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

Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 Enterprise Network Fu...
Ranking in Network Virtualization
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Ranking in Network Virtualization
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (10th), Network Automation (4th), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Virtualization category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is 8.7%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 28.5%, down from 45.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware NSX28.5%
Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization8.7%
Other62.8%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Majdi Sabbah - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant Sales Engineer at BT Al-Saudia
Versatile, offering flexibility and scalability
I rely on Cisco Enterprise NFV for various sectors like government, campuses, and hospitality. It is a crucial foundational layer that is mandatory before delivering other services The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard. It is easy to use and covers everything in one…
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Network Security is one of the most valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
"Routing, switching, and wireless network security are the valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
"The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard."
"Scalability is not a problem."
"It is easy to manage, easy to maintain, and stable, and if you set up everything alright, it will give years without any issues."
"Cisco is in our portfolio, which is one of the reasons that we keep working with them."
"Overall, I feel that this is a good product and I recommend it."
"The support system that they have in place is very good and they are easy to reach."
"VMware NSX has improved our organization in the way that we can now deploy many VMs faster than before and so we are scaling up much faster."
"The most valuable and unique feature of the solution is Micro-segmentation achieving better security, through enabling security architects to divide data centre into different segments, one being the VMS within the on-premises, the other one on the Cloud."
"The stability is great. That's one of the things that we can quantify and leverage through NSX, because it's less complex. We have the availability to manage multiple things at the same time. You can identify problems before they manifest."
"VMware NSX offers some of the best features for security, such as micro-segmentation."
"Consistent networking and security policies across different environments have a major and very positive impact on our business operations, allowing us to achieve the security posture we want with compliance and regulations."
"We can see the flows inside the SDN, which has a lot of power."
"The alert features are the most valuable."
"This is a good firewall and overall it is rich in features."
 

Cons

"One of the things that can be improved is trimming all mobile numbers so that it aids in swiftly acquiring information for tablets or any necessary solution."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing compatibility with other solutions and vendors."
"It would be helpful if they offered modularized upgrades, such as additional memory or a faster processor."
"I would like to see the principle scan introduce more models, to help with scalability issues."
"This is a software solution, which is less stable than a hardware solution by definition."
"The solution's orchestration part could be improved."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say the cost. The SDN hardware especially is much too expensive, specifically 799 and 9000, which act like a spine and those spines are connecting to the leaves."
"I think that one of the more important things to see better integrated into the NSX product would be an IDS/IPS type solution, which right now we're handing off to a third-party, which sometimes doubles the cost of the product."
"I have concerns on the stability of VMware NSX, because it breaks multiple times in customer environments, especially when you scale it across a big data center."
"They need to enhance their technical support. There is no comparison between VMware technical support and Cisco's technical support."
"This solution is really unusable from my perspective at this point. Overall, I would rate the solution a one of ten."
"The NSX setup is complex. That's one area where they could improve."
"Some configuration maximums are limiting to the user, especially when it comes to the deployment of very, very large environments."
"The feature it can improve is essentially application-based load balancing with intelligent load distribution for applications that require redundancy and high availability."
"It needs to be cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is an expensive solution."
"There is a separate charge for support."
"The tool's pricing is reasonable."
"The price of VMware NSX is optimal. Additionally, the price of the solution can be negotiated with the vendor. Many areas of the solution can impact the cost, such as features, time for onboarding, and support needed."
"The licensing is renewed every three years. The cost for implementation and renovation are a huge portion of that price."
"VMware NSX isn't cheap."
"There is a license required for this solution, we pay annually."
"We are using a perpetual license to use the solution and we have support."
"VMware has a subscription and perpetual license. In the New Year, they're changing many things about the licensing model. Previously, NSX was licensed according to the number of sockets inside the appliance, so we bought VMware licenses based on that. However, that may have changed this year. We are still contacting the vendors to understand the new licensing strategy."
"If five is a good price and one is a high price, I would rate the price a one out of five."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Virtualization solutions are best for your needs.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness in reducing operational complexity, I measure it to be high on the...
 

Also Known As

Cisco NFV
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.