the cloud solution that supports it; just to keep getting the firmware updates and all of that information. With NETGEAR, you can do multi-year and that is something like 90 percent cheaper than if you're looking at Meraki, for example. It is extremely competitive. It's one of the main reasons we liked it so much."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Ethernet Switches?
The solution is very stable and easy to use.
What needs improvement with HPE Ethernet Switches?
Based on my experience, I am quite happy with the switches at the moment and do not see any immediate room for improvement.
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

HP Ethernet Switches
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Emirates Palace Hotel
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Ethernet Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.