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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
Cisco Catalyst Switches offer longevity, stability, and cost savings, providing excellent ROI yet viewed as costly by some users.
Sentiment score
5.8
Fortinet FortiSwitch provides cost-effective security and easy deployment, appealing to users despite potential technological gaps for larger enterprises.
I can say in terms of money saved because up until now, in the previous places where I have worked and also now, we still use the older model, the 2960 model Cisco Catalyst Switches, which has been in existence for almost 20 years and up until now it still functions very well.
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
From an investment standpoint, deploying Cisco Catalyst Switches offers tangible benefits, including cost reductions.
Unit Nos at Orange
It allows me to apply Zero Trust technology, which is currently the trend in the world and is needed for security layers.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Customer service for Cisco Catalyst Switches is praised for responsiveness but criticized for delays in complex or escalated cases.
Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiSwitch support is knowledgeable and professional, with room for improvement in response times and initial resolutions.
When requesting an RMA, they replace defective items in just one day.
Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Cisco at 10 out of 10.
student at St. Joseph's College of Engineering
TAC really depends on the engineer; you could end up with a three, but then we can reach out to our account team and ask for help, or re-queue the case.
Senior Network Analyst at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
They are knowledgeable, professional, and assist with any issues.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
My local support is working fine, and I have my connection with my account manager in the public company of Fortinet.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
It's a potential area for improvement, possibly in terms of response time or quality.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Catalyst Switches enable scalable, cost-effective network expansion with modular features, despite complex configuration for growing enterprise needs.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers scalable network solutions, integrating seamlessly with FortiGate, ideal for medium to large enterprise expansions.
The scalability of Cisco Catalyst Switches is very much scalable, as it supports the stacking feature and growth; for instance, with 94K modular switches, based on the requirement, we can even increase modules for more bandwidth.
Unit Nos at Orange
Unlike Meraki, where I can bring a switch online, join it to the portal, and it becomes operational immediately.
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The auto-scaling and zero-touch provisioning kind of support for Nexus switches is lacking.
Network Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
For enterprise solutions, it's extendable easily with options for edge connectivity or stackable devices.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
You just need to connect another switch or replace the current one, and it integrates well with the existing setup.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
With uniform Fortinet FortiGate switches, adding or removing switches without reconfiguring individually is straightforward.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Cisco Catalyst Switches are valued for reliability, durability, and support, with minor hardware issues and high stability ratings reported.
Sentiment score
8.7
Fortinet FortiSwitch delivers reliable, stable performance with high user ratings, despite occasional configuration or power challenges during transitions.
The stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches in my environment is somewhat problematic: legacy Cisco Catalyst Switches, even though they have licenses and support, present many hardware-related issues, such as interfaces going down very repeatedly, SFP modules failing in most cases, and hardware ports becoming faulty.
Network Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
What you tell it to do is exactly what it does.
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Since we operate medical infrastructure, we try to avoid downtime as much as possible.
Enterprise Network Architect at UCLA
I have never experienced any crashes, outages, or downtime.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
The tool is robust and lasts for three to four years without needing replacement.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
The stability has been good overall.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst Switches face cost, compatibility, and scalability issues, needing improved management, security, and user-friendly features.
Fortinet FortiSwitch faces challenges with pricing, support, complexity, missing features, poor documentation, and a non-competitive warranty.
Cisco should provide some level of software that I can bring on-premise where I can add all my Catalyst switches for central management.
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Support and vulnerabilities are the biggest issues regarding Cisco Catalyst Switches.
Network Architect at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Currently, I don't see much AI integration with Cisco Catalyst Switches; though they've started, it still needs improvement.
Unit Nos at Orange
The introduction of AI integration could be valuable for detecting abnormal traffic directly on the switch.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
Fortinet needs to perform extensive testing to improve its reliability.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst Switches are costly but valued for reliability and features, though pricing compared to Huawei and HP needs improvement.
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers robust functionality with high pricing, seen as affordable compared to competitors despite exchange rate impacts.
Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
Product Manager at Uop Ipl
Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.
Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors.
Unit Nos at Orange
It has increased by about two hundred percent over the past three years.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
The price is very affordable.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst Switches provide reliable, high-performance network solutions with strong security, flexibility, and ease of integration and scalability.
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers enhanced security, centralized management, and seamless integration, valued for performance, reliability, and ease of use.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance.
Product Manager at Uop Ipl
With Meraki access points, I do not have to have a wireless controller for them. I can configure the wireless device directly from the switch, making the setup cleaner, and that is a major reason for my preference.
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide high performance and security features that stand out in my daily work, where they handle a high volume of traffic with low latency, making them suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications, web applications, VoIP applications, video streaming, and major data center workloads.
Network Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
This centralized management saves time and ensures seamless scalability.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
The powerful integration capabilities allow us to manage all devices from a single interface through the firewall.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
One of the main features is the integration with FortiGate.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 4.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 3.6%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches4.6%
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access3.6%
Other91.8%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

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.
HM
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
Zero Trust access has improved branch security and provides granular visibility for all devices
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access has substantial automation because the configuration is managed from FortiGate dashboard. Automation increases performance and decreases installation time. I mentioned the unique specifications of the switch and the solution at the start. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access granular visibility features have helped me manage IoT devices. I can see every device in the network and the details about each device because FortiGate has an inventory of every device, making the integration between Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and FortiGate unique. The deep integration with Fortinet's Security Fabric is very important for threat intelligence in my organization. Reliability is key, and automation contributes significantly to network performance optimization in my organization. I have to use FortiLink for automatic UTM extension, as it is a unique proprietary protocol to manage Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access through FortiGate. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is a switch that is related to its Secure Access feature. I gave this review a rating of 9.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise85
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

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?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was not all good. Licensing is quite a nightmare in the Cisco world, and I wish we had simplified licensing.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Regarding the impression of end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco, I would love to have more visibility. What I want to see in the future regarding Cisco Catalyst Switches is more integrations bet...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
I believe enhancement in security is essential for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. Fortinet needs to perform extensive testing to improve its reliability. If they achieve that, I think it wil...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.