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Meraki MS Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

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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

Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 2.3%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki MS Switches2.3%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch1.9%
Other95.8%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Jayaraman C - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Cloud management has simplified branch deployments but pricing and support still need improvement
In terms of improvements for Meraki MS Switches, pricing is one area that could be enhanced. On the support front, the limited lifetime warranty is a concern. Aruba offers limited lifetime warranty, whereas Cisco requires a minimum license to function for hardware support or technical support. I think Cisco could improve by bundling technical support and hardware support together with the license. This approach is currently only applicable for EA customers. Standard license customers have to take additional hardware support as a separate SKU. I believe that bundling technical and hardware support with the cloud subscription itself would help customers choose a Meraki option. To make Meraki MS Switches closer to a rating of ten, Cisco could take additional features on the AI front. I am uncertain whether they will offer AI features at no cost. Self-healing networks is a new term that enterprises are looking forward to. All OEM management platforms now feature auto-remediation and auto-fixing capabilities. The issue is that even if AI is offered without cost, customers cannot get the benefits if they cannot afford the pricing. Enterprise customers are looking to optimize operational effort and operational capabilities. They use multiple tools apart from the OEM native dashboard, including the Cisco Meraki dashboard and Catalyst dashboard. However, they still want to have end-to-end visibility. For end-to-end visibility, they can go for Digital Twin capabilities through platforms such as IP Fabric, ManageEngine, SolarWinds, and Forward Networks. There are many NMS platforms that can be integrated, allowing them to manage complete operations. Cisco could add some additional capabilities into the same OEM dashboard so that customers can benefit from improved operational management.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With Meraki, there is the advantage that you have dashboard access via the internet and you can work on it from anywhere."
"Support has been very good."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the interface because it is very simple and easy to learn, even for somebody who hasn't seen it before."
"With the license, you can manage and track all logs from the dashboard, making monitoring very easy."
"Cisco is a very stable platform, and even though we haven't upgraded firmware for a long time, it can still perform, unlike other switches where you have to constantly upgrade due to vulnerabilities."
"The main features of Meraki MS Switches are integration, high quality, and hardware guarantee."
"I like the portal, it's really interesting."
"If you're after a platform that is completely cloud compatible, a solution that will allow you to manage it from anywhere you need to be, then it's definitely a step in the right direction going forward."
"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch stands out for its features, especially those available at that price point."
"It is easy to set up the solution."
"The interface management and the user access management is pretty good."
"Regarding security and visibility in monitoring, it is very good, the GUI is very intuitive, and it has many more features than those from major vendors."
"The initial setup is easy."
"This solution is very similar to the on-premises version making it easy to use for those who know the architect."
"The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio."
"They are very well suited for small and medium businesses, and here in Tanzania, in some cases, even some large enterprises are using MikroTik due to the fact that they provide many features at zero cost."
 

Cons

"In my opinion, there's room for improvement cost-wise. With Meraki's licensing terms, you're required to pay an annual licensing fee, which can be for a one-year license or perhaps a five-year license. But if you analyze the costs involved, there are huge expenses incurred as far as the licensing is concerned."
"I haven't seen any specific return on investment from implementing Meraki MS Switches, as I can't provide any numbers."
"It would be good to include the command-line access someday."
"Less flexibility than in some other solutions."
"The solution is not scalable. If you need to scale, you need to change the equipment."
"Better alerting capabilities are needed because they do not provide enough notification or detail about events."
"The solution could be simplified a bit."
"There is not much training available for this solution."
"Antispam and antivirus features should be included in the future."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco. For NetGear and Cisco, it's easy to adapt the VLAN concept but it should be simplified for MikroTik."
"This product is not recommended for enterprise-level projects."
"The packet filtering, user log data, and user access log could all be improved."
"It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features."
"The port isolation and VLAN need to be improved."
"Technical support could be better."
"Improvements are needed with respect to some of the security, especially for VPN links between vendors other than Cisco."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 only drawback is the cost — that's what kills them."
"It's $150 per year for licensing on each 250 switch. The 425 switches are about $500 a year for the enhanced enterprise licenses."
"It would be better if they had a one-time purchase option instead of a subscription model."
"It is very expensive so I want it to be cheaper."
"We have an annual subscription for licensing and it is expensive."
"This product is more than the competition, but you get what you pay for."
"We paid for our switches outright, at a cost of between $15,000 USD and $18,000 USD."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MS Switches?
Cost is not the issue for us. Meraki MS Switches might be more expensive than other products, but we believe that from all analysis, Meraki MS Switches is able to deliver the kind of quality in ter...
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
In terms of improvements for Meraki MS Switches, pricing is one area that could be enhanced. On the support front, the limited lifetime warranty is a concern. Aruba offers limited lifetime warranty...
What is your primary use case for Meraki MS Switches?
The primary use cases of Meraki MS Switches focus on the SMB market, starting from boutique size to mid-level enterprise, not very large enterprises. However, with Meraki, which is now part of Cisc...
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
What is your primary use case for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I mostly work with network equipment now, focusing mainly on routers. I work with FortiGates and MikroTik routers. When referring to FortiGate routers, I mean the firewalls, but not the enterprise-...
 

Also Known As

MS220, MS320, MS420
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki MS Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.