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Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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

Arista Campus LAN Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (3rd), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Arista Campus LAN Switches is 5.7%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 18.3%, down from 28.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches18.3%
Arista Campus LAN Switches5.7%
Other76.0%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

DM
Chief Technology Officer at ictbit
Unified monitoring has transformed campus deployments and provides rapid EVPN-VXLAN rollouts
Regarding improvements to Arista Campus LAN Switches, nothing comes to mind about the switches themselves; they are really fast and have all the technologies and protocols that exist in the market. However, on the management system, I would improve it because as a network engineer, I want a chatbot that can communicate in a native language with the monitoring system to get answers regarding my network faults. There are no problems particularly with the product, but there is room for improvement regarding licensing and the chatbot for all Arista products.
MS
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Reliable switching has delivered long‑term uptime, strong PoE support, and predictable performance
Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst Switches—and Cisco products in general—is relatively high, especially in many African markets where organizations often need to balance budget constraints with required functionality. There are alternative vendors that offer comparable features at a lower price point. While they may not always match Cisco’s ecosystem, stability, or full feature depth, many businesses still choose them because of the significant cost savings. Another consideration is licensing, which can add to the overall total cost of ownership depending on the deployment model and required features. Overall, Cisco Catalyst Switches remain premium enterprise solutions, but when compared with other OEMs, their higher acquisition and licensing costs can be a major deciding factor for cost-conscious organizations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The CloudVision Portal allows us to centrally manage all of our Arista products."
"The feature sets are pretty cool. They've got almost everything that the competition offers."
"Clients are very satisfied with the implementation process."
"The Software Defined switch architecture, runs optimized 2-tier network instead of traditional 3-tier network (Core, Distribution and Access) gives you efficiency and savings."
"The template functionality saves a lot of time and man-hours, which results in cost and time savings."
"The most winning feature of Arista Campus LAN Switches is their management, specifically CloudVision, along with features like comparing changes and diagnosing problems quickly with telemetry and network visualization."
"I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs."
"The management portal has improved the way our organization functions."
"It is easier to design and manage a network by enabling reuse and the ability to migrate to multiple sites."
"This technology is a completely mature technology and I don't think anything needs to be changed."
"We are satisfied with the solution's performance so far; the stability has been perfect, the solution can scale, it is very easy to use, the installation process is very simple, and the pricing is quite good."
"In terms of the switches, the uptime and the robustness of the hardware are the most valuable aspects."
"Their technical support is good, one of the best in the industry."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are highly reliable and stable."
"The solution is very stable."
"The performance of this equipment is much better than other options."
 

Cons

"The licensing cost is pretty heavy. That is something that they need to definitely work upon."
"It would be ideal if the solution was less expensive."
"I would like to see a version available with eight or sixteen ports."
"One of the issues that we have been faced with here in Brazil is that we don't have any list times for delivery."
"We have to renew the license every three years, which can be a challenge for customers. Arista, like other vendors, now follows a license-based system."
"I do think they could improve their licensing model. Today, I need to pay for a license, for a switch, for support, and it costs money; it is not cheap."
"I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed, which can impact service."
"The complex setup phase is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"It's quite an expensive product and it would be helpful if they reduced the cost."
"The cost of the solution is quite high. There are other cheaper options."
"While the solution was very good for its time, this may not be so, at present, for big, leading enterprises, such as a bank consisting of 10,000 people."
"The biggest issue we are having is with bugs and memory loss, which occurs when developing the IOS."
"There were issues with the maximum stackable switches per site and monitoring setup."
"The addition of more security and privilege levels to Cisco Catalyst Switches is required as it is one of the areas with certain shortcomings."
"The solution is quite expensive for our clients. It's a pain point for some companies. They should work to reduce the price."
"The price is something we would definitely like improved. It would be nice if it was more economical."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is not that good, but our clients value the solution despite the price."
"The only licensing costs are for CloudVision, although the upfront price of the device is not cheap."
"If you consider Cisco's price with the Dell, you will definitely lose with Cisco. But Cisco has a major area of equipment in general. Cisco has routers, firewalls, NAC, certain video conferencing, Apple phones, and different security solutions. But Dell doesn't have such areas, Dell only has switching architecture."
"It is worth the money. The product is expensive, but the service they provide is very good, which makes it worth it."
"The price of a Cisco Catalyst Switches license is expensive."
"There are no licensing fees required."
"Could always be cheaper."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution."
"There needs to be some improvement with the Cisco DNA licensing activation process, it is difficult at the moment."
"This is expensive, even when compared to competitors' products."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise85
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
Regarding pricing, it is not cheap. While it is an enterprise solution, comparing it to low-level switches like Fortinet and Netgear, it is much more expensive. However, comparing it to Cisco and J...
What needs improvement with Arista Campus LAN Switches?
Regarding improvements to Arista Campus LAN Switches, nothing comes to mind about the switches themselves; they are really fast and have all the technologies and protocols that exist in the market....
What is your primary use case for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I work as a consultant and integrator, using Arista Networks platform in my customers' networks. I deal with switches by Arista, which is mostly what we use Arista for. I am familiar with Arista Ca...
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Those aspects regarding pricing, setup, cost, and licensing are managed by management, so I am not directly involved.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
I believe that Cisco Catalyst Switches could be improved by being given AI capability and advanced licensing, which would be beneficial.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Winchester, AWE, picturemaxx, Medical Mutual, Leonix, CloudEra, National Physical Laboratory, Tri-State G&T, AIS, Morph, SingTel, SDSC, BBC
Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.