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Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.3
Cisco Catalyst Center lowers costs, simplifies management, and enhances network stability, with varied returns and high initial investment.
Sentiment score
4.7
Cisco DNA Center enhances time efficiency despite high costs and complex licensing, yielding high return on investment ratings.
They have a long life.
Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
The best feature is its availability, easy deployment, and good support for the solution.
Consultant at TECVA
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst Center users commend excellent customer service and support, with responsive technical assistance and occasional advanced hardware replacement delays.
Sentiment score
6.3
Cisco DNA Center's customer service is generally helpful, but inconsistency and delays in technical support are frequently noted.
I had a situation where they were present with us overnight to fix an issue for a customer, demonstrating their dedication.
Cyber Security Architect at Spie Ics
I would rate technical support nine to nine and a half out of ten.
Lead Network Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The software platform is very easy to use.
Consultant at TECVA
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
I would rate Cisco support easily at nine out of ten.
Cloud Infrastructure Architect at POST Luxembourg
The support for Cisco DNA Center is good.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco Catalyst Center is highly scalable, supporting diverse environments and offering flexible model choices, like the 9,000 or 2,000 series.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco DNA Center is scalable and efficient for large networks but may face limitations with IPv6 support and costs.
They have a feature that allows stacking switches together.
Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Cisco Catalyst Center is scalable and quite flexible, allowing for specific model choices like the 9,000 or 2,000 series based on the clients' performance requirements and bottlenecks.
Solution Architect at HCLSoftware
It effectively manages all the devices I have, demonstrating its capability to scale.
Lead Network Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees
From my experience, we can easily manage numerous devices.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Catalyst Center is rated highly stable, with minor software concerns not affecting overall reliability and performance perceptions.
Sentiment score
7.4
Users generally rate Cisco DNA Center highly for stability, with minor issues often resolved effectively by Cisco support.
They are very stable, not power cycling, and basically maintaining their stability.
Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
They provide a robust and secure solution for critical workloads.
Product Manager at Uop Ipl
Cisco Catalyst Center is stable, and I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.
Data Center Admin at Sysnet Global Technologies
When we communicate problems, they solve them effectively.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst Center requires improved compatibility, cost flexibility, better integration, enhanced usability, and clearer documentation for broader adoption.
Cisco DNA Center needs integration, UI, security, and support improvements, with high pricing, complex deployment, and feature parity desired.
Current pricing is too expensive for features that users may not be sure they will use, pricing the company out of the market.
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Cisco Catalyst Center is not integrated well with third-party vendors because it can only work with Cisco products.
Systems Technician. IT Office at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues.
Cyber Security Architect at Spie Ics
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
The deployment part is definitely an area for improvement.
Cloud Infrastructure Architect at POST Luxembourg
The client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst Center is high-priced but valued for reliability, with some switching to cheaper alternatives like Huawei despite discounts.
Cisco DNA Center is costly, suited for large enterprises, with advanced features requiring extra fees, and challenging for SMBs.
They are also facing competitive pricing challenges from Huawei.
Deputy Director at NITDA
Cost is a major factor when any company is buying, and Cisco's products are pricier even compared to other US-based solutions.
Sr. Executive Design Engineering Team at Wateen Telecom (pvt.)
For a hardware refresh, the site switched to Fortinet switching because the cost difference was approximately six thousand dollars per device compared to other solutions.
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst Center enhances network operations with automation, scalability, security, and robust management, streamlining performance and deployment.
Cisco DNA Center provides centralized management, automation, AI-based insights, and security, enhancing network operations with scalable automation and comprehensive visibility.
There is a very wide user base providing support, so I almost never have to contact Cisco support due to the vast accessible knowledge base.
Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Their threat intelligence platform is excellent, including Talos Intelligence, which provides a good database and strong threat insights.
Analyst at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
This dual functionality is crucial for monitoring large enterprises, providing a robust solution for IT teams.
Product Manager at Uop Ipl
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (17th), Network Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Center is 5.1%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 9.4%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center9.4%
Cisco Catalyst Center5.1%
Other85.5%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has improved infrastructure management with customizable reporting and automated deployment
Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere. Historical data can be stored in Cisco Catalyst Center, and dashboards and widgets can be configured to personal preference. Device deployment can be automated to the point where all someone needs to do is plug it in. Zero Touch Provisioning, while requiring some initial work to set up properly, provides significant benefits. Once configured, it reduces the need for travel by specific network personnel, allowing on-site or other staff to handle device deployment by simply plugging in the cable.
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.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
I am totally satisfied with the functionality, but we cannot discuss prices with Cisco.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
My feedback about the web-based interface of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it is very good with no issues, but for some reasons, it is working poorly in Google Chrome, so I must use Firefox for bet...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
Cisco Catalyst Center is used for monitoring, troubleshooting, and management as the core of the network, and everything we do is in Catalyst.
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?
The deployment of Cisco DNA Center was complex due to the fact that on the data center side, we have a Juniper infrastructure, which created some complexity, though not significant. The deployment ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
DNA Center
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. Cisco DNA Center and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.