Cisco Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Routers and Switches comparison

Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches

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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 Routers

Ranking in Routers

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

MikroTik Routers and Switches

Ranking in Routers

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Ethernet Switches (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 19.5%, down from 25.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Routers and Switches is 24.3%, down from 31.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Routers

Q&A Highlights

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Nov 22, 2021

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?

Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is very intuitive and the command line interface is very simple to handle, at least for the tech-savvy crowd. Technical support is also very good. Cisco Enterprise routers can be very expensive. You do have to have some knowledge to configure, and that can be a dissatisfaction for some. A graphical interface would be helpful for those with less expertise and would make setup, scaling, and overall management easier. They could also integrate better with other products and solutions. Their Firewall and VPN options should be improved to stay more competitive with other products. MikroTik Routers and Switches are very good with multi-routing, multi-dwelling, multi-tenant units. Their bandwidth is amazing - we have experienced zero downtime. We found the solution to be very stable and flexible. They deliver the same performance as the top brands for a significantly lower price. The initial setup can be tricky. The user interface is a bit dated and the support could use improvement. They only warranty their product for one year, where others offer three, five, or more. This could be a concern for some. We feel that this product is not suited for high-end projects. Conclusion MikroTik offers a very usable stable product for smaller organizations that are not looking to grow exponentially quickly. They do not scale beyond 3 gigs of traffic. For a smaller organization, they would be a very good fit. Cisco is the go-to solution for larger organizations. They have the brand recognition that clients like They offer a solid product that they will stand behind, and it performs well. They can easily meet the needs of large enterprises and growing organizations.

Allows us to configure NAS through Cisco activities and to create GRE channels with different sites

Featured Reviews

Hafiz Umar Farooq

Founder & CEO at ITGAT

You cannot configure internet policies or other options on Cisco routers. If you have a very limited budget, you can't afford two different pieces of equipment, and you can't afford yearly licensing. I would like Cisco to launch a small business router that has firewall capabilities as well. It would be a great initiative for small businesses. I would like to see two additional features: a remote access VPN with the MFA, multifactor authentication capabilities. At the moment, the ISR series only supports MFA, but not every company likes to use that tool. I think Cisco needs to consider MFA for the remote access VPN and should incorporate other MFA solutions as well. I would also like there to be some firewall features included in the routers. I'm not talking about a full-fledged firewall feature, but a limited set of features that can be used on the small and medium-sized enterprise level. These two features would be a great initiative. I would also like to recommend the licensing feature. Previously, the Cisco licensing model was either a perpetual or annual smart license. Now, Cisco has totally shifted over to the smart licensing feature, and perpetual licenses are about to be eliminated from Cisco. The licensing feature is a bit costly if we compare it to other vendors. The licensing features of the F5 are perpetual, but the support has periodic renewal. The license to use Cisco features like a firewall or the routers are actually yearly based and not perpetual. The lead times are extremely high. Normally, it's six to eight months initially, and they prolong it to up to one year for new device delivery by Cisco. If you say you need a brand new router, switch, or fiber from Cisco within one month, you will never get it, unless some stock is readily available with your vendor. Otherwise, it will initially take six to eight months, and then that will be prolonged to one year. This is what we're experiencing with our clients right now.

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AnikIslam

Senior Executive at Lakdhanavi Limited

Cost-effective protocol support and a straightforward setup with room for login enhancements

In the network operations center, I manage our client's bandwidth. We connect with our clients through BGP and OSPF based on client demands. We also manage routing protocols, policies, internal firewalls, and other details like QE bandwidth, client manage bandwidth management, PoE, PPPoE, and DNS…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We hardly have issues with Cisco equipment and I believe that reliability is the best part of Cisco."

"The most valuable features of this solution are MPLS, BGP, and VRF."

"We appreciate that this solution performs well, regardless of the volume of traffic being fed through it."

"The solution is very stable. I have not seen any downtime due to the product freezing or anything like that. It performs well and hasn't required reboots unless it's to troubleshoot with a support service provider needing configuration. It doesn't overheat and it's on 24/7."

"The solution is easy to install."

