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Cisco DNA Center vs ThousandEyes comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 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 DNA Center
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
ThousandEyes
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Monitoring Software (14th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ThousandEyes is 3.6%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features
The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.
Satyavrat Nirala - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers user monitoring and Internet insights and include customer journeys
It’s evolving; I feel it needs more holistic integration. It needs more improvement. It’s very good, but the integration can be slightly complicated on different platforms. I used it for a healthcare organization, and the integration was slightly challenging. In future releases, I would like to explore AI capabilities. AI would be more valuable because it works across different cloud and server systems. It looks into issue detection and insight modeling, so that is something I feel will be very helpful in the near future. More AI because of compliance and other challenges, not because of the product challenge. It’s about regulations, and we have HIPAA laws in the US and many different kinds of laws. Because of that, these specific elements and certain units don’t allow the tooling system to be fully utilized. We also support a certain segment of healthcare, which is the army healthcare segment, which is more government-controlled. There are certain restrictions in moving into the cloud. That’s where I thought those elements might need some more improvement. Also, looking into how we’ll be able to use more data visualization. It has it, but it doesn’t give you everything. If you look into the elements of use and so many other elements are there, but the UI/UX also has to be improved a bit, I feel. From a developer’s standpoint, it’s very easy, but from a consultant’s standpoint, there can be more enhancement, like one-click view and one-click report generation. Those things should be more seamless.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is the AI (Artificial Intelligence) that provides us with valuable information."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
"It is a stable solution."
"The product gives a consolidated view."
"Cisco VXLAN is a protocol that has been around for some time, but the practical implementation and operational capability of Cisco DNA Center bring it to life."
"ThousandEyes gives companies better visibility."
"The solution's initial setup process was straightforward...In terms of ROI, the solution is worth the money."
"It's fairly easy to set up."
"The company provides excellent service."
"The most valuable feature of ThousandEyes is user-friendliness. It has been essential for us to have a solution that is easy to use."
"The installation process is not hard at all."
"Overall, I would rate ThousandEyes nine out of ten."
"The authentication overall - including to the VPN and LAN - is excellent."
 

Cons

"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."
"The network, data center, and SD-WAN are all being treated as different services, but I would like to have only one solution to manage all of them."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"There is room for improvement in terms of customization and user-friendliness."
"The guest portal is hard to use."
"I feel it needs more holistic integration. It needs more improvement."
"The solution's network and reporting could be improved."
"The tool does not provide features for application-level monitoring."
"They only offer synthetic requests."
"It might be practical to extend monitoring capabilities to include network devices"
"It would be nice if the solution covered other areas like server monitoring."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."
"The product is very costly."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"It is a quite expensive solution."
"The solution costs several thousand dollars per year."
"The solution is cheap."
"In our company, we incur a yearly expense in our company for the licensing part. I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten since it is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is cheap; I rate it a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The system is working fine for me currently.
What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
It actually depends on the exact purpose or requirements. Some tools are better for only network devices while others are better from a cloud monitoring or APM monitoring perspective. You can check...
What needs improvement with ThousandEyes?
When I first started using ThousandEyes, I found it challenging to extract useful information due to the numerous options available. I needed some training to effectively troubleshoot. More detaile...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Wayfair, GitHub, Craigslist, Comcast, SurveyMonkey, Lyft, Box, HP, Zendesk, IO Data Centers, Good Technology, NNTCommunications, Proofpoint, Schneider, Crowdstrike, Avera, Pitney Bowes, InstartLogic, Shutterfly, Shutterstock, Condé Nast, Roche, Jive, Actelion, Brocade, Infor, Okta, JLL, DigitalOcean, Zuora, NetSuite, CloudFlare, One, DemonWare, Quantcast, Carbonite, CareerBuilder, Prosper, Oscar, Slack
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. ThousandEyes and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
852,098 professionals have used our research since 2012.