No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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
5.9
Cisco Catalyst Switches ensure long-term reliability and cost savings but opinions on cost-effectiveness vary by usage duration.
Sentiment score
4.4
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers significant cost savings, enhanced security, and ease of deployment compared to competitors like Cisco and HPE.
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
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Cisco Catalyst Switches' customer service is efficient with skilled support, but initial levels may lack expertise without an active contract.
Sentiment score
5.6
Fortinet FortiSwitch support receives mixed reviews, with commendable tier three service but issues in response speed and clarity.
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
Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get.
Network Manager at a tech vendor 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
7.5
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide modular scalability, allowing easy network expansion and generally high user satisfaction despite some configuration complexities.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiSwitch is praised for seamless scalability and integration, despite some pricing concerns, in both small and large networks.
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
8.2
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable and reliable, with occasional issues in legacy models, generally rated highly for performance.
Sentiment score
8.7
Fortinet FortiSwitch is praised for its stability, reliability, robust security, and minimal technical issues despite new market presence.
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
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.
Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
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
I would give it a nine out of ten for stability.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst Switches are noted for performance but face criticism for high pricing, complex licensing, and user interface limitations.
Fortinet FortiSwitch needs better pricing, licensing, user interface, support, firmware clarity, security features, integration, stability, and scalability.
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
Currently, I don't see much AI integration with Cisco Catalyst Switches; though they've started, it still needs improvement.
Unit Nos at Orange
It is the highest cost in the market.
Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX
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
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst Switches are costly but valued for reliability and support, with competition from Juniper and Huawei for affordability.
Enterprise buyers find Fortinet FortiSwitch pricing high yet justifiable due to robust functionality, reliability, and fewer licensing requirements.
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
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst Switches provide reliable performance, excellent security, scalability, and ease of management, ideal for high-demand enterprise environments.
Fortinet FortiSwitch integrates with FortiGate, offering seamless management, ease of deployment, advanced security features, and robust network visibility.
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
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
181
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), Data Center Networking (2nd), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 4.3%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 4.2%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches4.3%
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access4.2%
Other91.5%
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.
Uri Harf - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
Integration with cloud management simplifies network expansion
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is expensive, and this initial cost can be a barrier, especially for new businesses setting up from scratch. Although the machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues, the initial price can be high. Sometimes, I have to offer alternatives like Aruba or HP, which might be cheaper.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business81
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise79
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
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 do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
For pricing satisfaction, I'd say it will be six to seven because Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors. Regarding pricing, there is indeed room for improvement.
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options. Although robust and rarely needs replacement, it can be overqualified for some jobs, which affects the re...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
I would appreciate the ability to create an independent switch. I am aware of the pricing and licensing of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access, and I previously rated it a six because I wanted the...
 

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: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.