"The quality is good. Cisco Enterprise Routers are stable and more reliable."

"The solution is flexible."

"I am satisfied with the tool overall. Although I haven't used all of its features yet, it's been great for providing internet access to both customers, and employees within the company."

More Cisco Enterprise Routers pros

"The most valuable feature is that you can do anything on all platforms."

"The most valuable feature is the price because it's highly cost-effective concerning the functionalities provided within the box. The solution is stable. The solution is scalable. The initial setup is straightforward. I would recommend the solution because it provides value for money."

"The deployment process of MikroTik routers and switches is very convenient since it is not command-driven and comes with a graphical user interface, making it much easier to operate."

"The most valuable feature is controlling the bandwidth."

"This is a good solution."

"I have seen a return on investment since we didn't have to pay a licensing fee."

"It's very user-friendly."

"I find MikroTik Routers and Switches easy to install and maintain."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches pros

Cons

"They take too much time to reboot or restart. Whenever we hard reset them, they take time. Cisco should resolve this issue."

"Their software-defined paradigm requires significant improvement."

"The solution could improve by having multiple features inclusive of the router, such as a free firewall and VPN. Additionally, it should be a generic box that can act as a router, firewall, and switch."

"It would be better if Cisco Enterprise Routers were more secure."

"Cisco routers are an expensive product."

"Longer duration of support."

"I would like to see the setup time reduced."

"The licensing structure is very convoluted, and the cost of the licenses includes a whole bunch of stuff that you'll never use."

More Cisco Enterprise Routers cons

"We'd like for them to improve the UI and improve on speed."

"There is an area of improvement. The firewall features are self-contained, but features like email scanning and voice control should be improved. This is the best routing product."

"I would appreciate enhancements to impose more restrictions on VPN connections."

"The initial setup can be a bit difficult. The configuration can take a lot of time."

"It would be better for me if I could establish filter rules within MikroTik. Also, there is no automatic backup option in the MikroTik setup, so adding it would be beneficial."

"They lack the extended warranty for the equipment. They only provide a warranty for one year as compared to the other vendors who offer a warranty for three years, five years, and lifetime, etc."

"The solution does suffer from freezing and corruption issues."

"f they can improve the OpenVPN, to make that a bit more straightforward, that would be ideal."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco is way too expensive for small and medium businesses. They must lower their prices in the lower range equipment."

"The licensing policy can sometimes be very complicated."

"The product is very expensive and does not provide the expected performance for the cost."

"I have found the price to be expensive for the solution."

"The solution is expensive."

"There are licensing costs and they are expensive."

"The solution is costly for small businesses."

"It's not a fair price, it's a bit too high."

More Cisco Enterprise Routers pricing and cost advice

"The product is cheap compared to Cisco."

"MikroTik's equipment is very cheap compared to Cisco and Huawei."

"The tool offers a one-time buying option."

"The tool's pricing is competitive."

"This product is cheaper than competing products by other vendors."

"The main reason we use this solution is for the price — it's very cheap."

"The solution is not expensive."

"The price is affordable."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Nov 22, 2021

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?

See 2 answers

reviewer1650858

Works

Nov 2, 2021

Read full answer

Gabriel Guzman

Ingeniería de Preventa at TECNORED SA

Nov 22, 2021

Mikrotik, as Cisco is not for everyone ... While this popular OS-based router, is simple, it is not for all applications. When one wants complex results, MK is useful. it is an assistant to ADMs who do not have much knowledge. But not everything is simple or can be solved with a single team. The particularity of its Agile and intuitive interface makes MK lose in the middle to high segment. Cisco has years of experience, one may or may not agree with its pricing and especially licensing policy, but its products are made to last, its IOS, is powerful in many areas. One turns on a Cisco and if the initial configuration is optimal, it does not turn off that router anymore. MK is a team that must be seen, controlling and above all optimizing. The reasons for choosing one and the other are simple, money, knowledge and, above all, projection. Cisco can be planned and completed, but it is not for everyone. MK plans to buy and update the HW sooner or later. His continuous releases are tedious but necessary. Cisco in the Enterprise range is clearly superior, as is Juniper or Huawei.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

14%

Hospitality Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?

