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Aviatrix vs Cisco ACI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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

Aviatrix
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco ACI
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Aviatrix is 6.4%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco ACI is 9.6%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI9.6%
Aviatrix6.4%
Other84.0%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1469877 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Consutant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Centralized console has streamlined multi‑cloud management and supports automated operations
Apart from the centralized management console, Aviatrix gives the additional advantage or simplifies the way we manage the cloud environments. When it comes to troubleshooting or more networking-related issues, the native cloud solution has limited options available within the cloud environment. Aviatrix provides those additional benefits to manage effectively when managing troubleshooting or issues. Aviatrix is making our day-to-day job easier and also saving a lot of time because it gives options for cloud-to-cloud peering, as well as a transit hub and spoke architecture. It simplifies how we manage the multi-cloud environment through the single console, and the connectivity options become very easier. Aviatrix supports the automation platform. It supports Infrastructure as Code (IAC), which makes deployment faster with automation. This reduces operational overhead. Aviatrix has positively impacted my organization by making management and administration easier, allowing us to manage all the cloud infrastructure from a single console. There is less overhead on operations due to automation support, and cloud network segmentation has become more advanced.
Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Enables streamlined data center management with automation and application-centric design
The main features of Cisco ACI that I really appreciate are the application-centric and network-centric designs, allowing you to create your network according to your application. That's helpful, and it's good for one-time implementation. The automation capabilities are really helpful. We deployed one data center using Terraform, and after deployment, many automation features are available, which can be very helpful. Based on my experience, Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure. Many organizations are actually using the old traditional Nexus infrastructure or some old data center devices. It gives you significant control and one-time implementation capabilities, and it also provides better performance and security. Functionality-wise, Cisco ACI provides integration using automation. We implemented it through Terraform, which was easy. Those features are available, so I don't think any new features are needed right now; something new could come up, but they have implemented many improvements over the years.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This tool resolves the overlapping of CIDR’s IP addresses in a multi-cloud environment, which is its best feature. The product also gives packet-level details on the data that has been put from one cloud to another. Currently, no other solution in the market can give this kind of detail. There is also the high VPN connectivity which gives high throughput. Internet service providers have a limitation on large migrations like 10 Gigabytes or 2 to 2.3 GBPS. However, this tool gives you a functionality where you can bundle multiple tunnels into one tunnel. Thereafter, you can transfer the data from one environment to another or from on-prem to the cloud."
"Using Aviatrix, we saw a clear ROI through approximately a 30 to 40% reduction in network management effort, which meant fewer resources were needed for operations, along with faster deployments of around 50% improvement, and reduced downtime, translating into cost savings and better productivity."
"Aviatrix has positively impacted my organization by making management and administration easier, allowing us to manage all the cloud infrastructure from a single console."
"The most valuable feature of Aviatrix is that it saves us a lot of time."
"It has enhanced the way I can deploy and manage VPCs and other connectivity services, provided valuable insights into latency, ports used, and top talkers, and offered effective troubleshooting tools."
"Its exceptional capability to seamlessly integrate with various cloud services makes it the preferred choice for multi-cloud deployments."
"Within the Aviatrix ecosystem, you could connect different clouds, and the intricacies of low-level commands and configurations were abstracted away."
"The product has greatly improved our organization by saving costs for multiple direct connections and simpler cloud configurations."
"It decreases network provisioning time and application provisioning time, and it also takes fewer resources to manage it because you have a centralized system where one APIC controller can manage more than 200 leaf switches."
"This solution allows you to do everything quicker and more efficiently."
"Virtualization and integration with VMware is the most valuable feature."
"We can implement customer requirements more quickly."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is having a central point to log in."
"We will improve our organization using the automation."
"Configures from a single point and commands don't need to be configured on the spine and leaf side."
"The scalability is perfect, and it is one of the main reasons that we install it."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement regarding enhancing its security features in response to modern cybersecurity challenges."
"There could be an easy availability of multiple features in the profile."
"I find that the pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Aviatrix are on the higher side."
"Aviatrix should include more integrated security features like intrusion detection and lateral movement detection."
"The tool has a very limited local presence in the GCC market. I am based in Dubai, UAE and it would be very difficult for me to reach out to US staff for technical discussion during the tool’s implementation. The tool needs to focus on the GCC market which includes UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc. There is nobody to help you out in this region."
"There can be a steep learning curve for users who are not familiar with it or multi-cloud networking concepts"
"One area that could use improvement is IPv6 support."
"The solution needs to improve the onboarding architecture."
"Where there is room for improvement from ACI is for Layer 2 and Layer 7 packages. Normally, when you're updating your ACI fabric or you're introducing new Layer 4 to Layer 7 devices, there are some constraints, there are some limitations... When you are doing device packages you will not have the functionality of ASM. It's like WAF, web application firewalls. So you need to configure it manually."
"In terms of improvement, I would like to see some sort of way to baseline the system in a network-centric fashion."
"From my point of view, troubleshooting issues relating to ACI can be a little bit complicated to perform."
"The learning curve is long. It's very difficult to learn Cisco ACI. As a result, our customers usually have difficulty working with this solution."
"It's very new, so there's lots of bugs, and it's only good for testing with PoC customers."
"I would like to see more troubleshooting apps. There should be more and better SNMP monitoring."
"Cisco ACI would be improved by providing a cloud offering; otherwise, it risks becoming a niche product."
"The ability for us to figure out the traffic flows, to enable some of the more segmentation parts of it, is really tough with what is built into ACI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aviatrix is a pretty expensive solution."
"The tool is quite expensive."
"During the initial phase, it operates as an open-source and it's a free tool."
"It operates on a consumption-based model and the expenses depend on factors such as the number of virtual machines you use and the resources consumed."
"The product is not cheap."
"There are no additional costs. We only have to pay for a support contract apart from the license."
"The pricing and licensing are both high, particularly if you want a high level of functionality. It would be great if the price and licensing cost could be decreased."
"The good thing about Cisco is that you can trade in your old products to replace them with ACI."
"Cisco ACI is more expensive than Juniper, however, ACI is not the most expensive option."
"The licensing cost for ACI is expensive - I would rate its price 2.5 out of five."
"Cisco's pricing is very expensive."
"It is quite expensive. It is not at all on the cheap or medium side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise87
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aviatrix?
I find that the pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Aviatrix are on the higher side.
What needs improvement with Aviatrix?
I have seen some cosmetic bugs with Aviatrix, particularly with the console. Although the Aviatrix team releases versions to address these concerns, I have personally observed that the console can ...
What is your primary use case for Aviatrix?
My main use case for Aviatrix is for managing our multi-cloud environment. We have our environment on Azure cloud, AWS, or GCP. We are in a hybrid or multi-cloud environment. To have centralized co...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco ACI?
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Aviatrix Enterprise Contract
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hyatt, Robert Half, GREE
Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Find out what your peers are saying about Aviatrix vs. Cisco ACI and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.