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Apstra Operating System vs Cisco DNA Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Apstra Operating System
Ranking in Network Automation
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Automation
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Apstra Operating System is 2.3%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 9.6%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco DNA Center9.6%
Apstra Operating System2.3%
Other88.1%
Network Automation
 

Featured Reviews

HF
Works at wolterskluwer
Highly secure, useful AB test, and stable
I am using Apstra Operating System for some classes and for my personal use Apstra Operating System's most important features are the security and AB test to define what approach we need to take in my company. Additionally, the solution does not take a lot of maintenance. The report data could…
Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Apstra Operating System's most important features are the security and AB test to define what approach we need to take in my company. Additionally, the solution does not take a lot of maintenance."
"The monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."
"We have many people from the team who manage a lot of devices. By using Cisco DNA Center, it has taken some of that burden away, we are impressed with it. We did the investment in CAPEX, but in the OPEX was very low."
"It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
"It gives us automation capabilities for pushing out the configuration to branch networks. It also provides visibility into the health of user network devices."
"The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier."
"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"The solution has the capability to scale."
 

Cons

"The report data could improve in Apstra Operating System."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
"The solution's integration feature can be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is competitive."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days. I am using it in a huge factory in Turkey, and sometimes I need to see what occ...
 

Also Known As

Apstra OS, AOS
DNA Center
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bloomberg Television, Energy Corporation, A mid-sized financial services company
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Cisco, Broadcom and others in Network Automation. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.