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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch 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:
 

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)
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (5th)
 

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 MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 2.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches4.6%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch2.0%
Other93.4%
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.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I've had no problems with the stability of this solution."
"These switches are stable. They work well and are easy to use."
"Once it's up and running, configuration is okay, and once it's on the live network, it's fine, no issues."
"Primarily, Cisco provides an end-to-end solution, all aspects of networking, from UIP to security to wireless to servers."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of configuring a switch."
"It's heavy-duty, you only need to configure it once, and it'll keep running for several years."
"Cisco delivers when it comes to business value."
"The quality of a Cisco switch is very high. They are extremely stable."
"We value the solution's price, and it can do almost anything you need regarding routing, so it's a well-rounded solution for routing, especially for network routing."
"It's a well-rounded solution for routing."
"This solution has improved a great deal over time and in many domains."
"The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say it is 120 percent."
"The traffic monitoring capabilities are excellent."
"This product is easy to configure."
"Some of the most valuable features are the simplicity, cost, usability, and power. As a package, it's extremely effective."
"The initial setup is easy."
 

Cons

"Reducing the price would be an improvement."
"I use the Cisco Catalyst Switches command-line interface(CLI) a lot out in the field, but there are some web interfaces features that are available that I haven't used very much. I'm more comfortable with the CLI, but the web interfaces are very lacking."
"We have configurations for port channels between two facilities, and we cannot communicate between these two buildings. An SFP configuration uses one wire to send and receive the signal. It's opt-in. We cannot use it after the upgrade. What can we do in this situation? We already bought it."
"Needs to improve cloud services and mobile software."
"The dashboard was difficult to manage."
"The device age becomes an issue. For example, with the 2960 version, they're not supporting that one anymore."
"It can be a little more cheaper."
"They need to implement sFlow, other than that, I can't think of anything else that needs to be improved — I am happy."
"Proper LACP support, more software support for hardware capabilities, true wirespeed Layer 3 routing."
"Aspects such as zero trust, security, and management interface could be improved, which would be useful."
"Most of the time, the MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is stable. If I were to rate the stability on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best, I would give it a 5."
"The initial setup is complex."
"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch needs improvement in the area of security, although the recent models are addressing this."
"Stuff that I'd like to be improved is really just training and documentation because I think the feature set is full. Another improvement I'd suggest is that their new, bigger releases should be a bit more stable."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco. For NetGear and Cisco, it's easy to adapt the VLAN concept but it should be simplified for MikroTik."
"If MikroTik had a marketing team and support team in India then it would be much easier for us to get the product, as well as support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Catalyst Switches is an expensive solution."
"Cisco products are not that cheap."
"Try to buy everything you need in bulk purchases and ask Cisco for volume discounts."
"It's overpriced and should be cheaper."
"I would rate the features-to-pricing ratio at six out of 10. My advice about licensing is that you should have a perpetual license, not one that is subscription-based."
"The price of Cisco Catalyst switches is reasonable."
"There are no licensing fees required."
"Pricing could be better."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
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 Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

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...
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
What is your primary use case for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I mostly work with network equipment now, focusing mainly on routers. I work with FortiGates and MikroTik routers. When referring to FortiGate routers, I mean the firewalls, but not the enterprise-...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
MikroTik CRS Series
 

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.