What do you like most about Cisco Enterprise Routers?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it makes it possible for users to use encryption and decryption since our company aims to achieve transparency, and without it, the other system on...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers?

I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price.

Which are better - Ubiquiti UniFi switches or MikroTik routers and switches?

Ubiquiti Unifi is a great solution. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfigure an AP or ga...

What do you like most about MikroTik Routers and Switches?

The price is a big factor. They are very affordable, and the quality is high.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MikroTik Routers and Switches?

MikroTik Routers and Switches are expensive, but they are the best products in terms of quality. From my knowledge, their quality is also the best.

Huawei Enterprise Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Comparisons

Compared 24% of the time

HPE Enterprise Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 12% of the time

OneAccess Enterprise Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 9% of the time

Juniper MX Series Routers vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 6% of the time

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch vs Cisco Enterprise Routers

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Enterprise Routers Competitors

TP-Link Omada Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 37% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 7% of the time

Aruba Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 6% of the time

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Compared 4% of the time

More MikroTik Routers and Switches Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco Enterprise Routers

Download Cisco Enterprise Routers product report

MikroTik Routers and Switches

Download MikroTik Routers and Switches product report

Overview

The high-performance Cisco Enterprise Routers are the market leader due to their breadth of advanced support for LAN/WAN services, redundancy, reliability, and performance.

Cisco

MikroTik Routers and Switches provide all the features necessary for network administrators to secure and monitor their networks and are suitable for companies of any size. The solution is ideal for creating Wi-Fi hotspots, connecting multiple servers, setting up firewalls and VPNs, and distributing bandwidth. MikroTik's user-friendly dashboard helps you interact easily with your hardware. With MikroTik's user interface, you can obtain real statistics by user or IP address and monitor bandwidth consumption.

Benefits and Key Features of MikroTik Routers and Switches

Affordability: MikroTik routers and switches are very reasonably priced and offer features comparable to those of other higher priced solutions.
Highly customizable: Flexible scripting policies and configuration options enable users to enhance the functionality of MikroTik's various products. MikroTik routers also offer hotspot profiles, which allows admins to create different customizable guest user authentication profiles.
Consistency: All MikroTik routers have the same operating system and features, making it simple to migrate between different products.
Routing protocols: MikroTik provides several dynamic routing protocols that can be deployed to build robust and secure networks.
Built-in firewall: MikroTik offers a very powerful firewall implementation with multiple features, including state inspection, layer-7 protocol detection, and peer-to-peer protocols filtering.
Stability and robust performance: MikroTik routers and switches are long-lasting, resilient, and perform well.

Reviews from Real Users

MikroTik stands out among competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its reasonably priced products and its user-friendly user interface, which makes it easy to work and communicate with its hardware.

Parameshwar P., a director at Navyug Networks, writes, "I like MikroTik's GUI. It's completely handy and easy to handle because of its GUI. Despite other brands like Cisco urging me to switch, I didn't because they don't have a GUI. This is the most comfortable thing in my project that anyone can use easily. It’s effortless to maintain MikroTik routers because both screens make it very easy in GUI mode. You can easily interact with your hardware.”

Rodney T., the chief solutions architect at Tech2go Strategic IT Solutions, says, "They are very good at providing the bandwidth for multi-tenants and multi-dwelling units. We're managing Wi-Fi hotspots for hundreds of locations, and the speed and performance are quite there. They also have very cheap 10G products that come with really good and flexible software. They are way cheaper than the top brands, and they're able to deliver the same performance and capabilities."

A principal consultant at a tech services company notes, "The most valuable aspect of this solution is the combination of value for money. They're extremely cost effective, yet they provide you with an extensive feature set of things you can do across the board. Also, they're pretty reliable, as far as equipment goes."

MikroTik

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Boingo, Chartwell School, Children's Hospital of Orange County , Department of Justice, Explorer Pipeline, Linz AG, National Rugby League, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Telecom Italia, Transwestern

ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA

Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Routers and Switches